February 2009 Archives

                On Monday February 23, the Honors class was privileged to have three Concordia Hmong students share their story.  Each of them had a unique experience to talk about and explain.  All of them we're born in a different country than the United States.  Some of them have vague memories of their time in the other countries but the some do not.  They talked about what their family life is like and how they are dealing with the two different cultures.  A discussion about Hmong culture in reference to marriage and other celebrations lasted a very long time.  Also we discussed the faults and successes with the movie Gran Torino.  The students had much to say and they kept you on the edge of your seat as they did it.

                This panel connects very well with the other panel we had earlier.  Although each set is from a different generation many things were very similar.  They both stated the same history that got them to the United States in general.  The account of the war was more detached from the students end but they still knew about it.  This also is connected to when we visited the Hmong Center.  The presentation there was connected to what they students had to say because the people of very close in age to one another.  When Paul Hillmer came in and talked to us about his book he also talked about the migration to the United States.  His account of history is very close to what the Hmong students told us at the panel.  Although Kalia Yang's book is much more descriptive than the stories the students had to share they are very similar.  Both sets of people remember the Refugee camps and how they were treated in Thailand.  Another common thread is that of the difficulty adjusting to American culture for the parents and therefore on the children as well.  It seems to be a commonality throughout Hmong people.

                To me this panel affected me more than any other experience, except when Kalia came in, I have had to write a blog on.  Hearing the story from someone who is around my age is so much more powerful.  The way they could talk about their experience and in a way relate to us.  Since they are our age they have lived in the same time as we have and we have a common living time.  This really helps for looking at Hmong culture and family life.  Mainly because we can compare what happened to our culture and family when the same events were going on.  The way they shared the history of their people hit me so much deeper and in a completely new way. 

                On February 18, 2009 Convocation for an art exhibit was held at Concordia University.  There, they were showing artwork by/about immigrant/refugee artists and people.  Along the walls there were photographs, embroideries, paintings, and sculptures made of wood.  There was so much to see and read that about the artists and the work they have done.  Then after we had had time to look around and examine the pieces there was a time for what artists were present to explain their work, where they came from, and why they chose to do what they did with whatever medium they had chosen.  The stories they told were of their childhood and where they and/or their family came from.  Each one of them had their own story to tell but they all had the same driving force of coming from another country and making their way in a brand new country. 

                The stories told by the artists are very much reflected in their work.  Most of them say that the pieces mean so much to them on a personal level that no one can really understand exactly what they are trying to tell everyone.  This is something we talked about last semester in the art portion.  Art is first and foremost for the creator of said product.  Also during this portion of class we talked about how art can be in almost any medium.  There were certainly many different types of art and the exhibit.  Also some of the stories we heard from the artists are very similar to the books we have been reading and the speakers we have been listening to.  People adjusting from their own culture to one they are very unfamiliar with.  Kalia Yang talks about this in The Latehomecomer.  Also Mary Pipher shares many stories of people having to assimilate into the American culture.  Mr. Yang and Ms. Thao also spoke about coming to America not really knowing what to expect.  But they as well had stories about how they grew into our culture and learned the ways it worked while still keeping their old selves in there also.

                I have always loved art in pretty much any form or medium.  I am a musician and a writer so my appreciation for art is not that difficult to know where it comes from.  Seeing this works of art has been amazing.  It has really inspired me to learn more about other cultures in the United States.  There is so much I don't know about people of other nations.  With going in to education I will have to deal with children from different countries more and more as this country moves on.  They will have other beliefs and traditions than me and I need to know of these to be able to teach to this kids.  It will also benefit me to know about their culture so I can explain certain aspects of American culture that may be confusing or seem wrong.  There is so much out there to know and so little ambition to learn it.  I want to be the one who goes out and actually understands other cultures instead of being ignorant of them.       

