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My Informal letter to US new comer

Dear the new comer 

Welcome to United States of America. There is a well known slogan :  The America  is the land of milk and honey. With time you will realize this expression is out of date.
Many challenges are waiting in front of you. Adjustment is the key to success in the States.
Generally Americans are friendly and helpful . Americans are a very mixed, diverse population that places high priority on individualism. With time you will discover everything is  possible and can happen in the United States.

          This is a country of opportunity and with lots of opportunists. This is one  reason to educate yourself to be a " well rounded  educate consumer". It is the best way of protecting your self against schemes and scams in the everyday living. You will  find that bureaucratic administration is  very heavy. Be patient,  polite, determined and follow up will ease lots in your way. Remember the art of asking the right question to the right person or authority are very important, otherwise you will get lost in the systems jungle. US citizens are very keen on using disposables, as individual convenience is a more importan  issues than environmental. Event through America is a country with freedom of speech, be careful with expressing  your frustration,  particularly in front of "the new American", as you don't want to be in a confrontation. Many of these individual are more patriotic than the "American-born American". You will also meet "reverse discrimination" , don’t get discouraged, just learn a way to kill it with kindness and remember later on help others without bias whenever you can. Americans have very good habits especially with waiting in line culture, people are used to helping each other to fit in line. America is the fast food heaven and a convenience meal is avaible on every corner.You will experience lots of familys with a cooking skills  limited to "unable to cook without a microwave".At last a car is a necessity in your everyday life. You will observer there are more car on the street than people.
Welcome again to a land with unlimited opportunity on individual hard effort for success. Keep on smiling, and adjusting and improvement in all aspects will ease your American's life in the longterm.

Best wish to you and me.
Victoria

W4-FallQuate_ optional writing_My mother - and homelands

Once time I read a writer, ( I forgot the name), with this version  of motherland and homeland:"To Vietnam, My motherland. whose good earth gave me fertile ground to learn and grow.To America, my homeland,whose good heart gave me a chance to be somebody"


After reading this two sentences, my First reation is :  He is considered lucky, because he only has  a motherland and a home land.


My version of mother land and home land will be: China is my basic root for inspiration, entertainments and enlightment. Vietnam I am formed, Denmark fertiles me with learning and grow, US shall be a place for challenge and continuing grow. So I maybe can be somebody one day!


With time I realize, I'm more "wealthy" compare to others immigrants, because I have 3 Motherlands. Vietnam was my born mother, who abandoned me. Denmark was my foster mother, whom love me unconditional.. I will always love her and be gracefull to her with all my heart. China, Tja!  I still do not have a right place for her,  will she be my adoptive mother or my God mother or ........? what else is a right name for her.

I also have 3 homes.Vietnam's home was my parent's home. It was well build, huge and beautiful. Denmark was my 1st own home, that was little,crozy and solid build from the scratch.  In US I am building a 2nd home, that requires lot more effort than my 1st home.
What it will be? will it be as my first home ? Will I able to get it done at all?
Since my background as it . which led me most of the time to consider myself as a world citizen. I'n looking at the world  without boundary.

FallQuarter _ W 4 assigment- Gratitude to a Stranger

Take my hand or give me yours

" In my experience, immigrants help each other whenever we can".

In 1977, due to terrible circumstances,  my parents were forced to make the decision of sending me and my younger brother out of Vietnam illegally - on a boat. That lonely little fishing boat floated on the open sea.


Boat_people

 It sailed without meeting other companion  for days. One day we saw bigger ships in the distance, we sent out signal for help, but without responding. We watched the moving objects disappear in the horizon. On the last day of our food supplies, we saw a bigger sailing vehicle in the distance, as  before we send out a help signal. This time there was good sign . The vehicle sailed to us. Many of us were so happy that we were saved. The ship stopped its motor, when it was getting closer,  and few of the sailors jumped on board to our boat. They did not look friendly, we feel threaten by their attitudes and movements. We did not able to communicate with them, we only could  interpreter their non verbal language. All of us quietly realized,  we met "the sea pirate", which many "boat-people" were afraid of. The compass and food supplies, the most important thing were taken from our boat,


