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Female Speaker: You know we struggled, we came here, we had nothing. You know, we left
our country, you know, with two hands nothing.
Female Speaker: My dad he came here by boat and he lived in like Mississippi for like
maybe a year. I think in Vietnam he was like a tailor and he work with clothing a lot.
So when he came to California, he started to work for like this clothing company and
stuff. And so now he has his own business.
Female Speaker: I'm not exactly sure if my parents live there. I just know that they
came here by boat. And that they escaped during the time of the Vietnam War and they managed
to come.
Female Speaker: They started their life here. It was hard because they have like only a
two bedroom apartment and it's for like seven or eight adults. And so it's not like, oh
okay you get your own room. It's like, they have to sleep in the living room and like
on the sofa, maybe on the floor if there is no more space. It's like they would rather
have shelter as opposed to like, oh like a nice table or piano or something next with
it and like that.
Minh Nguyen: I don't know much about how my parents were when they were growing up. I
knew that they came over here by boat and I think they come alone. They were just--they
went--they were starting to go to school, they had jobs. I know my mom worked at McDonalds
for a while, while trying to pay for rent and stuff.
Amanda Pham: My parents adapted really well to this. So like--the American culture. So
they speak English like really fluently. And--when I was younger I've known--I've learning Vietnamese
and I've been speaking it, as I grew up I gradually stopped.
Minh Nguyen: Well--I think everyone could always--wish they could speak more and understand
everything, like speak it fluently. So that's very useful. You can, I wish I just can talk
to my grandparents too. They just talk about their life but it's kind of hard because of
the language barrier.
Hagn Le: I was really getting attach to more like American things. So like basically from
when I'm growing up each year I'm losing my Vietnamese culture. And then right now that
I'm in VSA it's coming back.
Josephine Di: VSA means Vietnamese Student Association. And it's a group of students
who want to share the Vietnamese culture. And it's like a chance really that people
like outside being Vietnamese to learn our culture, so it's just not within ourselves.
Hagn Lee: You know, to make friends to [indiscernible] [00:03:10]
Kevin Anh Nguyen: There's a lot of Vietnamese student in campus who don't know each other
and we are the same race and everything, but then when you join the club we meet new people
that we never seen before or talk to. So we make new friends.
Philip Minh Khoi Vu: I didn't know obviously. I know people where in it. But I think this
year is the only year I had joined. Last year during like graduation and stuff they got--I
think Erica came up to me and get a signing thing. And I was trying to talk with my cousin
on the phone to say I'm trying to get to his graduation. And he just made me hey sign this
really quick. It's just thing when she say. So I signed by I didn't realize when I signed
it I mean I'm joined and then a like a week later I got an e-mail and say, Philip now
you're in VSA and that's how I got into it. We work hard at [indiscernible] [00:03:55]
like with the involvement of this club and they work that much hard and you're trying
to represent them. Right here we have [indiscernible] [00:04:05] we are selling eggrolls for [indiscernible]
[00:04:09] we're trying to raise money to--for Vietnam like [indiscernible] [00:04:15] Foundation.
And our VSA officers are trying to sell it. Like--I think our VSA raises the most money
out of all the [indiscernible] [00:04:23] how organized we are, most profiting. And
then we're working together...
Minh Nguyen: VSA does a lot of work actually. It's all for a good cause to. I mean we donate,
we make like 3,000, 2,000--$3,000. We donate it all to charity to help orphans and you
know.
Josephine Di: We're doing the culture show and we're having VSA club to help connect
our--our current generation to the past generation, so that we can understand and share our culture.
Amanda Pham: At freshman year I was motivated to join by my sister because she was like
a really active member in it. And then came sophomore year and it was--they put on a Visions
of Vietnam show. And I wasn't in there but I watched it, and like I guess--I got--Pang
encourage me to join and it just made me like, this way it was like an inspiration. Like
this is how Vietnamese culture should be shared and like. It was just a good experience.
Kevin Anh Nguyen: I've been in VSA for four years, but the first three years I was never
involved with it. Just a member of VSA. After I saw the show I want to be involved with
VSA even more.
Minh Nguyen: Last year we did the show and a lot of people liked it. I think they're
a really good thing for our club. We raised a lot of money for the [indiscernible] [00:05:53]
foundation. We have all the members together to be in the show. It's just a good learning
experience and good opportunity
Kelly Dinh: I've been talking to like the ex-president a lot. And he was saying how
like they really want everything to be Vietnamese revolved around and like, this year we're
also embracing like the American culture to it to. So like, instead like having all Vietnamese
we're also like embracing like American and adding it into our show.
