 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
In 1980 at age 21, Tiffany and her two brothers and one sister escaped Vietnam by boat and landed in an Indonesian fishing camp. With the help of Lutheran Social Services, Tiffany and her siblings immigrated to Pelican Rapids, MN nine months later where they lived with a foster family and went to school. Tiffany learned to speak English and became a bilingual case manager at Lutheran Social Services. She traveled regularly to Minneapolis to buy Asian food products to feed her family and felt that Fargo could support a local market. When she couldn't get an SBA loan because she had no equity or collateral to secure the loan, the Minneapolis grocer where she shopped helped her get started. The Ha Asian, expanded to include My Viet restaurant, is a thriving family run business where Tiffany, her husband and her five children work. Q: Tell me how you happened to come to the United States and then to Fargo? Tiffany: Back in 1980, we escaped Vietnam by boat with my two brothers and one sister, and we landed in Indonesia by fishing camp. We stayed there for about nine months, and we came to United States. Because I escape Vietnam without parents, so we were placed in the care of foster parents home with Lutheran Social Services in unaccompanied minor program who left Vietnam without parents than so we have foster parents. Q: And how old were your siblings? Tiffany: My youngest sister, she was 10 years old when she left Vietnam, and my other brother so he about 13 years old; the other one like about 15 years old -- 15,13, and 10, and I was 21. Q: And then what did you do in your foster home? Tiffany: We just go to school, and we say at foster parent, we going to school and try to go for education. Q: You went to school too. Tiffany: Yes I went to school in Pelican Rapids also. My foster mother is a teacher at Pelican Rapids High School also. Q: And even though you were 21, you went to high school? Tiffany: In Minnesota, they allow you to go to school older than you know like 20 some years you can still go high school. Q: And was that helpful for you? Tiffany: It was helpful for English and then also other courses if we need to go for the school, especially the language barrier when we first came to United States. Q: How did you come to open up this store? Tiffany: The dream become a business, is always my dream when I was in Vietnam, I always want to be a business also too, and it just happened to be I want to bring that dream up to come true so I try it. Q: Did you want to have a restaurant? I mean was that the original dream was to have a restaurant or? Tiffany: Any kind of business. Any kind of business would be good because I love to be in business. It happened at first I opened a grocery because I get help from the friend. I said I would like to open a grocery, a Vietnamese grocery, oriental grocery. We used to go to from Fargo to Minneapolis to buy food for our family, and I thought well it would be nice to have one grocery over here so I start a business. Q: Tell me that story that you did about this Minneapolis people helping you. You mentioned about that they had given you too much, and you told them about it, and then they said well, if we could ever help you. 14:50 Q: So, was that how you were able to start or what was the process that you went through to start this business? Tiffany: When I work at Lutheran Social Services, I called SBA, Small Business Administration. They always help small business so I came to them, and I do the paperwork, but it doesn't work out because I don't have equity, I don't have any kind of _______________ for the loan so they don't loan it to me, and I just kind of go _________________ grocery. I asked them I would like to open a grocery if they could help me, and they start it, and they would tell me from the beginning what do we need to do, go out to the auction, buy some used equipment from that. They took me out to the auction and buy start, and then they ordered extra food. They let me bring the truckload of food, bring to put on my grocery. Q: So there's a grocery association, is that what it is? Tiffany: No, it's just the owner of the grocery who helped me in the beginning. I bought purchases from them. They start me with that. Q: I think you went to the Small Business Development Center too, right? Tiffany: Yes I did, but they didn't help me because I don't have equity, and I don't have some kind of back up for the loan if I borrow from there. Q: So you just did what you could, and put it together that way, just a little bit at a time or how were you able to _____________? 