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Cristina | Izzy
S. | Sarah M. | Gabby
| Benjamin | Abigail |
Maggie | Tim | Jenny
Thai Vang is a 17-year-old Hmong teenager
that came to Madison from Laos. When he came to America he
was just 12 so it was hard for him. Back in Laos he didn’t
have any food, money, maybe clothes. When Thai came here he
first had to learn the ABCs, 123s, in the language they mostly
speak here, which would be English. When he was 12 or 13 he
had to sit in a first grade class and learn English while
other kids did other work.
–Cristina
Thai Vang was born in Banvani, a refugee
camp in Thailand. When he came into our class he said, “Banvani
brings back horrible memories.” Thai’s family
came to the U.S. in 1997 to escape hunger among other things.
His family was one of the later Hmong families to move to
America because his father didn’t want to lose their
culture. But finally they decided to move. “We had no
choice,” said Thai. “We couldn’t go back
to Laos and we couldn’t stay in the refugee camp, they
didn’t want us there.” Now Thai is a junior at
East High School in Madison. He plays the qeej, is a shaman
and knows 5 different languages. Thai believes in being friends
with everybody no matter what their culture is. Many of his
friends are very interested in his culture and they love his
mom’s eggrolls.
–Izzy S.
Being a shaman, and playing the qeej and
such doesn’t mean he cannot also be American. Thai said
that he has the privilege of going between two worlds (American
culture and Hmong culture) and speaks many languages (English,
Hmong, Spanish, Thai, Laos) and hopes to learn French! His
reasoning: he thinks that to know many languages is a great
gift, so you can talk with all ethnicities. “If everyone
can speak all languages we all will be relatives and share
the world,” Thai says. In his American culture he has
many American friends, one wants to learn Hmong. He likes
the Backstreet Boys, and rock music, he likes to watch football,
baseball, and basketball.
–Sarah M.
He doesn’t just like Hmong music, he
also likes American music like the Backstreet Boys. He plays
sports like football. He lives in two different worlds, he
has to change his home and schools. A lot of Hmong people
are afraid of Americans because they think we are going to
hurt them. A rumor is if you dig a deep hole you will go to
America, and there is a giant here and people shouldn’t
come. He speaks 5 languages, he is working on Spanish and
next year French. He has been in plays and talent shows. For
the Hmong, when you are 14 you are considered an adult. A
lot of kids argue with parents about wanting to be American.
He teaches a class for young Hmong people on culture and language.
–Gabby
Most Hmong teenagers want to be American
but their parents want them to be Hmong. Thai is different,
he wants to be both. It is harder to be a Hmong teenager than
a Hmong kid, Thai says.
–Benjamin
In America, Thai quickly made lots of friends
by simply going up to someone and saying “Hi!”
Thai doesn’t understand why Hmong people stick together
and don’t try to make friends with other Americans.
He wants both nations to think of each other as equals. Why
can’t we be buddies? is his question.
–Abigail
Thai aims to have friends of all different
kinds from all different cultures and places. He feels that
he has a special gift that many people don’t have, a
special way of connecting and communicating with different
people, and that includes different spirits, and others. Thai
doesn’t believe in lying. He knows that it doesn’t
do any good, especially specifically if you’re in a
bad position and you’re trying to weave your way out
of it. It’ll only make things worse for you and won’t
help at all. Thai wants to be American but he also wants to
stay forever Hmong, always loyal to his culture, religion,
and traditions. His goal in life is to get good grades in
high school and college, and teach young Hmong children about
how to be a better Hmong person, and what it’s like
to be a true Hmong person.
–Maggie
Mr. Wagler asked, “Aren’t
all Hmong traditional?” Thai: “Not necessarily.”
He said that of the Hmong in Wisconsin, about half were Christian
and half were traditional Hmong.
–Tim
Thai doesn’t speak good English but
his friends correct him and he likes that.
–Jenny
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