Day 3 - Vietnamese Culture and Guest Speaker Mr. Han

January 6, 2022 

During the third day of this course, we started the morning by doing research prep for a guest speaker who was coming in the afternoon. We looked at a few articles that the speaker suggested, detailing Asian American statistics and the struggle of biracial people in the United States to fit in culturally. The readings raised the question of whether White Asians tend to swing towards American or Asian cultures. After a brief discussion of the articles, we moved on to watch a documentary titled Nailed It. The documentary outlined the struggles that Vietnamese refugees fleeing from the aftermath of the Vietnam War had, both from the dangerous journey overseas to reach the States, as well as the complications of adapting to a new country. The film explained how these Vietnamese immigrants had to fight adversity and stereotypes to fit in, eventually finding success in the nail salon business. It was very fascinating to watch how these refugees managed to overtake a billion-dollar industry to the point that today, 40% of all nail salons are managed by Vietnamese Americans. 

For lunch, we went on a field trip to the Hong Kong City Mall. Inside, we ate at a local Phở restaurant and enjoyed an authentic meal with traditional cuisine. This experience definitely gave us a unique perspective into Vietnamese food culture. Afterward, we returned to school and listened to the guest speaker Mr. Han. Mr. Han is a director of Interfaith Relations & Education at Interfaith Ministries in the greater Houston area and came to share his perspective on being a biracial person in the United States. Mr. Han's talk was very insightful and broadened our views on the meaning of personal identity. All in all, the day was an interesting dive into the rich history and culture of Vietnamese Americans in the United States, and how we identify as human beings.





 

          

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