Pham's Definition of Home

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There once was a man named Andrew X. Pham, who traveled around beautiful land of Vietnam. He traveled on bicycle, from the United States to his homeland, in order to discover himself. He traveled far and wide across this beautiful country, meeting new people, discovering new ways of life, and doing things he never thought he would experience. It all started after his wonderful sister Chi committed suicide. He realized everything that he was doing was wrong, and wanted to go spend time with his family in Vietnam. He travels around with his “uncles” looking for crazy and wild adventures. He quickly learns that Vietnam has nothing to offer that America didn't, and realizes that this type of lifestyle isn't really for him. He sees extreme poverty, struggle and sadness, and still people are welcoming and open-armed. Home, to most people, is where they sleep, eat, live. However, Pham discovers this isn't where his home is. He discovers that home is wherever you feel accepted and surrounded by people that love you. Pham's mother comes from the old world where culture and family are what make a home special. She “comes from the old world, where mothers are lifelong housewives who expect to be near their children all their lives”(27). To Pham, this is a strange ideal to live by. In America, the common trend is to move out at 18, and then ship your family off to a retirement community. However, his mother feels this is a cruel way to treat your parents, and it's a strange way to live (27). She just wants to spend her life surrounded by the people she loves, but because she's living in the United States, she has to get used to the ideals that are less family eccentric. She is the type of women “who takes pleasure nickeling the grocers for bargains, deals for the family”(27). She's a very simple woman who doesn't need much to make her happy. What makes her happy is being

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