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I want to learn how to butcher important
animals for ceremonies...because I am Hmong.
–Mark
I was surprised when a Hmong man was
showing us how to play tub lub (too loo), a Hmong game with
spinning top and poles with long strings on them.
–Martha
One of the things that surprised me the
most...the fact that there are different Hmong like red, striped,
white, black, and blue [Hmong]. Another thing that surprised
me was that the Hmong had no written language until 1975.
Also that weddings last 3 days and funerals last 7 days. With
6,000 Hmong in Milwaukee, 5,000 in Sheboygan, and 5,500 in
Green Bay, I realize that the Hmong have grown to be just
as much a part of our community as any one of us.
–Benjamin
Another one [of my favorite things] is
I liked when we talked with the Hmong children and when 2
of them tried on some traditional Hmong clothes, even though
they felt kind of embarrassed because they only wear that
stuff at the Hmong New Year. I liked it when we got to put
on some Hmong clothes at the Hmong-American Association. It
was very different and very heavy but it kind of makes people
feel kind of Hmong.
–Gabby
At the butcher shop, I was grossed
out because of the smell. I think it was the blood. Waves
of it poured up my nose, and as I stared at the dead hog,
I could stand it no longer. At the house, after the butcher
shop, I was at once soothed by the beautiful sound of a qeej
player. The sometimes slow, steady beat and the sometimes
wild, happy sounds fill the air with sometimes calmness, sometimes
joy, the urge to run. Right then it sounded like somebody
who wanted to let his/her joy out, but kept it to his/herself.
One of the most amazing people I met was Chong Pao Xiong,
the storyteller at Green Bay. When he told the story, he didn't
use one voice, yet he didn't exactly use a huge variety. He
would talk in a normal voice, expelling the story, and then
when dialogue started, he would talk in a higher voice, using
slightly different but still a high voice for each character.
–Abigail
I really marveled at the huge story cloth
at the Hmong-American Friends association. It was so huge
and detailed, I wondered how someone would take so much time
and hard work sewing a story cloth.
–Dylan
The colors, shapes, patterns and needlework on the Hmong
clothes was rich with beauty –it lunged at me. And those
egg rolls –oh my, were they friendly to my stomach!
One time I really felt Hmong was when
I tried on the Hmong clothes in the gift shop. I felt like
disappearing or reappearing in Laos and dancing. I imagined
I had black hair, no American clothes, and coins jingling
around my waist. I wanted to even speak Hmong! I now know
that there’s more to being Hmong than just going around
wearing coins and yelling, being Hmong means being free. I
know what terrors they've had to go through, and their struggles
for life. I hope they get through.
–Maggie
When I had the hat on, the skirt cover type
thing, and the shirt on, I felt for a minute a little bit
Hmong because of the clothes I was wearing. I felt like I
could have gone to Hmong New Year and done the ball toss with
someone.
–MacKenzie
I’ll never forget the wonderful
smell of freshly cooked egg rolls. The soft and hard shell
of the eggroll, gently rolled around tenderly cooked veggies.
The gooshy, mushy texture of the noodles in your mouth; everything
good in its own special way.
–Erika
When I saw the women’s beautiful
work, my fingers wanted to be in motion and I wanted to sew.
–Izzy L.
The day we made egg rolls for lunch…was
the first time I felt close to the Hmong women and girls.
I felt a little like a Hmong girl.
–Izzy L.
The place where I really started to
understand Hmong culture was the Union Oriental Market, where
a man named Vue Yang worked. One food that looked absolutely
disgusting was the lion’s head!
–Mariah
We went to the butcher shop, and it
smelled like crazy. The smell was a horrible smell, a mix
of blood and cow manure. It was terrifying, with all of the
blood and guts…
–Mariah
A thing that took my breath away is the
giant paj ntaub (pandou) at the Hmong American Friendship
in Sheboygan. It was bigger than me!
–Alex
My other favorite thing was meeting Nhia
Vue and listening to his tremendously good qeej. Nhia got
to America just two months ago, and he still can’t speak
American, but he speaks well enough with his awesome qeej
music.
–Nate
In this whole trip, I felt Hmong because
[I was] going to Hmong places, dressing like Hmong, eating
Hmong, and most of all studying Hmong.
–Cristina
The colors I enjoy are the bright colors
in the paj ntaub story cloth, and the beads and coins that
the Hmong clothes have on.
–Cristina
I wish I can learn how to make a flute and
a qeej. I’d also want to Hmong cross stitch and to make
all my clothes and stop asking for money to buy clothes for
myself.
–Cristina
I learned there were different kinds of
Hmong, like white Hmong, black Hmong, green/blue Hmong, striped
or flower Hmong, and Chinese Hmong.
–Sara K.
I liked all of the shapes on the Hmong
paj ntaub. It was like an elephant foot, heart, snail, seashell,
flower. The colors that were on the paj ntaub were mostly
bright.
–Pao
I want to learn about being a shaman,
because I like helping people and caring about people. I am
already Hmong. I understand more about money paper and the
paper on the wall. The paper on the wall is for helping and
guiding the house.
–Pao
I was afraid of the knives in the exhibit.
–Pakou
I was amazed… that Hmong people
eat rice three times a day or they eat rice for every meal.
–Nico
Also at the Hmong-American Friendship
Center in Milwaukee, when I saw the paj ntaub that was six
feet wide and eight feet long. It had a lot of different Hmong
on it traveling from place to place, and being kept from going
to places were they can get away from the war. Then going
to Ban Vinai, then finally coming to America.
–Thomas
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