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Tommy Ngo

Professor Cole

English Comp II

04 February 2020

Literacy Narrative: Topic Choice

1.

Over winter break, I had the option of visiting my motherland or to stay in America and

live life as I always do. My current life consisted of school, work, play, and more work. Nothing

too out of the ordinary. I felt like I was always working… working my youth away, so I decided

to take a month off and go to Vietnam with my parents. Upon arrival, everyone asked my

parents, ignoring the fact that I was standing right there in front of them, “does he speak

Vietnamese?” Being born in the United States and being raised there has made me an outsider.

In the states, I was always identified as Vietnamese-American, but in Vietnam, I was just

American.

After my second day there, I refused to speak Vietnamese completely, even though I

was fluent. All questions regarding me were always directed towards my parents or aunts and

uncles. If this was how they were going to play it, so be it. When I was rarely asked a question, I

understood it but turned towards my parents like I didn’t. I began to hate being in my parents’

motherland. I hated the Vietnamese language. If they were going to treat me like an outsider, I

would begin to act like one.

As I left Vietnam for Korea, I knew I would miss my parents because they stayed behind.

Korea was a last-minute trip. I was immensely bored after two weeks in Vietnam, so I booked a
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plane ticket to Korea for five days out of my month-long trip. I had to beg my parents to let me

go because I would be staying at my friend’s house in an entirely different country. They knew

my friend, but they still thought it would be dangerous. I spent five days there and realized that

having the ability to speak a second language was extraordinary. I relooked at it from my

Vietnamese family’s perspective and flew back to Vietnam for the rest of my trip.

2.

While experiencing these events I learned to hate my native tongue. I grew up speaking

it every day at home, but once in the country, I grew tired of it. I’ve been to Vietnam prior to

this trip, but it had been seven years since I last went. While traveling around the world during

my winter break, I realized that I had a special talent. I grew to love my culture and language

more than I ever thought I could.

I wouldn’t have learned this without my Korean friend who gave me a tour around his

city, showing his love of where he came from. While in Korea, he was a completely different

person, always smiling and cheerful. Very unlike his normal attitude in America. I arrived in

Vietnam with a closed mind, expecting everything to be the same when I was 12. Times had

changed and so had I, so I had to adapt to everything. This is that story. The story of how I grew

to love my Vietnamese language through my relationships with my friends and family.