In A Land Not Her Own

I still remember the very first day we met at LAX airport. You were in a fitted white shirt, light blue jeans, and that boisterous laughter—so different from the gentle, feminine “voice” I had known online. We—two people almost belonging to different generations—yet felt like old acquaintances, without the slightest sense of strangeness at our very first meeting.

And just like that, I walked alongside -trg through the days that followed in America, sharing in the eagerness of those first steps in LA, and also the fatigue and disillusionment as expectations slowly dimmed.

For me, that period of “sowing hopes in a land not our own,” with all its trials and fumbling, was both the necessary and sufficient condition for -trg to later reap success after “bidding farewell to the small river,” letting go completely of the “American dream,” and daring to move forward. I was not surprised when -trg once told me about the decision to return to Vietnam, nor was I surprised to learn of -trg’s later achievements in career.

Thank you for not letting me down. Thank you for wandering with this “uncle” in a strange land during those days of “sowing hopes.”