Seventeen and on his own in America

An Võ, 17, from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

Photo and story by Abigail Vidals.

It’s not everyday a teenager gets to live outside his home country. An Võ, a Vietnam native, had been familiar with the English language since age 5. His mother wanted to send him out into the world.

At 16 years of age, Võ was sent to study abroad in America. Now 17, he studies at Peninsula College, working toward an Associate in Arts Honors degree, and completing high school at the same time.

Though he came all the way from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, Võ said he felt no culture shock whatsoever. It wasn’t really that different than the life he lived in Vietnam. He said in America there’s less traffic, and more environmentally friendly air.

His culture shock came from his three Malaysian roommates, who are also PC students. Before they moved in together, he was told about their Muslim faith. Their prayer sessions were new to him.

Keeping his roommates’ faith in mind, he takes steps to be respectful of them, like not eating pork in their common area.

He said their culture was similar to his own in many ways, and their lifestyles were practically the same: hang out with friends, go home, watch t.v., play games, and junk out, the typical college student life.

The group of roommates even found similarities through American pop culture. Võ stated “They watch the same thing that we, the vietnamese do…like the series of ‘How I Met Your Mother’. I didn’t know that they also watch that.”

Both cultures eat curry, but they differ on flavor.

“[Hazim] cooks a lot of curry: red kind, orange kind, and even white, it’s fascinating. Until now I’ve experienced curries..they (Malaysia) have a lot of different kinds of curry, in Vietnam we only have one type of curry which is chicken curry.”

The roommates share meals. Hazim usually takes charge of dinner. “He’s kind of like the chef of the house,” Võ said.

They’ve all been living together for about 9 months now, and so far he has enjoyed the experience overall.

The only thing in America he truly has difficulty understanding is pop culture. He has noticed how Americans love their cartoons, such as “Spongebob” and “The Simpsons.”

“Usually in Vietnam children are the ones to watch cartoons, not the adults. I just don’t understand that about American culture.”

Võ likes to participate in school activities, like this year’s PUB Global, scheduled for March 1. It will be held in the Pirate Union Building PUB on campus, from 1:30p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Though he’s happy to take a break from the big city. He eventually would like to go back to Saigon, where his family is. For now, Võ has his eyes set on continuing his studies in America. After graduation, he wants to go to a university, preferably somewhere on the East Coast.