Hoai Bui
Narratives
A marvel of modern engineering and design, V6 engine, front wheel drive, a sleek, black design with a silver trim. My mom’s Lexus RX350 has taken me everywhere. I can still remember the day she bought it. It was like Christmas. I was thrilled to be able to ride in an SUV and we went for a test run. She drove me all around Chanhassen. The car glided across the pavement like an Olympic figure skater on ice, accelerating and decelerating so smoothly, one could hardly feel anything. We drove by every neighborhood and every building in Chanhassen. I had so much fun in my mom’s car.
Whenever I need to go somewhere, nothing is nicer than the warm, black leather seats that recline and support my back like a bed. On cold winter …show more content…
There is no doubt about that. With this power, they could be used both positively and negatively. Throughout my life, I have been called a lot of words; ching, chink, gook. These words are used to discriminate against people of Asian descent, making fun of their ethnicity or how their eyes look. They used to trigger a negative emotional response in me, until one day as I was walking to class, one of my classmates called me a chink and a gook. To my surprise, I didn’t feel anything, nothing all. Perhaps it is saying something about our country, how racism and discrimination is so common that we tend to overlook it or perhaps it is saying something about me, how I am too passive and don’t stand up for myself. Whatever it was, I brushed it off. I figured Chanhassen High School is a predominantly white school so many of these kids don’t meet a lot of minorities and are probably just ignorant of racial issues. Then one day in English class, a fellow classmate of mine, who had just moved in from another state, whom I had never met before, asked me for something. Instead of addressing me by my name or asking me what it was, he simply called me “Asian” in a derogatory, condescending manner. This made me open my eyes to the fact that racial ignorance is not just an isolated, Chanhassen thing, it’s everywhere. I started to notice it everywhere, how people associate middle easterners with terrorism or how my parents talk about black people, thinking of them …show more content…
I was going on a trip to Vietnam and I thought it would be funny if I convinced him that I’m moving. “Why?!” He exclaimed.
“My green card is going to expire”. A few weeks later, many people started to question me about Vietnam. “I don’t want to talk about it”, I pretended. I didn’t expect everyone to believe me so easily. Apparently, word had spread like a wildfire and everyone thinks I’m getting deported. On my last day before I left, people gathered around me. Their faces blue as they said their goodbyes. I received hugs throughout the day. My phone buzzed with texts from random people saying goodbye. I checked my instagram to find a post saying, “I would like to say a kutschymama farewell to my favorite advisory buddy and Asian ever hoai bui. I wish you the best of luck back in Vietnam and you better tell me if you ever come back to America❤”. I was shocked. This was unreal. My face became green with guilt, but I thought it was hilarious as I played along. I soon forgot about it as I was having fun in Vietnam.
Going back to school after my trip, I recall every goodbye, reliving every moment. I stare at the door to my class for what felt like a million years. I finally mustered enough courage to lift my hand and I turn the
Narratives
A marvel of modern engineering and design, V6 engine, front wheel drive, a sleek, black design with a silver trim. My mom’s Lexus RX350 has taken me everywhere. I can still remember the day she bought it. It was like Christmas. I was thrilled to be able to ride in an SUV and we went for a test run. She drove me all around Chanhassen. The car glided across the pavement like an Olympic figure skater on ice, accelerating and decelerating so smoothly, one could hardly feel anything. We drove by every neighborhood and every building in Chanhassen. I had so much fun in my mom’s car.
Whenever I need to go somewhere, nothing is nicer than the warm, black leather seats that recline and support my back like a bed. On cold winter …show more content…
There is no doubt about that. With this power, they could be used both positively and negatively. Throughout my life, I have been called a lot of words; ching, chink, gook. These words are used to discriminate against people of Asian descent, making fun of their ethnicity or how their eyes look. They used to trigger a negative emotional response in me, until one day as I was walking to class, one of my classmates called me a chink and a gook. To my surprise, I didn’t feel anything, nothing all. Perhaps it is saying something about our country, how racism and discrimination is so common that we tend to overlook it or perhaps it is saying something about me, how I am too passive and don’t stand up for myself. Whatever it was, I brushed it off. I figured Chanhassen High School is a predominantly white school so many of these kids don’t meet a lot of minorities and are probably just ignorant of racial issues. Then one day in English class, a fellow classmate of mine, who had just moved in from another state, whom I had never met before, asked me for something. Instead of addressing me by my name or asking me what it was, he simply called me “Asian” in a derogatory, condescending manner. This made me open my eyes to the fact that racial ignorance is not just an isolated, Chanhassen thing, it’s everywhere. I started to notice it everywhere, how people associate middle easterners with terrorism or how my parents talk about black people, thinking of them …show more content…
I was going on a trip to Vietnam and I thought it would be funny if I convinced him that I’m moving. “Why?!” He exclaimed.
“My green card is going to expire”. A few weeks later, many people started to question me about Vietnam. “I don’t want to talk about it”, I pretended. I didn’t expect everyone to believe me so easily. Apparently, word had spread like a wildfire and everyone thinks I’m getting deported. On my last day before I left, people gathered around me. Their faces blue as they said their goodbyes. I received hugs throughout the day. My phone buzzed with texts from random people saying goodbye. I checked my instagram to find a post saying, “I would like to say a kutschymama farewell to my favorite advisory buddy and Asian ever hoai bui. I wish you the best of luck back in Vietnam and you better tell me if you ever come back to America❤”. I was shocked. This was unreal. My face became green with guilt, but I thought it was hilarious as I played along. I soon forgot about it as I was having fun in Vietnam.
Going back to school after my trip, I recall every goodbye, reliving every moment. I stare at the door to my class for what felt like a million years. I finally mustered enough courage to lift my hand and I turn the