I am proud to be Hmong even though we have no country of our own, but we have a strong culture. We are able to maintain the culture and pass on to generations to generations. Hmong people live around the world. Each country has their own rules and laws. Hmong people are able to adopt the new culture and the societies in the country that they live. I hear stories about Hmong and study about Hmong history. Personally, I think that a person should know where their ancestors are from. I feel privileged that I know Hmong once has a kingdom of their own in China, but because of the world is changing, everything has to change, too.
Before coming to the Thailand I thought I know a lot of things about Hmong people. I felt ready and excited, but I was wrong. I assumed things too soon and still kept my thought of ten years ago. I forgot that the world is changing. Life will never be the same. I recalled the first time visiting the Hmong village. I was amazed to see Hmong Thai in the mountain. They still maintain their life style, but they adopted their way of living such as farming by using the royal project. I thought that this is a really smart way to continue living. I never knew anything about it. I felt lost, but somehow I was happy to see that Hmong people are able to live their life no matter where they are.
I have learned that I still have a lot to learn. I might know one thing, but doesn’t mean that I know a lot. Coming to Thailand, I have open my mind to learn more about what is really changing to Hmong people in other countries and in the U.S. I no longer want to keep those memories. I should have realize a long time that I shouldn’t stick with only one thought. Experience life with your own eyes would defiantly change your mind.
Yer, It is moving to read your perceptions while remembering you in these moments, experiencing them. I think this trip will help the Hmong students understand even more why their relatives want them to stay with the Hmong traditions, but also help them feel better about changing, as though two things are constants in the evolving nature of Hmong people.
I could see throughout our time in Thailand how your intense questioning of Kru Tee, the Hmong village leaders, and the Hmong gentlemen who came to the Mekong School was so important to your ability to make sense of your Hmong identify. As you continue to think about these experiences and re-enter life back home, you will shape an identify that will be uniquely yours, informed by others of course and changing, but always your own. You are an amazing young woman; I greatly appreciate the one and only "Yer"!