P.K.L.M.
I was seven years old when I moved from a refugee camp in Thailand to the United States. Growing up, I know that we were really poor. My parents have always told us that education is really important. School was really expensive, but instead of having us work a hard labor job, both of my parents, but my dad especially, worked really hard for us to go to school. I really appreciate that because most younger kids have to work with their parents.
The classrooms in our school were really open, and many grade levels were in one space. If the teacher called you up and you got the answer wrong, the teacher would hit you. We also wouldn't call teachers by their name because it was considered disrespectful. We would call them “teacher.” When I moved here, I would call them "teacher," and they didn't like that. I didn't understand, and I didn't want to be disrespectful, so I kept calling them "teacher," and eventually they got mad.
Back in Thailand, if adults were speaking face to face and you wanted to go between them, you would have to bow down so they could still see each others’ faces. When I came here, I kept doing it but no other kids were, and I thought they were being disrespectful, but it’s just not something people do here.
For fun, sometimes I played house with my friends, and we also played a game with a rope, but I can't remember what it's called in English. We also played rocks. Other than that, we didn't really do much, and there wasn't any technology.
I'm a foodie, so some of my favorite memories from Thailand revolve around food. I miss the street food. We celebrate Sweet December, where before Christmas, you make food and stay up really late to ring in the month of Christmas. When there were other special occasions, there was street food everywhere, and we got to eat yummy food, like meat. Another of my favorites is pho, which is like a noodle soup. Normally, we ate a lot of rice, and sometimes just rice alone. Since we were poor, meat was so expensive. Sometimes we had soup.
When we moved here, I didn’t know anybody, but my parents knew relatives who were here. My parents packed my bag, and it was mostly full of clothes. Toys were expensive, so we didn't bring any. My parents brought some photos.
I didn’t know any English before I moved here. The language was really hard and probably the hardest thing to get used to. I had an interpreter in my classes, but then one day he left. Thankfully, I had other Karen students in class with me who had been in the United States longer. During middle school was when I got comfortable speaking English. In elementary school, I got bullied because I didn’t know English. I could understand what the kids were saying, but I didn’t know the words to stand up for myself even though I wanted to. If I spoke and said something wrong, they would have just made fun of me again. Now, I translate for my parents a little bit. They know some English, but not a lot. I don’t mind translating, but sometimes I don’t know the Karen words for what I am trying to say, and then I get frustrated.
I try to keep my Karen identity by being involved in Karen Club and doing other things, but it's kind of hard when other Karen students don’t do that. There are some Karen students who don’t join the club or speak the language, so at school it is harder, but at home it is easy. I consider the United States home, but the refugee camp will always have a special place in my heart. I was born there, and I had some good experiences and fun times there, although it was really hard. I really appreciate the opportunities I have here - there are so many opportunities to take advantage of. If I was still living in Thailand, I wouldn’t have much of the stuff I do now. Still, I can’t forget my roots.
I kind of like telling my story because then more people will know about us. Not many people know about the Karen people. When I tell people that I am Karen, they say, “Oh, so you’re Korean?” and then I have to explain to them who the Karen people are. There is still a war - the world’s longest ongoing civil war - and people are running away from Burma. I see it all over social media, but people are not talking about it enough. I'm going to go back. I want to be a nurse practitioner and go back to the refugee camp in Thailand to help the people out.
The classrooms in our school were really open, and many grade levels were in one space. If the teacher called you up and you got the answer wrong, the teacher would hit you. We also wouldn't call teachers by their name because it was considered disrespectful. We would call them “teacher.” When I moved here, I would call them "teacher," and they didn't like that. I didn't understand, and I didn't want to be disrespectful, so I kept calling them "teacher," and eventually they got mad.
Back in Thailand, if adults were speaking face to face and you wanted to go between them, you would have to bow down so they could still see each others’ faces. When I came here, I kept doing it but no other kids were, and I thought they were being disrespectful, but it’s just not something people do here.
For fun, sometimes I played house with my friends, and we also played a game with a rope, but I can't remember what it's called in English. We also played rocks. Other than that, we didn't really do much, and there wasn't any technology.
I'm a foodie, so some of my favorite memories from Thailand revolve around food. I miss the street food. We celebrate Sweet December, where before Christmas, you make food and stay up really late to ring in the month of Christmas. When there were other special occasions, there was street food everywhere, and we got to eat yummy food, like meat. Another of my favorites is pho, which is like a noodle soup. Normally, we ate a lot of rice, and sometimes just rice alone. Since we were poor, meat was so expensive. Sometimes we had soup.
When we moved here, I didn’t know anybody, but my parents knew relatives who were here. My parents packed my bag, and it was mostly full of clothes. Toys were expensive, so we didn't bring any. My parents brought some photos.
I didn’t know any English before I moved here. The language was really hard and probably the hardest thing to get used to. I had an interpreter in my classes, but then one day he left. Thankfully, I had other Karen students in class with me who had been in the United States longer. During middle school was when I got comfortable speaking English. In elementary school, I got bullied because I didn’t know English. I could understand what the kids were saying, but I didn’t know the words to stand up for myself even though I wanted to. If I spoke and said something wrong, they would have just made fun of me again. Now, I translate for my parents a little bit. They know some English, but not a lot. I don’t mind translating, but sometimes I don’t know the Karen words for what I am trying to say, and then I get frustrated.
I try to keep my Karen identity by being involved in Karen Club and doing other things, but it's kind of hard when other Karen students don’t do that. There are some Karen students who don’t join the club or speak the language, so at school it is harder, but at home it is easy. I consider the United States home, but the refugee camp will always have a special place in my heart. I was born there, and I had some good experiences and fun times there, although it was really hard. I really appreciate the opportunities I have here - there are so many opportunities to take advantage of. If I was still living in Thailand, I wouldn’t have much of the stuff I do now. Still, I can’t forget my roots.
I kind of like telling my story because then more people will know about us. Not many people know about the Karen people. When I tell people that I am Karen, they say, “Oh, so you’re Korean?” and then I have to explain to them who the Karen people are. There is still a war - the world’s longest ongoing civil war - and people are running away from Burma. I see it all over social media, but people are not talking about it enough. I'm going to go back. I want to be a nurse practitioner and go back to the refugee camp in Thailand to help the people out.