Saigoneer

My parents are originally from Vietnam and came to the United States as refugees after the war. I was born in Orange County, California, where many Vietnamese people who came to America made their new home. When I was growing up, my mother forced me to learn Vietnamese and to participate in cultural traditions, but she never wanted to visit Vietnam because of the pain she felt from having to leave her homeland. I am ethnically Vietnamese, but I was born in America; I have always felt this gave me a dual identity. I yearned to go back to Vietnam to explore my roots and culture.