http://www.tesol.org/NewsletterSite/view.asp?nid=3162

A Profound Change

By Kim Le

Submitted by Marsha Chan

When I was 19 years old, my family immigrated to the US as refugees from war torn Viet Nam. Since then, I have changed tremendously, both physically and emotionally. The most profound change for me is my effort to treat people without prejudice and instead judge them for who they are, not what they own or how they look.

When I was six years old, my parents were so poor that they could not afford to raise me, so they sent me to live with my wealthy uncle's family. In return for my room and board, I had to work and was treated as one of their dozen servants. I felt sad, inferior and unprivileged. There was an unwritten rule that having wealth or being born in the right family equated with power, dignity and respect. Other qualities were overshadowed by material possessions. After ten years of hard work, my parents became wealthy, retrieved me, and in turn hired servants to serve us. I remember one young girl my age was sent by her parents to work for my family. We treated her just as my uncle's family had treated me before that. Our innate prejudice drove us to do so even though I had been in her position ten years back.

Twelve years after Viet Nam fell in 1975, my parents fled the country, losing everything they had worked for all their lives. Life had come full circle for us: from poverty to prosperity and again to poverty. Recognizing that our skin color was different, we were destitute and we did not speak much English; our family fully anticipated and expected to be discriminated against. The first American family we came to know were our sponsors, the Warhursts, whom we lived with our first seven months in the U.S. Much to our astonishment and pleasant surprise, this family treated us as equals even though we depended on them for everything, from food to shelter to clothes. They truly judged us by our character and treated us with dignity, compassion and kindness. By doing so, the Warhursts helped us build confidence and belief in ourselves. We thrived despite the obstacles because they gave us their best and brought the best out of us. I began to realize how positive it felt to be treated for whom I was, not what I had. Since then, I diligently treat people the way the Warhursts treated us.

It has not always been easy to avoid prejudging people but I strive to make conscious decisions to evaluate people by their character, integrity, and moral compass, not by a superficial faÁade. I teach my children to live by this principle. The American people have opened my eyes. I am proud to say that I like this change in me, and I believe I am a better person for it.

Author: Kim Le

Email: kim@networkconnections.net

Kim Le is a student in class Advanced Grammar Review and Editing at Mission College in Santa Clara, CA.

Teacher: Marsha Chan

Mission College: 3000 Mission College Blvd Santa Clara, CA 95054-1897

Email: marsha_chan@wvmccd.cc.ca.us

Marsha Chan is a professor at Mission College in Santa Clara, California. Professor Chan, an author of several ESL textbooks that address speaking and pronunciation, is also noted for excellence in teaching and for her use of technology to engage the student in the process of learning.

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