Kristen Nguyễn

Hi! My name is Kristen Nguyen and this is my first year being a part of MHTL. To me, MHTL is a place filled with people who are accepting and supportive of each other. Although this year has been virtual, every weekly class is a space where I can learn more about myself and faith while also having fun.

My Dad's Journey

Being a young adult, my dad was forced to work for the army. He hated it since he was working for those against his own people. The only way he could leave was if he left his homeland. In February of 1980, his aunt told him about a group that was preparing to escape Vietnam. He asked to join them and left his homeland by boat after paying them some gold and helping the group find and fix the boat.

The boat drifted into the sea and was spotted by an American plane. They dropped a package containing a signal and a letter telling them to stay at the area since a rescue boat will come to pick them up soon.

America

After 3 years and 8 months my dad was sponsored by his father to come to America with the rest of his family. In America, my dad and his family lived at a run-down apartment. Since he had a big family, he decided to work as hard as he could to buy a house which he did in 1991.

"I will never see this land ever again."

A boat named Cap Anamur (a German rescue boat) picked them up and dropped them off at a refugee camp in Singapore. My dad stayed there for around 2 months until May of 1980 where he was brought to a camp at Munich, Germany. He stayed at the camp for a couple of months until he was able to rent a place with his friend.

My Mom's Journey

In 1986, my mom left on a bus to Cambodia. There, she would board a boat that was supposed to take her towards a camp in Taiwan. Unfortunately, when she got onto the boat, the captain of the ship actually led everyone back to Vietnam where they were thrown into jail. My mom was 20 years old at that time so the only way for her to not be forced into jail was to lie and say that she was 17 years old. Luckily, the people believed my mom and let her free. This close experience scared both her family and her so she decided she would never try to leave by boat again.

America

After around 7 years, her brothers sponsored her to come to America along with her mom, brother, and sister.

First Meet

In December of 1996, my parents first met each other through the after party of a wedding at a pho restaurant. My dad was friends with fiancé while my mom was cousins with the fiancée. There, they talked to each other and began to call each other every week.

My dad lived in San Jose while my mom lived in Anaheim. This made it very difficult for them to meet up since they were on the other side of California. Because of this, my dad drove for 7 hours whenever he had days off work to hang out with my mom.

Proposal

Eventually in , my dad came to my mom's house and asked to speak to her mom. He wanted to ask if he could marry her daughter. When she agreed, he proposed to my mom. My mom accepted his proposal and the two go married on December of 1997. They decided to live in San Jose and promised to visit my mom's family in Anaheim whenever possible.

Family

They then started a family and had 3 children.

Reflection

Despite having lived through the pain and trauma of leaving their homeland and having to start new, my parents have never let any of their children know when they are struggling. My parents always show my siblings and I the brighter side to all the hardships we face. They always do their best to ensure a sense of security for us, so that we never have to experience what they did: desperation, pain, suffering, and trauma; the haunting experiences that stay close by them ever since the escaping of their homeland.

Finding a New Life

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