                Last Monday night we had a panel of two guest speakers talk to us.  They were Mr. Yang Long and Ms. Choua Thao.  Mr Long was a soldier in Laos who was an officer and fought with the Hmong warriors.  He told us what he saw and what he witnessed in Laos.  Some of the stories were unbelievable from my perspective.  I could never imagine fighting in the jungle just a few miles away from my family.  Then, having to worry about who to trust and who not to trust did not help up the situation.  He told us how he got to America and then earned his degree here and worked hard to make the money and be in the position he is today.  Ms Thao was a different story entirely.  She is a very strong person and survived because of her strong will and perseverance.  She talked about how she was a nurse in Laos and took care of the people when they were injured or sick.  She keep the soldiers off the nurses so they could do their job in the hospital she worked in.  Her journey to America was slightly different than Mr. Long.  She came here were lots of experience and got her degree.  She fought for everything she ever got.  She isn't someone who takes crap from anyone.  It is her way or the highway and she usually comes out on top.  She told us that we have to have a dream to live for, and advocate for ourselves and others underneath us because no one else will.

                Many of the history they told us about the war in Laos was exactly as Dr. Hillmer had described to us.  It was much more powerful to hear it from two people who had actually lived the event.  They have a totally different outlook on the war and life in general than when we visited the Hmong center.  They shared with us information that we will not hear anywhere else.  A unique experience that only they can retell with their own voice, that if it came from anyone else it would lose its sincerity and truth.  On the other end of the spectrum we have not had anything in our class time quite like this.  These were the actual people who lived through the war that no one knew about till it was too late.  They tear at your heart and beg you to listen and inhale all that they were saying.  We were hearing history that was not in any books and was the complete and God-honest truth. 

                It was an experience to never forget.  There was so much talked about an event that not much is known about.  There are no history courses out there that dig down deep into the war in Laos and the Hmong, at least not yet.  We have been given something that not many people are given.  Stories of survivors of a conflict that only they really know firsthand and will talk about.  They told us everything they could remember about their lives and not leaving too much out.  The struggles I have been through look like a walk in the park compared to what they have gone through.  From now on I will be thankful for what I have and the opportunities that are available to me and make the best use of them,              

On Friday the 6^th of February many of all the Honors students and myself attended the rush hour showing of Gran Tornio at the Rosedale Theater.  Seeing this movie was in order to complete the assignment I am not writing.   My feelings before seeing this movie are very different from those I took out with me.  I went into the movie believing I was going to see another Clint Eastwood movie with a cultural twist.  However what I actually saw was very different from any of my preconceived expectations.  This movie was so much more than just another film to add to Clint Eastwood's long list.  It is a film that should not only affect the people it portrays but every single one of us.  There is a lesson for everyone in that movie and a main idea and principle that it is trying to get across to us. 

So far in our studies in Honors this semester we have focused very much on the Hmong culture.  We read the book The Latehomcomer by Kao Kalia Yang.  That story is about the journey of a Hmong family from Laos and Thailand to America.  This movie shows on screen some of the troubles they had and many experiences that were probably very similar in both cases. Reading for me makes things more personal than movies in most cases. However seeing this film really touched me and made me think about what many issues.  Also we talked about where the Hmong came from and why they came to America.  In the movie they explain why the Hmong have come to America.  It was exactly on with what we learned in class.  America came into Laos to overthrow the government essentially.  This is most certainly the watered down version.  We armed and trained the Hmong to fight and win.  However we pulled out of the country and basically left the Hmong to fend for themselves.  After that the Laos government and Vietnamese troops came after them and killed many.  They fled to countries such as Thailand and then eventually to America and France and other countries around the world.  The movie verifies that the Hmong people no longer have a homeland where they are welcome.  That is why they have fled to all parts the world.

 Like I have alluded to in many portions of this blog entry I have been thoroughly changed by the watching of this film.  I came into this movie with the idea that it would just be another film that would go on my list ones that I liked.  However within the first half an hour or so I could tell that this was going to be something completely different than anything else I have ever seen.  To preface this I should say that the study of the Hmong culture and history has been one of the most interesting areas I have learned about yet.  There is so much there to find out and everything about it, to me, is so interesting.  Coming from a Christian faith I have not been introduced to many other religions and growing up in a primarily white community I have not been around many different cultures from my own.  Through our study of the Hmong people and watching this movie I have developed a love for the Hmong people and everything they believe.  I find myself wanting to know everything and anything about this noble people.  Also seeing Hmong people here at Concordia I look at them in a whole new way.  Instead of another person of Asian heritage I see someone who has come to this country and now no longer has a home to go back to. They are living in a place that they have just started to call a home away from home in the past thirty years.