Once upon a time, in a land covered by greens, all year-around the mountain where the clouds are tranquil above the sea.
There was a boy and a girl.
They once met each other on a mountain.
And together, they created 100 babies.
They boy's name was Lac Long Quan.
The girl's name was Au Co.
And those 100 babies hatched into 100 people.
50 remained on land.
And 50 went on the become creatures of the sea.
That's how Vietnamese people were born.
That's how you were born and you were born
And i was born.
And that's the story of our motherland.
But there's a couple of people who went away
and now wanted to come back to this motherland and to discover where they're from.
Let's find out who they are today
Hey welcome back to the studio and I have Caitlyn Nguyen sitting right here with me.
We're going to be talking about her journey back to Vietnam
and how she has discovered the Vietnamese side of her cultural background.
So Caitlyn thanks a lot for coming.
Yeah thanks for having me on the show.
So why did you decide to come back to Vietnam?
Growing up in a Vietnamese American household you learn American culture and you learn your Vietnamese culture.
But it kind of seems intermixed.
So growing up you don't actually know which is which
So I wanted to come back to Vietnam and learn more about what is distinctly Vietnamese
and how does that culture kind of find itself in me.
So when you were growing up in the States righ,t you're from Orange County.
Yes it's there's also a big Vietnamese population there as well.
How has your Vietnamese culture materialized when you were growing up for you?
Unfortunately, in the area that I grew up in being different wasn't necessarily good.
Being made fun of for like having a different culture it was a thing and
I actually didn't want to be Vietnamese when I was young.
So many times I rejected it my parents would say like Oh Caitlyn you should speak Vietnamese and like nah.
But um I started to appreciate it more when I started to make more friends that were Vietnamese.
And when I started to get older and I realized that some of my family members you know
like what never learned to speak deep coherent conversations with me in English.
So I just figured there should be a time that I kind of reconnect with the culture that I kind of forwent.
For you I understand very well you know living in a place where being different wasn't so easy.
And you know a lot of the times younger people of the minority will try to reject that culture.
So I'm sure you know your parents are probably some of the sources of the Vietnamese culture.
But what was Vietnamese culture to you?
What was Vietnamese means to me, um food.
Vietnamese food was such a big part of my identity.
And there was such a big struggle for me because going to school I would have people say
oh my god why is that do you have a bag onions.
I'm like are you kidding me it's longan..? like I know they're like little white blobs but they're fruit, they're not onions.
Who just eats onions for lunch.
And it was something like that what was truly Vietnamese to me was getting to choose eat rice and meat
and veggies for lunch instead of having chicken nuggets for lunch
And that was like a part of my Vietnamese identity.
You talked about the language.
Vietnamese language isn't an easy language but it's not that difficult to understand so do you understand Vietnamese?
And how did you learn Vietnamese?
Ah so my parents probably raised me speaking Vietnamese but at certain point I think I just forgot.
I took lessons when I was younger and I think it was at the top of my class I learned mostly through rote memorization.
So I probably know some Vietnamese children's songs but have no idea what they mean like the significance of them.
And I guess most of the time if I use Vietnamese, it would be something silly in the household like
hey mom I'm gonna make you some "com".
Where's the "gao"?
Yes something like that. I used it just like a noun.
My favorite yes Vinglish.
Yes my favorites just "nuoc soi","nuoc soi".
Make sure that no one will be in your way when you carry something out the kitchen.
So why did you decide to come back to Vietnam?
There's also a different process because I am a Fulbright English teaching assistant
so I had to apply through the program first.
And with the program you choose a specific country.
It actually came back to a story where two years ago it was my second year of college.
And I was just having trouble with with friends, roommates and I needed a break.
And it was around my birthday so I said hey boyfriend let's go out to get some lunch.
And on the way to lunch I got a phone call from my mom.
And my aunt, she was in the hospital for lung cancer yeah.
And she told me she was going to die in a few days so I rushed to the hospital.
Usually she tries to speak English with me but she is on her deathbed at this point and she spoke to me in Vietnamese.
And I was like holding her hand and desperately looking around my brother's face, my parents faces.
But none of them had heard what she said.
And very ashamedly and embarrassingly I had to ask her "can you say that in English."
And so she just kind of like gave me a look and said happy birthday.
And I know that she didn't say that in Vietnamese it was like a long sentence she was saying something
about me and those were my last words from her.
And I realized I didn't understand her final words to me and that's what prompted me to really apply
for specifically Vietnam with a soft diplomacy program in the Fulbright Program.
Because not only have I realized I've for a long time I rejected my culture.
But it's also time I realized to try to make up for that and my relatives are getting older
and I want to have that connection with them.
And I never want to be like that moment again where it's too late to ever know what they said to me.
Because communications really how you bond with people.
Absolutely.
Well I'm glad you're back you know among anywhere else in the world I think Vietnam is probably the best place
to be to learn about the culture and to learn the language.
Okay so what's one vocabulary in Vietnamese that you've learnt?
Slang or an actual word?
Slang.
"So deep"?
"Chem gio"
Ah from what I could gather it's something along the lines with when close friends talk
and don't have to have any barriers and they just joke around with each other.
Is that basically what it is?
Yeah I think it is or it's just yet talking nonsense.
Talking nonsense I see.
There's another term do you know like "Banh beo"?
What is "banh beo" mean?
From what I could gather it's a very girly girl.
Yes yes are you a "banh beo" girl?
I used to have a very long hair. I think I used to look more "banh beo".
But I did that I do now when I cut my hair.
Vietnamese boys love "banh beo".
Yeah I'd love to actually share a couple of things with you but I think you know we have to go on to the next section.
Which is challenge section where we're gonna be basically sharing
I heard that you like songs.
Yes I do.
Maybe we can we can share a little bit of songs as well.
Okay all right guys let's go to the IELTS challenge.
In this IELTS challenge we're going to be listening to a couple of songs.
So Caitlyn I heard that you love songs.
Vietnamese people love to sing and also love to listen to songs as well.
So would you be able to give us a Vietnamese song.
Yeah I think I can sing this song for you.
Day the day, the dawn clears up all my troubles and pains
Day the day, my love keeps floating in the bright blue sky
My head goes blank when my eyes meet you glance
I dream of kissing you on your hair, your lips.
Hold my hand, lean on me
Next to me, I'm here with you
Wind sings my love song. Under the night sky, you're in my arms
Hold my hand, lean on me
Next to me, I'm here with you
Let's close our eyes and vow to be together
Our love will stay strong.
I had never heard that song in English before.
I like both of the versions.
My students do very cute down to Vietnamese version.
Because hearing that song in English it completely changes the nature of that song.
It does.
Yeah but I like it. Anh thanks a lot for sharing.
I hope that you can sing Vietnamese songs so that you can listen to it.
Thanks so much Caitlyn for coming by today to talk to us.
So just to close off our section,if you were to share three vocabulary that can be used to describe the self-exploration
and the roots discovering process, what will that be?
Follow your heart.
Follow your heart?
Definitely follow your heart because it'll lead you back to the place that you're looking for
Follow your heart it's definitely three words.
I think I would also add in maybe ancestors, to look to your ancestors and what they did
To look to your family tree
meaning to look at your grandparents, your parents and what did they in the past.
I think also "family heirloom".
which are some of the things are kept from generation to generation.
I think those are the three words as well that people can remember.
Thanks a lot Caitlyn for coming by
Thank you for having me.
We always, don't be a stranger always come back.
I would love to.
So guys next up is the IELTS expert section
where you'll get a chance to learn more and you'll get a chance to really dig deep into the IELTS contest.
Stay tuned.
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