Mission: Sacramento

after my studying abroad in Vietnam, traveling southeast asia, graduating from berkeley, exploring Washington --> I was back home...Sacramento. I was dreaming fellowshipp'n in DC, grassroot organizing in the bay, NGO work in Vietnam/Thailand but it all came into perspective my mom's said she really wanted me to be back at home to help with the family. I was on a complete high with all the things I've been experiencing, it was time to come back to earth.

Back to SAC! and ready to make my Social Justice Attack!

I thought Sac was going to be totally different from the young eyes I had before college. To my surprise --> it wasn't. Same old issues, same old politics, same old functions. The only thing that was same that was I was looking for we're my HS friends and my moms. My little sista gots a BF and they seem to be getting serious --> way too serious for my likely or for my mom's but...she's my sista. After becoming so progressive and liberal at Berkeley, I come home to find that my brother religiously watches Fox News, wanted to vote for McCain, and doesn't believe in the social welfare system --> it's funny cause WE LIVED ON THAT SHIT! as we grew up. But he's my brother. If anything, he we have some interesting conversations which is a first, ever in our lives.

At first, my mama was trying to do the, why you back so late and I was like "I is a Man, mama!! You can't tell me what to do! --> then slap me up on the head and then I realized that this is home, not Berkeley.....

I can't keep up how life is moving so fast

Study Abroad: Vietnam! was a complete trip. From drinking all day everyday/ studying about Vietnam's impoverished street children/ teaching English to elementary Viet kids/practicing my Vietnamese @ the dance clubs/ winning the Hanoi City Basketball Champion for HANU University/ Undie Run in VN 08/ Winning the "Class Flirt" Award/ Straight A's/ Rid'n a motorbike everywhere I went/ Attending the HANUniveristy graduation and see my families in Hue and Vung Tau - theses experiences will stay with me and they have changed my outlook on the important things in life - family, friends, people, love and experience. The material and monetary benefits of living in America have been insignificant and are simply masks to true happiness. That's why I had to get back into this blog action!!

Traveling the World: Thailand; Bangkok, Koh Samui/ Cambodia; Siem Reap, Phnom penh/ Vietnam: Hanoi, Sapa, Hai Long, Quy Nhon, Hoi An, Hue, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Can Tho, Saigon HCMC, Vung Tau/ Singapore/ Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur/Hong Kong; Hong Kong. Backpacking through the world, seeing unbelievable sites with friends and by myself was incredible. Clubbn in Hong Kong, Running along Koh Samui beaches, Swimming Vung Tau seas, Trekking Angkor Wat Temples, Shopping Bangkok markets, Site seeing KL icons. This was the best month and half of my life!!

Last Semester at UC Berkeley: The morning after I got back to America - I had a 9AM public policy class to go to and did the culture shock hit. I still felt like I was traveling the world. I couldn't help think about that things I experienced traveling and if I'd ever go through stuff like that again. The day I left for airport, I really suggested staying in Vietnam for another semester. But you know what, I had one semester left and the day I got back, Obama took the oath as US President. It was a sign that it was right to be back. However, I seriously forgot how to live life in America but leaving the way I did in Southeast Asia made me realized I don't need to live life the same. Before, I was completely invested in academics and community work but once in my life - I was going to live for myself. I did hella new shit: Live in Casa Jouaquin/ Danced for VSA Sriracha Hip-hop, Writing for "AFRO course: Poetry for the people", taking my first Spanish Class, campaigning for my girl Tracy Nguyen to be campus senator, tandum-SKYDIVING!!, coordinated after school tutoring program for the kids of UCB Janitorial staff at CASA, REACH! basketball, house parties, frat parties, clubs Oh my and ever searching for a JOB after college. Lastly, finding the closest person to the perfect partner. Someone I knew could share my life with me.

Leaving on a High Note: After performing a infamous "Vietnamese Mothers" poem with Anna and John Viet at Southeast Asian Graduation! Receiving the department "Community Service" Award at the Social Welfare Graduation! Voted as "Heart and Pride" of VSA! Noted as most likely to be "Youth Organizer and TV celebrity" at Casa J! known as the guy that put Urban in UCB circle K! First Cheer Training! Recognized for best "Man-boobs" and "most likely to be lost" with Sriracha Dance company! Invited as the keynote speaker for De Anza Senior Awards Night! Traveling Washington DC with boo-dizzle Anna! Chosen as inspirational speaker for SASC-SI 09! Scholarship receipient & Speaker for APALA Labor Alliance Conference in Vegas. Making a bomb ass bootleg yearbook with notes from all the incredible people that I've met at Berkeley. Life was at a high and I could finally say it was time to move on.

Vietnam

ay yall, so I haven't blog for like a month now and I was suppose to commit myself to blogging often but honestly, this has been the best summer I've ever had. It didn't even going to school in the Bay, or taking big trips, it was simply being home in sacramento with my family. Its been so long since I've ever just been home for more than a week long and it was the greatest experience just reconnecting to my mom, sister and brothers in a whole new way. I've never been more honored to be a brother and son to this amazing family. I wanna save a whole blog for just them but I gots to tell yall whats going down in Vietnam. Some crazy shit has already been going down and its been nothing less than AMAZING! As you can notice I do things through list soooo, HERE WE GO!!

