My birthday, my life.

It's my birthday so I decide to talk about myself today. ^_^ I just thought it would be nice for my kids to have an account of their mother's biography.

I was born on January 11, 1977 in a small country town in Viet Nam. It was 2 years after the end of the war and all of our properties were confiscated so my parents have no camera to take any picture of me. We were also too poor to hire someone to take pictures so I don't have any baby picture until I was 4 years old. That big stomach you see is actually full of worms. My parents were busy making a living that I was left to the care of my very young sisters. I picked up everything off the grounds to eat and as the result, I got worms. It's really disgusting and I am creeped out by worms, snakes, eels, or capterpillas to this day.

Here is a picture of my little sister in front of the house we grew up in. The house was made from palm leaves and bamboo beams. I remember whenever there is a strong wind or storm, my mom and all of us we will put a pole against the main beam of the house and all of us will lean on it so the house won't fall down. If you look at the pictures, you'll notice our "walls" are full of holes that stray dogs use to get into our home.

My aunt's favorite memory of me when I was young is when I walk into the house with a machete when I was 4 or 5 asking her if she wants some sugar cane in the backyard. I love to eat sugar canes and will always go to the backyard to chop them to eat. I remember breaking one of my tooth tearing apart a sugar cane.

Since we were so poor, my memory of the greatest toy was a drum my dad made for us using an empty aluminum can with frog skin wrapped across the top. Our toys are usually sticks, fruits, and rocks so this was such a treat.

The new Communist government keep harrassing my dad after the war because he was in Officer school before. They'll knock on our door at midnight and told me dad he has to go to the county office to report and we live in fear because they wouldn't release him for days. There are so many veterans that they imprisioned or killed so you just never know if that's the last time you'll see your love ones. They also pass laws that families and children of anyone affiliate with the old government are also not allow to work nor go to school. We have to watch everything that we say and my mom has to constantly keep a close ears to what the kids say in case we get into trouble. All the songs she taught us to sing before are not allowed. She would cover our mouth in fear when one of us follows old habits. My dad didn't see a future for our family nor his daughters in this new government so he decide to flee the country when I was 4.

He didn't tell my mom that he was leaving in case he doesn't make it. He told us he was going to go to the city to buy some parts for his bike shop. I remember he hugged me to say goodbye and his voice was shaking. I didn't understand why at the moment. He later told me that he had to drive by the house to get to a port and saw me playing in the front yard. He was overcame with emotion and almost give up his plan right then. As many other boat refugees, herisked his life in a tiny fishing boat that is made for lakes and not endure moths on the Pacific ocean. He described to us that the boat was like a leaf on a lake. He was on the boat for 3 months and finally got rescued by a big boat and they pulled them to the refugee camp in Guam. He is the few lucky ones.

After he settle at the refugee camp at Guam, my mom finally recieve a letter from my dad confessing what he did. Needless to say she was livid because she was 6 months pregnant with my sister and having to take care of kids ages 9, 6, and 4. My dad was the bread-winner so she was also scare of how we would survive. Being a frail woman who never had to work her life, she somehow managed to fed and clothed us. She sold virtually all she had and barter for the rest. She sold every single piece of jewelry she had, with the exception of her wedding ring. She hung on to that no matter how bad things got.

My dad finally got to the US 1 year later and worked 3 jobs to be able to support himself and send money back to us. I have to note here that my dad was only 27 when he came to the US. He has always loved school and his dream is to be a doctor. He majored in Biology but then the war started so that put a halt on his education. When he got to the US, the government offer him a scholarship to go to college and he could've be the doctor he always wanted. So many men jump at opportunity and abandon their family back home. I am very grateful my dad wasn't one of them.

While we wait for our paper work to go to America, my mom took us and try to escape by boat 7 times. One time my oldest sister and I were separate from my mom and other sisters with our uncles. We had to walk all night to meet up with them at the next city. I was about 6 or 7 so I get to ride on their shoulder most of the way. I looked down and see my poor oldest sister walking almost all night along side my uncles, sometimes having to run to keep up. I asked them to let me walk and let my sister ride on their shoulder instead. I guessed they felt bad for both of us so they piggy-back my sister for a little bit. My uncles must have been tired at dusk because we stopped by someone's cow house and slept. My mom and other sisters didn't have it any better. They slept at the bus parking lot waiting and hoping to see us the next morning. I can only imagine how worry and concern my poor mom must have been. It's not like we have a phone to call and let her know we are okay. We were caught once by the government for trying to escape the country and were in jail for 3 months. My youngest sister was about 2 then and had to be in jail with us also. It's really sad but that's life under communism. The next time you want to criticize the US government, you should live one day under another regime and see how it feels.

**There is too many things and stories I'd like to recount about my life so I'll stop here and post more later since this post is long already.**