The Things You Would tell Me

My project is inspired by a Vietnamese-English phrasebook that my father received while in a refugee camp. The phrasebook, formatted as basic dialogues between two people in conversation, was developed with the goal of helping Vietnamese refugees bridge the language and cultural barriers upon arriving to the US, Canada and Australia. 

I remember when I was around 10 years old, I came across this phrasebook buried deep in a small drawer within my parent’s room. It was a pivotal moment of discovery for me because as I flipped through the aged pages of this artifact, my parent’s past suddenly became more real. I never saw pictures of my dad at his refugee camp, and this little book was the only piece of evidence that he owned of this time. It was because of this book that my interest and curiosity in my parent’s past was sparked. 

Often, I feel very distanced from my parents and their perspectives. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to better understand where they are coming from, based on the circumstances they have faced. Like the original phrasebook, the intention of “The Things You Would Tell Me” is to somehow bridge a gap-except this time, this gap is between my immigrant parents and I. It is formatted in the same way as the original phrasebook, but instead, is a collection of conversations that I have had with my mother and father pertaining to different themes (units) such as love and expression. The original phrasebook also included cassette tapes that had people reading the dialogues. It was meant to aid in listening comprehension. In order to create the same experience, my piece also has an audio component which allows the viewer to listen to the text.

Although I may never truly agree with all of my parent’s actions, this project is my attempt to at the very least, understand why my parents say the things they say, and act the way they do.