From phiaxa@HERCULES.CS.UREGINA.CAMon May 22 22:18:07 1995 Date: Thu, 11 May 1995 19:38:27 -0600 From: SatJaDham To: laolit Newsgroups: soc.culture.laos Subject: IDENTITY??? Identity??? Long hair down to my shoulder, Ripped jeans and Motley Crue t-shirts Were my favourite outfits in junior high Yes those were the times that I want to fit in With the hip crowd or want to be different From those we called prepy people Those were my rebelion years against my aunt and uncle They would tell me to do one thing and I would do the another thing.... Back then I saw their thoughts and other elders' thoughts As very primitives or in Lao we would say BO LARN To me they were very stricted I reluctantly did the the things that was told to do There was not many Lao traditions that I follow I was too busy with my Canadian friends.... One day, sitting on the chair next to my grandfather's hospital bed He would tell me the stories about his youth and struggles Seemed that our elders have faced many obstacles to get here I learned a lot about our upbringings and survivals of hard times As I am growing older I found myself to follow his preaching of that if you do Good, you will receive Good.. and if you do Evil, you will receive Evil... I become more understanding of my guardians' situations I have made many Lao friends and follow many Lao traditions Not because I have to but because I enjoy the activities Now as I watch my little cousins going through the same path as I did I can see that they are making similar mistakes They have to question or find their identities... As I look one way, there is my 22 year old cousin Who has been living with his native Canadian girlfriend Since he was 19 years old... There are many quarrels in the family about his decision Most of our elders were against this, but lately he has introduced his girlfriend to many lao food and tradtions.. AS I look the other way, I can see my 12 year old cousin, Who was born in Canada, trying to read and write in Lao so that he can communicate with the other older Lao Growing in the modern countries sometimes can be confusing for Most of the children...We may have follow the western way of life But we must not forget our ancesters and roots and what made us today Amphon Guy Phiaxay Any comments are welcomed, please email to