Jaycee Marriott
Professor Brian Benington
Marriott 1
Dance 1010
16 October 2011
Of the many different cultures in this world I found one that really caught my attention.
This was the Vietnamese culture, the reason this one caught my eye was because it is so different from my own culture. I ended up picking a good friend Jimmy, because his family is so centered around the Vietnamese Culture. For the interview process we met two different times for an hour each. It was intriguing to listen to his life story. It wasn’t until this interview that I realized two people living in the same place could be treated so differently. As you read on you can learn more about the family life, food, dress, and celebrations of the Vietnamese Culture.
Today there are many Vietnamese- Americans living in the United States. Jimmy and his family are among the many living here. Jimmy was born on January, 26 th
1982 in Murray, Utah.
He is the oldest of his three sisters who are 27, 21, and 19. Jimmy’s parents emigrated here from
Vietnam when his mother was 21, and father was 23. In the Vietnamese culture they are very family oriented, strict, and well mannered. Although his parents have used many of the traditional ways to raise him and his sisters they have still been somewhat influenced by
American Culture. When they migrated here they had to get more education, learn English, and adjust to the different technologies. However they still taught their children Vietnamese, and cook traditional Vietnamese food.

His family is not only made up from everyone in the immediate family but, also includes all the cousins, aunts, and uncles. Every time they have a get together it is all of the extended
2 family as well. Family to jimmy is a tightknit group that will always be there for one another, and stand up for each other whenever they need help. The family also calls each other first thing in an emergency. For example when someone’s car breaks down they know they can count on each other. The family has all managed to stay very close even with everyone living on their own. They made a pact to still see one another once a week even If it is only for a few minutes.
When they gather together they like to eat traditional Vietnamese food, while talking and catching up with the family. Each family member has something expected of them. Jimmy, being the oldest, is expected to watch out for his little sisters and set a good example for them. All of the children are expected to go to school while their parents support them. His mother is expected to cook, clean, and take care of the children. While his father is expected to provide for the family, fix things around the house, and mow the lawn.
Not only is family important in the Vietnamese culture but so is the life cycle they go through. There was many things expected of Jimmy growing up some of them include learning to speak both English and Vietnamese. He was expected to go to school through high school take
AP classes and get a really great GPA. Once graduated from high school, Jimmy was expected to go through college, and receive either a bachelor’s degree or higher. After college he is expected to find a successful high paying job. Once established they hope he will get married and give his parents grandkids. The most valued stage of life is after graduating college because that when all the hard works pays off and everyone is really proud of you. In the end his parents just want him to live his life, be successful, keep the family together, and be happy.

When Jimmy and his family are at home they speak mainly Vietnamese. Sometimes they tend to mix both English and Vietnamese together since they are so used to speaking both languages. In his culture when you greet someone you bow and say “chao,” as a sign of respect.
They are expected to keep eye contact so that the speaker knows they are listening. When
3 interacting with one another children cannot stand too close to adults because it can be a sign of disrespect.
The Vietnamese traditional food is made up of a lot of rice, noodles, seafood, and vegetables. They like to eat noodles prepared in many different ways. One of his favorites is rice with various meats on the top. His family eats lots of seafood because Vietnam is very close to the coast line so fisherman can access it very easily. A very popular food among the Vietnamese is “pho” pronounced “fuh.” It is a soup with rice noodles; the broth contains any desired meat, with some type of mint leaf in the dish. In his culture the women prepare the food, while the children serve it. They eat in order of oldest to youngest leaving the children last. His family eats with chopsticks never picking any food up with their hands. His family stays small; because they eat many vegetables, rarely will you see them eating fatty foods.
Holidays and celebrations are big in Jimmy’s culture! They celebrate Vietnamese New
Year in February. This holiday is called “tet,” Changing every year depending on the when the lunar calendar falls. Ever year they celebrate an animal: anything from the pig, monkey, dog, cat, rooster, horse, snake, and other various animals. His family makes special pastries called moon cakes. The children have to say “chup mung nam muoi,” meaning “happy new year,” in order to receive their red envelope filled with money. The hat and fan dance are a part of the celebration.
It is special because they only get to celebrate tet once a year.

4
Dance is a big part of the Vietnamese culture. The dancers are mainly made up of women and children. Some of the dances include the fan dance, hat dance, lotus dance, lantern dance, dragon dance, incense dance. Their dancing really emphasizes usage of props. All the women in the dance use synchronized movements. These dances usually show the tasks accomplished in daily life. When performing the dance the women like to use the entire stage. Some of the music can be either instrumental or performed with lyrics, just depending on which prop they are using.
The costumes used in the dances are called a, “aodai” Which is a traditional Vietnamese dress.
Children are able to perform in any dance because they are all considered appropriate.
Life in the United States was a little more difficult for Jimmy growing up not being in the privileged group. When he was younger and his parents would come with him to parent teacher conference, he would get made fun of. The other kids would say, “Your parents can’t speak
English or you don’t belong here.” It was hard for him because the other children would treat him differently. Caucasian people tend to stereotype Asians thinking that they are all smart, good at math, intelligent with cars, or just good with technology. However there have also been good privileges that came out of being Vietnamese. Jimmy got the ethnic scholarship to the University of Utah. Not all things work against him because he is not part of the privileged group in Utah; some things have worked in his favor as well.
After learning more about the Vietnamese culture, it helped me to respect it more. I really enjoyed how much the older generation stressed being respectful. It was interesting to hear how differently Jimmy was treated just because of his race. I wasn’t aware that people could be so judgmental toward one another. It surprised me that his family used dance to celebrate so many different things. A fun new fact I learned was the celebration of the Vietnamese New Year, I had no idea that the children received money from it. Hopefully you have been able to learn more

about the family life, food, dress, and celebrations of the Vietnamese Culture. Opening up your
5 mind can help you learn so many intriguing facts about a culture.