DEPARTED FROM
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
ARRIVED IN
Seattle, Washington
YEAR
2010
AGE
14
NOW LIVES IN
Auburn, Washington
TRANSCRIPT
*Introduces herself in Vietnamese*
Tuyen Tran came to America in 2010, when she was 14.
“In my family, I was the only one who could handle the conversation in English and I was the youngest. For the part that you do the paperwork, where you just arrive at the airport, I couldn’t understand them. I was just like, “I need a Vietnamese translator.” And so they brought up a white man. And I was...I was frustrating. I was like, “I need a Vietnamese translator. Why would you bring up a white man?”
But suddenly, he spoke to me in Vietnamese. So I was so surprised and I went to him and I was like, “Um, I need help with all the paperwork because I don’t speak English very well.” And then he helped me with all of the paperwork and it was done. And then he told me not to worry about the English. I would get it in one click. And then give me some time, like three years, and I would master it.”
Tuyen Tran graduated from Auburn Riverside High School in 2014.
“I miss my family and my friends obviously. Yeah, especially when I look at the drawings that they give me.”
*Shows drawings*
“You see how nice it is? Well, this is the uniform that we wear whenever we go to school. And, yeah, this kind of like represents my school. And this is the drawing that my best friend give me.”
*Picture is displayed of Tuyen Tran and her best friend in Vietnam*
“Well, before I came here, I imagined America would be like so great and it would be super, super cold all the time and people would be like...cold to other people since its cold weather. People around here are really...are actually really nice and friendly. Well, that’s sort of changed my personality actually. I was introvert. I was an introvert person before I came here.”
