My mother’s Vietnamese name is
Trinh, which means snow. My mom was born in South Vietnam and her religion is
Buddhism. When my mom was young, she loved going to school and she worked hard
to get a good education. She had to wash dishes in a restaurant to pay
her tuition when she was only thirteen. Her mother was too poor to pay for
school because her father was fighting in the Vietnam War. Then, he was injured
and lost his leg so he could not work.
When my mom finished school in
Vietnam, she wanted to study Cantonese and went to live in Singapore with a
friend. After my mom finished school she got married and I was born in
Singapore.
When I was eleven I went to Vietnam
with my mom and Willy. We went there because my grandfather was very sick and
dying. After a few days he died. Then, in Vietnam, my mom told me the story of
my dad. I never knew it. I had always believed that my stepfather was my
natural father. That was a shocking day for me.
My dad died when I only two and that
is why I don’t remember him. My mom said that she was very sad and so was I.
When I was about four, my mom married again to the man I believed was my
natural father. She wanted me to love him and so decided not to tell me until I
was older.
So, my natural father was Ho Long
Xin. He was born in Singapore and met my mom at school. They were married
and had me in 2001. I would have grown up in Singapore if my dad had
lived. When he died, we went to America and that is how I ended up here
in Chicago.
