The dinner table in our house has gotten smaller and smaller over the years. It had started with my mother, father, all three brothers, and my grandmother to just my parents and me. I visited the chairs on the side we never sit on at that table and it's getting a little dusty. I miss those days.
Just to think how it would be in Viet Nam where family is center of people's lives compared to the individualistic mindset we are grown up to have and adopt here, it's mind-boggling. Sometimes I wish I had a more cohesive family. Compared to my other Southeast Asian friends' families, my family, from what I know, is only limited to my immediate family to a few families on my mother's side. In spite of everything, I am really grateful for the family I have.
Other than the dinner table and the car, there isn't much dialog between my parents and me. I'm learning more and more about my family than ever before. Ever since I got back from Berkeley and recently, SASC, I've grown more conscious of my family with many of the things I've learned in the back of mind every time I'm with them. Too bad I cannot communicate with my parents that well like I used to although there is much more dialog than before. At least the ambition and connection is there which was not there before.
It's unfortunate that it's almost like a "give and take" relationship while I'm away in college. I've lost so much of my Vietnamese due to being away from my family for so long. While I've been losing my "native tongue," I've also gotten to learn so much myself in my first year. I wish I was still back at Van Lang (the Vietnamese Sunday School and also the old name for Viet Nam). I miss that too.
First blog post. I'm trying to get used to this.
No comments:
Post a Comment