Kevin Anh Nguyen: Because there's parts of the show that [indiscernible] [00:06:18] more
than others and there's other parts of the show that build's other people more than you.
Philip Minh Vu: I think if you have like--even if you just have modern dancing without the
drywall then we don't represent like our culture. And if we just have modern stuff, you know,
[indiscernible] [00:06:35] we're just having [indiscernible] [00:06:38] of doing stuff
that's showing--that they're--they're just a group of Asians dancing, you know, because
I got still, like I have an aspect of our Vietnamese culture that you have to respect
that part of it and then in the audience it's not just all like people are Asians, you have
lot of people [indiscernible] [00:06:52] have to do something [indiscernible] [00:06:54].
Our cultures has hat, fans, candle right? Okay that's from their culture they understand,
that's where they came from, that's what their parents and grandparents do. And you just
do--and then we show our modern stuff, okay that's what we do now but it was just only
do what we do and show where we came from. I--I joined to see the end result. We're pushing
for everything to see how it turns out with all the productions and stuff, and I feel
like I was senior Vietnamese guy. I walk out. I have to take part of it.
Kelly Dinh: What makes me want to participate more than you saying coming back is the feeling
you get after, like being on stage, you feel like it's exciting and not many of those opportunities
come where you get to like sing on stage or dance in front of people. So it is like a
good feeling. Especially at practice like you don't really talk to people but then like
practice like it brings you guys together and stuff.
Kevin Anh Nguyen. If you play sports like me and Dean. It's hard for us to go to practice.
Dean Cam Hoang: Yeah. So you kind of--you got to kind of make like time for it, like
we had to cut our practice short or we have to stay for a whole practice. And whoever
is teaching the dance we'll have to go to their house and have them teach us like at
our own time pretty much.
Kevin Anh Nguyen: So we make time on the weekend and stuff.
Connie Hoang: I think we work so hard because we want like a good show to. But we also knew
that here's like a lot of time and effort like on everyone on the show. And so it's
like because everyone there's so much like hard work that gets put into it, you don't
want to let anyone down even yourself.
Dean Cam Hoang: It's like you're all working towards making or towards working very much
for that show to make it like great. So you know all the hard work that you're putting
is going to pay off in the end.
Josephine Di: And also like at the show, is they make fund raiser, we raise up to like--last
year we raised like $2,000.
Philip Minh Vu: So we're trying to raise a lot of money to send the money to Vietnam,
to show that even the Vietnamese students in America can also help where we came from.
"Oh, say! can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed"
[Foreign Language]
Female Speaker: Sorry dad. I have--I've just been very busy this last day.
Male Speaker: With what? You should be concentrating on school only. No going out, no drinking,
no smoking, and no boyfriends until you marry.
Female Speaker: But I have something to tell you. What now Con? I have a boyfriend.
Male Speaker: What? No boyfriends until you're married. You break with him right now.
Female Speaker: But Pa. I know you like him a lot. He's so nice ad he's tall.
Male Speaker: Okay baby girl you bring him to dinner. And if me and my wife like him
then you can keep him.
Female Speaker: Oh I love you Pa. I know he won't let you guys down when I bring him tonight.
[Foreign Language]
Oh my pretty, pretty boy I need you. Oh ...
[Foreign Language]
Female Speaker: Yeah. Pretty good show. So it was really good.
Male Speaker: Good job. I think everyone worked really hard.
Female Speaker: Oh I love the fashion shows. I think I love their dresses, I love the--just
basically the presentations and of their skits and stuff. I think it's enjoyable.
Dean Cam Hoang: We got a lot closer you know. We had fun. Well in the practice we enjoyed
it. So we bonded close to each other we had fun.
Kevin Anh Nguyen: It's a good thing that we could bond like that and still being like
[indiscernible] [00:14:30]
Josephine Di: This is a way of reaching out to the older generation. And that we're not
a lost cost and that we're not totally Americanize. And we just like you to know that this is
our way of telling you that we are still Vietnamese and that you--the older generation has put
this really big footprint in our life, and we just like to express that. We are thankful
and that we are trying to reach out right now.