Sorry, been busy with work and life. But I'm nostalgic again and thinking of my parents so here's another photo from Vietnam. It is from my parents' wedding day. My mom is sort of in the center of the photo with the white flowers in her hair. The procession is marching over to where my dad was I believe. :) I LOVE looking at their wedding pictures. Everyone was so elegant. I'll see if I can find one of them both after the ceremony. You can visit La China if you want to see a shot of them in their early 20s.
When I look at them back then, it's like they are strangers. Like you're looking into an entirely different time and world. For example, when we came over here to the States, they were in their late 30s. And they had seven kids to care for in a foreign country. Can you imagine what that must have been like for them? I couldn't until I was much older and I have tried to let them know how much I admire what they did and how well we all ended up considering my dad was the only one who spoke English.
What would I have done? Would I have been brave (or crazy) enough to leave my country? Would I have been able to feed nine mouths and clothe us all? Would I have been able to make family vacation happen every summer on a meter-reader salary (and I'm talking driving us all from NC to CA or NC to Canada!)?
I love seeing your photos and learning about your 'story,' Thien. Your blog is one of the Very Best!
ReplyDeletehope
You're right, it is like "another world"... so foreign to our spoiled minds, huh?
ReplyDeleteVery cool old pics. Thanks for sharing!
I don't think I could've been so brave.
I can't imagine what seven kids would be like, let alone in a strange and foreign country!
ReplyDeleteThey can't have too bad though, bee killing daughter aside. ;)
The wedding looks like a big deal.
Several years ago, one of my students gave a speech about her grandfather's trip from Vietnam. She interviewed him and then presented it to the class. Her 6 minute speech turned in a 25 minute speech....we were all mesmorized as she told the story of his adventure. Several weeks after her speech, her grandfather died. She was soooo glad that she had sat down to talk to him before he died. His story was amazing. Cool pics!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this T,
ReplyDeleteI'd get nostalgic too if I were you,
xxx
I admire your parents (and mine too.)
strong determined people!
Thank you, everyone. Except Kris that is. ;)
ReplyDeleteSomeone asked me when this took place and I can place it as close as between 1955 and 1957.