17:15 Q: Wow. That's quite nice of them. Tiffany: Yes. Q: And do you still deal with them much or go through them or... Tiffany: Right now I don't go through them much because I have a bigger company they offer me with easier loading and unloading with the truck. They don't have a loading and unloading every week like that so it's hard for them, and we still keep contact with each other but not purchase food from them because I need more food, and I need more trucking, loading and unloading truck, and they don't have help there. Q: What were you doing at Lutheran Social Services? Tiffany: Used to be a bilingual case manager working with Lutheran Social Services Unaccompanied Minor Program working with the children again. Q: Is that what you did right out of school then when you were done with high school? Tiffany: Yes. I went to different school also too, NDSU in Whapeton. I have some customer over there. Q: And how do you handle family and the business at the same time? Tiffany: Well, the children go to school during the day, and we begun a business. When they came home from school, we helped them with homework a little bit and then just kinda helping each other a little bit. Q: Do they just sort of hang out at the business as well? Tiffany: Sometime if they have lots of homework, they can come on out here and we help it. Sometime they can go to Grandpa house, like we call Grandpa ______ our foster parents, and the Grandpa can help. And sometime they come to my brother's, and you know my brother can help him. Q: What about your siblings, your brothers and sisters. Did you have responsibility for them? Did your parents say they're your responsibility now when you came to America? 21:08 Q: Were you told that as a kid to work hard? Did your family talk about that? Tiffany: We thought we work hard as a family. Our family work very hard. We always teach work hard, how to deal with people, and how to work hard to get better. To my parents, if you work hard now, later on you have a ___________ to go on. If you don't work hard later on, you'll be kind of lazy style so it'd be easier to work... that's why I try to train my kids now, work harder so you can have easier life later on. Q: Nice. How has life in America been for you? Tiffany: To me it's just wonderful. I have a chance to go to school back. After 1971, I can't... after 1975 I cannot go to school because of my family. I was working with the former government before, and with the help and with the family living condition, I had to help the family. Here I have all kind of chance -- go to school, help in the family later on, so I think it's better life in America. Q: Are there things here in North Dakota that's (tape drop out) appreciate? Are there things that you like about North Dakota? Tiffany: Snow is one thing that's weird to us. I never know snow before when I was in Vietnam so I think that sometime over here we complain about snow. But to some other people, snow might be beautiful if you don't have seen it before. ______________ storm is not very good, but I think that sometime we do need to appreciate the snow. Q: When you arrived, was it wintertime? 24:40 Q: Have people treated you and your family well? Tiffany: I think so. To us it seem like if we are nice to people, people are nice to us. You cocky to people, people cocky back to you. To me, that how I feel you know. If you treat them nice, no matter to me what nationality you are. If you be nice to them, you talk to them, you friendly with them, they will feed back to you. Q: Do you try to keep your culture alive with your family and teach your children about where you came from? Tiffany: Yes, yes, we always keep that and we still keep them bilingual. We talk to them in Vietnamese and try to keep that open with them. Q: Yeah. Are there traditions that you have at home that are Vietnamese? Tiffany: Every time when the children before they go to school, they have to say Dear Mom, Dad, Uncle, Brother, and Sister, I'm going to school. And then when they came home from school, they have to Dear again that I got back from school. Every time when they go someplace, Dear I have to go this, I have to go there. They have to respect and pay attention to say that. Q: So respecting elders is very important to the culture? Okay. Umm, do you think about how they're changed by or how they're different here in America, how that affects them. The culture here, does that concern you that it's not quite like home? It's you know television and music is very, perhaps different? Tiffany: Yes, they're different because of game of TV, but for me and my family, I think if my kid doing very well in school, they do have the privilege to watch TV or to play game. If they are not good at it, we will take that away. Q: You don't think it's a negative influence on their lives necessarily? Tiffany: I think... this is my own family. I think to me is that I'm lucky I have my children who listen and obey to us and respect us so that's what I can say for my own family only. I don't know about other people. They might have different idea and different thinking in their own family. It's different also too. I don't know. Q: Would you have any advice for people who have just come here and just moved into this area who are new immigrants? 27:38 Q: Okay. Is there anything that you would want to say to people who are native to this area, to the Fargoans or North Dakotans about new people coming in there? Is there anything that you would like them to do or... do you understand what I'm saying? Tiffany: I think in North Dakota, as far as I know around here and some other area like in Bismarck where of course they do have Lutheran Social Services helping with a lot of immigrant, and I think North Dakota very peaceful place. The people around here are generous and nice and helping each other, especially with immigrant. There are some who will be a little bit, have it difficult with other, but they will try to cooperate with it. They try to work with it. They try to make it happen but some of it we cannot control that. If just depend on the situation. But the majority of people are very nice and help with each other, open their heart, open their door. |
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
