Where do we belong?

I met a little Vietnamese girl at a birthday party the other day. She was adopted in Vietnam at about 10 months old. I am very happy that she was adopted, as life for the poor in Vietnam can be difficult to say the least. I am also sad for the little girl. Being a nice 50/50 blend of Asian and American, I have had a different upbringing than most of my friends. Looking back at my life I feel that I was never really totally comfortable in the company of either Americans or Asians. My name is Tuan, and I am expected to be more Asian than I am by both sides of my heritage. People seem to be wholly unimpressed and somewhat in disbelief when they learn that I don't speak "my native language" whether they can speak it or not. More than one conversation has gone as follows: "Do you speak Vietnamese?" (my reply)"No." "Why not?" (my reply)"Why don't you speak it?" "Cause I am not Vietnamese." (my reply)"Neither am I, my father is." That said, I don't really consider myself Asian, but I definitely don't consider myself Caucasian. So it has been hard at times, especially in my early teen years. I wonder how that little girl will adjust, as she is 100% Asian, but will have 0% Vietnamese influence in her life. I guess that I am kind of assuming things about her parents, but even if they do a far better job at blending their heritage with hers than I think they will, she will probably still feel out of place in both situations (maybe more so than I). I mean I totally agree that that little girl is better off in the situation that she is in. I also feel strongly that her parents love her and will do their best to give her every opportunity to learn of her heritage, but she'll probably struggle with the way she looks vs the way she feels for her whole life and that is what makes me a little sad. "Dragon The Bruce Lee Story" is probably the best movie that I have seen that describes this identity struggle. There is a scene where Bruce's wife is talking to her mother about dating an Asian and the awkwardness of having "yellow babies". So see the movie and know that there is another perspective that is rarely portrayed or represented..........that of the child. Obviously I am all for interracial marriages and mixed race children, I just want to put it out that not everyone is comfortable with who they are, or where they are from so just accept us for what we are.........





My name is Tuan D Nguyen.


I am from Casco Maine.


I eat a lot of rice and a lot of red hot dogs.


I am good at math and I speak english as a first (and only) language.


I was raised in a Protestant/Catholic/Buddist home.


My name is Tuan D Nguyen and I am just like you.