The pirates

then they began to rip off a  gold  and brand name watch from one of the male members  on broad.
We strove to communicate in as many languages and dialects we could, but it was no use. Most of us on board were Vietnamese - born Chinese,  so besides Vietnamese we were also able to speak Chinese in several difference dialects. Many of us knew there are  lots of over-sea Chinese living in the Southeast Asia. We hoped they were able to understand - even just one of the Chinese dialects. Since we were in the Thailand Gulf area, we tried to speak in "Teochew" dialect (Chaozhou/Chiu Chow , literally "Tide Prefecture"). At last we saw an older man from the other boat come over. Finally he spoke in the family tone "Teochew",  One of many south Chinese’s dialects. On board the Teochew speaking members started a dialogue with him. We asked his kindness to help. After long conversation with the Teochewnese speaking group, he turned into discussion with his members in his native language. Suddenly, all sailors went back to their ship and returned our food supplies and the compass. In addition they gave us  some more consumable food, but the gold watch was kept by one of the takers. The old man told us which way we needed to go and advised us not to sail  near Thailand, because chances were bigger to meet an other similar kind of ship as his. We need to go towards Malaysia, it was a safer trip for us. 
A week later the litter fishing boat arrived safely into "Pulaur Besar" refugee camp in Malaysia.


Together we stand

 My experience was mild in comparision with many others. The man was unbiased to help us. I did not find out what nationality he belonged to, The only thing I knew, he was able to speak "Teochew ". He was willing to stand up and take the risk to help. This “no bias help” saved me and 30 more others lives. 
Today with recalling these memories  I relize this is one of the most   valuable experiences in my life. I truly believe, all humans are born with hearts full of love and kindness, but many factors in life and society affect us, that we suppress these feeling and turn skeptical. Our good hearts turn into  stone hearts. We tend to lost  in custom of thinking as ourself . We have all learned the help from the unexpected critical moment are most appreciated valuable in life.  Compassion  of providing help without asking for return or none bias  help are the most purities qualification everyone can have. My motto is " I benifit the most when I help other "



Fall Quarter _ W2 assigment - Review - 13 Going on 30

"13 going on 30".  It was a 2004 American romantic comedy fantasy film. It was produced by Revolution Studios for Columbia Picture. The Synopsis in this film was a 13-year-old girl appears to skip 17 years of her life, and wakes up , as a successful magazine editor in the future. This film had similar premise to other films, as in 1996 "Wish Upon Star " , "Back To The Future" in 1985,  and "Big "1988; all were about physically transformed into adult. The screenplay itself was not bad, but I feel it did not offer up anything original. I was able to predict exactly, where this film were going at all times.

The message with this film were touching the physical awkwardness of a 13-year-old in a suddenly grown-up body. The psychilogi - how all of us were wanted to be in the warme, but one a while -  it could be heathty to stop up for a self review. If chance are, remember to grabe and use it! because it is better to take time to make for the right  decision, than regret in the long-run.

When I watched the movie for class assignment . I mean, It would be best for me to choose an English Speaking film, because It could be related to . I had zero expectations, and with habit, I did not notice actor or actress name either. This time was also no exception - but later on - I found out, it was starring Jennifer Garner, and this was Jennifer Garner first movie acting. I believe,  I will watch more of Jennifer Garner movie in the near future to see, how Jennifer Garner acting performen with time.

Since I took up my residency in US, I did not go to movie theater yet, but recently I took up movie entertainments, as I mentioned in my early post my entertainments , thought online. Mostly dramas, movie online from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China ; not so many American movies.So  this movie was no exception,  I watched it online through a streamline Chinese's website. Event it is a chinese website, but it also offer other languages movies: as Thai, Japanese, Korean, English and French.

The other benefit with it, The movie was an English speaking film and subtitled in Chinese. By this way, I was able to "Kill two birds with one stone",( 一箭双雕), in the linguistics aspect

More reading go to http://www.funtrivia.com/en/Movies/t-13-Going-on-30-12642.html