The Hmong In Me

Imagine being uprooted at a young age to start a new life in a place you did not know. This is what happened at the age of eleven to Lao Yang and her family. They immigrated to the United States from Thailand, and their home city of Napol. Lao was born in a refugee camp and lived with her family and friends up until the camp was closed down. Lao and her family could either choose to move somewhere else in Thailand or go to America. They chose America because it had better opportunities for them. After a series of tests and health examinations in 2005, Lao and her family left behind the remainder of their relatives and friends and flew to the United States. Lao was really excited to come to America. Lao had relatives who have already lived in the United States, and they explained that America has beautiful cities with tall buildings, cars, and many people. Arriving in America, Lao and her family were reunited with their relatives and were helped to get settled in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Their new life in America opened new doors of opportunity for Lao, but still it came along with struggles and hardships that she faced as she was adjusting to the American culture.

Lao Yang, laughing during interview.

Learning English

English wasn’t hard for me to learn in America because in Thailand I went to a Hmong school and they taught English to us. I learned the basics of how to say words like “chair” and “book” and the names of places. I also learned the alphabet and how to count to one hundred. I still struggle to have fluent English, I realize that I have a lot of grammar problems and I have an accent. Sometimes I do not make sense. When it comes down to what language I’m more comfortable with, it actually depends. If I’m talking to my friends I prefer speaking English. If I talk to my family or older people I don’t speak English, I speak Hmong to them.

Academic Pressures

My parents encourage me to study and do well in academically. They always remind me to work hard and that I will be ok. They often think about the money and how much we pay for school because it’s not free anymore, and they want me the get the most out of my education as possible. Although I am encouraged, I feel pressured sometimes, because I am a role model for my younger siblings. I feel that because I’m the first one to go to college, my parents put pressure on me to do well academically.

Lao Yang and sister in Thailand.

Opening Up to America

My favorite memory in America would be when I was in middle school. That’s the period of my life when I opened up to the American kids rather than just to Hmong people. That was also the period in my life when I started to speak more English and less Hmong outside of home. It was the period when I came out of my comfort zone. It still was very hard to make friends in school because it was difficult for me to connect with the American students, especially because some didn’t understand me, or I didn’t understand them well. Over time my English improved, but I didn’t really diversify my friends even though I was more open to everybody. The reason for that is because I feel that I am the type of person that prefers people to approach me. I don’t usually approach other people first, and that is why most of my friends are still Hmong.

Different But Still The Same

I don’t define myself as Hmong American or Hmong Thailand because I feel as if I am both. I am not used to the American society and holidays, like the Hmong Americans are. But I am not Hmong Thailand anymore because I do know some of the American culture, so I am stuck in the middle. Hmong Thailand people speak Hmong, and when I am with them, I speak Hmonglish(1) to them. The more I am around Hmong people from Thailand, the more American I feel because of how differently they speak, dress and act from me. 

Being an immigrant from Thailand means that I can be labeled an HTT(2), which is a Hmong immigrant from Thailand. This is a common way of bullying for Hmong, because it is offensive to be called an HTT. It can be taken the same way as the "N word" is taken by African Americans. I personally was bullied by the Hmong Americans, because I was from Thailand and they would just laugh about it. There is a division and a clique within the different Hmong groups, such as the Hmong Americans and the Hmong immigrants. I was most comfortable with the Hmong immigrants because I was able to relate to them in my elementary and middle school years, because we could not speak English as well as the Hmong Americans.

You Still Don't Know Us?

Hmong people have been in America for so long and still many Americans are uneducated about us. Sometimes it is like how do you not know us, we have been here for so long. To me it seems that people from the south know the least about us because there are very few Hmong people in the south. Some people say, “are you Chinese, Korean, or Japanese?” I say, “no, I’m Hmong,” and they say, “what is that?” I don't know what to say, because we don’t have a country to say, “oh I come from here.” It’s not like the Chinese, who all came from China. It’s kind of sad that we do not have one country that represents us and where we came from and who we are. Some people even think that Hmong people are from Mongolia because the names sound similar. The Hmong people originate from many different places across Asia, not just one particular country.

Americanization

There is only one sibling in my family that has an English name, and that is my little sister, Melody. My parents were not the ones to give Melody her English name though, it was actually me. My parents named her Gao Kia in Hmong, so I named her Melody since it is kind of similar. On her official birth certificate it says her name is Melody instead of her Hmong name. When my parents did this, it surprised me because it showed how more open they were to the American society. I think that is why they wanted my little sister Melody to have an American name because she was born in America and my parents consider her Hmong American. My parents always wanted us to be open and to get to know the American culture and not just the Hmong culture. They never said anything like,    “You have to keep your culture.” They were not like other Hmong parents who are very strict and won’t let their children date outside their race. Basically, my parents wanted us to be open minded, but at the same time they wanted us to get to know the American culture too. 

One Day

I miss Thailand, and one day I want to go back. I keep telling my boyfriend that after college, when I have money, that I will go back and visit. I want to see my hometown and my house although I hear it is covered in forest now. I also want to travel to Chicago, California, New York, South Korea, China, other Asian countries. Someday I want to travel all over the world. 

One Immigrant to Another

Advice I would give to someone immigrating to America would be to come here because we have more opportunities to do things such as free education through High School… college is not free but still, you should come here! Life is better in America than in Thailand. There is not much to do other than to play around. I feel that in America you can have a great Hmong life similar to the one you had in Thailand, but better. You should come to America for a better life. 

Footnotes:

(1) Hmonglish: Speaking Hmong and English interchangeably.

(2) HTT: Slang word for Hmong immigrants of Thailand.

Photo Citations:

(Yang, Lao. Interview photo from iPad, circa 2013)

(Yang, Lao. Family photo, circa 2003)

http://www.vidiani.com/?p=11036

Story Facilitators:

Lunting Thao, Bre Spehar, Aaron Aydt