Interview with Tien Nguyen
IntervieweeInterview with
Tien Nguyen
Vietnamese
InterviewerInterviewed by
Lana Phan
Date11 October 2024
Mediumborn digital audio file
DimensionsDuration: 30 Minutes, 23 Seconds
ClassificationsInformation Artifacts
Credit LineCommunity History Project Collection
DescriptionAudio file of interview with Tien Nguyen. She was interviewed by Lana Phan on 11 October 2024 in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.
Tien Nguyen was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's Community History Project discussing moments of change in her life.
Tien Nguyen recalls that the biggest change in her life was immigrating from Vietnam to the United States in 1993. She was 20 years old at the time. Tien explains how she “thought it was a dream” when she received the opportunity to come to the U.S. She briefly describes how life was tough in Vietnam. She and her family came over to the U.S. through President Ronald Reagan’s refugee program.
Once she and her family arrived in the United States, they had to “[s]tart on over with a bare hand.” For her, the most difficult aspect to adapt to in the United States was the language. She describes her other experiences learning English later in the interview.
Tien considers herself a successful and independent woman because of her life in the U.S., with a son in college and parents in good health. She describes the differences between being a woman in Vietnam and being a woman in the United States. Tien further discusses her other hardships living in Vietnam, such as her family not always having enough money or food. She has learned that it is important to work hard and have a good work ethic.
She describes the differences between school in Vietnam and school in the United States. She describes that when she lived in Vietnam, “nobody [had] any other time to help people,” because everyone lived in fear due to the suppression from Vietnam’s Communist government. Her hard life in Vietnam and the opportunities offered to her in the United States motivated her to do well in the U.S. Tien is proud of her life in the United States. For her, she and her family “got the dream come true.”
The following additional notes were provided by Lana Phan.
The Vietnam War was between 1954-1975. Thus, Tien immigrated from Vietnam to the United States after the Vietnam War ended.
Tien immigrated from Vietnam to the United State with her father, mother, and two sisters. (This was not explicitly stated in the interview.)
1:35-1:48: After the Vietnam War ended, North Vietnam’s Communist government imprisoned military officers and soldiers who fought for South Vietnam during the Vietnam war.
2:12: In a Communist society, property and businesses are not privately owned. This is the reason that Tien’s family’s property was confiscated after the Vietnam war ended.
2:53-2:54: When Tien states, “red party kid,” she refers to the children whose parents were loyal to Vietnam’s Communist government.
13:54: Warren Buffet is an American businessman, who is one of the most successful investors of all time. He currently serves as chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
17:58-18:00: Between the 1800s to 1954, France controlled Vietnam. Back then, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia were considered one French colony collectively known as Indochine Francais or French Indochina.
18:39-18:56: Tien is describing how during her time in Vietnam, all students in the same grade level were required to study the same 12 subjects. In order to move on to the next grade level, each student had to pass all 12 subjects. If a student failed one subject, instead of repeating only the subject, the student had to remain in the same grade level the following year and pass all 12 subjects again for that grade level.
Tien Nguyen was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's Community History Project discussing moments of change in her life.
Tien Nguyen recalls that the biggest change in her life was immigrating from Vietnam to the United States in 1993. She was 20 years old at the time. Tien explains how she “thought it was a dream” when she received the opportunity to come to the U.S. She briefly describes how life was tough in Vietnam. She and her family came over to the U.S. through President Ronald Reagan’s refugee program.
Once she and her family arrived in the United States, they had to “[s]tart on over with a bare hand.” For her, the most difficult aspect to adapt to in the United States was the language. She describes her other experiences learning English later in the interview.
Tien considers herself a successful and independent woman because of her life in the U.S., with a son in college and parents in good health. She describes the differences between being a woman in Vietnam and being a woman in the United States. Tien further discusses her other hardships living in Vietnam, such as her family not always having enough money or food. She has learned that it is important to work hard and have a good work ethic.
She describes the differences between school in Vietnam and school in the United States. She describes that when she lived in Vietnam, “nobody [had] any other time to help people,” because everyone lived in fear due to the suppression from Vietnam’s Communist government. Her hard life in Vietnam and the opportunities offered to her in the United States motivated her to do well in the U.S. Tien is proud of her life in the United States. For her, she and her family “got the dream come true.”
The following additional notes were provided by Lana Phan.
The Vietnam War was between 1954-1975. Thus, Tien immigrated from Vietnam to the United States after the Vietnam War ended.
Tien immigrated from Vietnam to the United State with her father, mother, and two sisters. (This was not explicitly stated in the interview.)
1:35-1:48: After the Vietnam War ended, North Vietnam’s Communist government imprisoned military officers and soldiers who fought for South Vietnam during the Vietnam war.
2:12: In a Communist society, property and businesses are not privately owned. This is the reason that Tien’s family’s property was confiscated after the Vietnam war ended.
2:53-2:54: When Tien states, “red party kid,” she refers to the children whose parents were loyal to Vietnam’s Communist government.
13:54: Warren Buffet is an American businessman, who is one of the most successful investors of all time. He currently serves as chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
17:58-18:00: Between the 1800s to 1954, France controlled Vietnam. Back then, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia were considered one French colony collectively known as Indochine Francais or French Indochina.
18:39-18:56: Tien is describing how during her time in Vietnam, all students in the same grade level were required to study the same 12 subjects. In order to move on to the next grade level, each student had to pass all 12 subjects. If a student failed one subject, instead of repeating only the subject, the student had to remain in the same grade level the following year and pass all 12 subjects again for that grade level.
Object number2024.79.2
NotesSubject Note: The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History’s Community History Project (CHP) is a public-facing initiative, focused on contemporary collecting, gathering items of the recent past as well as from events happening today. This program developed community historians to identify, document, and preserve their experiences as residents of Connecticut, and to share these experiences during a series of community presentations. The project focused on the theme "Redefining Moments of Change." Conneticans share stories of people or events who have changed their lives or how they have sparked change in the lives of others.Cataloging Note: Digitization and access to this collection is supported by a Congressionally Directed grant through the U.S. Department of Education.
Subject Terms
- Rocky Hill
- People of color
- Oral history
- Interviews
- Oral narratives
- Women
- Southeast Asians
- Asian American experience
- English language--Study and teaching--Foreign speakers
- Education
- Immigration
- Vietnamese
- Vietnamese Americans
- Vietnam War, 1961-1975
- Vietnam
- Motivation
- Women Education
- Gender roles
- Refugees
- Refugee assistance
- Interviews and Oral Histories
- Born Digital Audio
- Community History Project U.S. Department of Education grant
- Redefining Moments of Change Collection
On View
Not on view