1. Eat every Vietnamese dish aside from Rice known to Vietnamese People
2. Travel to the Old and French Quarter of Vietnam
3. Night Market
4. Karoke - Hella hardcore. Folks take this shit serious. Nothing less than screaming at the top of your lungs while exerting some fierce dance moves.
5. Eating Dog meat! Hella chewy for days
6. Drinking Fresh local Beer. I had 15 glasses one night! It was with my teacher.
7. Taking Ruou Shots with teachers
8. Eating every part of a snake with snake liquor. One of the shot was with a live beating cobra heart. Savage shit right there!
9. Running with Andre, Anthony, Minh, Brian to Ho Hoa Kiem (Turtle Lake) at Midnight which was about a 10K trek - 6 mile. And taking a taxi back. Ridiculous.
10. Playing a icebreaker one of the local students made which involved a candle and a chili pepper tie between my legs.
11. Flirting aka learning vietnamese with local girls
12. Suffering from not getting enough internet
13. Missing my friends and family a whole fucking lot! Love YA!
14. Interviewing locals for a class project
15. Taking classes on Vietnamese history, Vietnamese Language, Contemporary history, Literature and vietnamese literature
16. Feeling like a BALLER cause everything HELLA cheap
17. Sweatin like FUCK everywhere you go
18. Talking to my cousins in Saigon for the first time since I was ten.
19. Playing a fierce game of basketball with the school's basketball team. We stomp son. TEAM USA!
20. Getting a massage from a dude (I had to take the blow for a girl that wanted a girl massage; damn you Hien). It involve a burning hot towel that was placed on the back of my neck. I get two fat boils the next day but that massage was BOMB for $5. (except the part when it climb on top of my while I was facing the ground)
21. Realizing how privilege I am for being American
22. Realizing how beautiful the people are here; inside and out.
23. Missing all the organizing and community work that I do.
24. Running, Swimming or playing sports almost every single day. I feel like I'm training for the olympics. I'm might Triathlon my way to Beijing new week.
25. Breaking a small kitty chair a restaurant in front of some of the local students.
26. Getting to know the other EAP folks and their crazy ass stories. I blog about them one day. Some dope ass people. Love yall folks.
27. Being practically naked all the damn time cause its all hot!!
28. Killin all the canned cheese and gatoraide mix that I brough to VN
29. Wanting to study abroad or travel after Vietnam. Thinking about Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.
30. Clubbin at a local bar and see local get their freak out. Having drinks with everyone and their mama.
31. Vietnamese is getting better.
32. Lastly, I can not wait to see my mother's family in Saigon. I haven't seen these folks since I was ten.

Alright yall, I miss everything from the states and there will be more to come fo sho

Sister, damn I really miss ya

so I've come to realize, how hard it is to keep up with this blogging thing and I be having some good ideas for blogs but I'm never around a computer when this ideas strike. This past week has honestly the best week of my life. I think I've come far in experiencing different types of things; college, community work, traveling, protests, and whole crap more. This past week, I spend it at SASC-SI and one of the most important people in my life decided to let up and go with me: my sister.

my sister and I have quite a difficult relationship. Growing up, I was asshole to her never letting her do anything and expecting way too much from her. Going to college, I finally realized how much she meant to me and how I should be there for her. We've started going out together to movies, we go out for dinners together and I play volleyball with her at her CRC class. This past week, we went to fusion night, the banquet, reflection night and the park outing for SASC. Miss Anna Ballin Nguyen took me and my sister out to a movie, the Frida Kahlo art exhibit and the gay pride parade. All of which was an amazing time and most importantly my sister was experiencing and learning new things with me at her side.

My sister is an amazing young womyn and she growing up to be a strong and smart individual. For the longest time, I didn't see that in her because I didn't allow myself to all of her potential, I only focused on her shortcomings and my expectations. She loves turtles (its like her batman), she likes yellow, she may want to be a math teacher, she has hundreds of chuck taylors, she starting to like fish tacos like I do and she speaks better Vietnamese than I do and she'll remind you all the time.

Who would of thought a week with my sister, would be the best thing about my summer! We got matching Kanye glasses and custom made writstbands that say: Bro Heart Sis in both our favorite colors: Black and Yellow!

its summer time...

my original plans for the summer were to go to New Orleans and work with NAVASA (National Alliance of Vietnamese Americans Service Agencies). They would of hopefully placed me with VAYLA (Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association) or CDC -MQVN (Community Development Corporation) which would of been amazing cause I saw some of their work for a week during my winter break and it was nothing less than amazing. I wanted to go back so bad but because their contract required me to be there for so long, I didn't want to be away from my family for so long and then proceed to go to Vietnam for 5 months right after.

so, I home with my family in Sacramento and it was all that I had asked for and more...the more part being the constant demands, the endless yelling and fighting, the stubborn sister, the conservative brother and me just caught in the middle of it all. Its been a long time since I've been at home for longer than 2-3 weeks. I've always had vacations and summer school in Berkeley to keep me away from home but this summer is different.

1. The first thing I notice being home, it how slow pace life is here. I'm so use to the intense atmosphere at Berkeley, I find it hard sometimes just to chill with friends and family without thinking about errands and responsibilities. Is this good or bad, I'm still trying to figure it out.

2. Second thing about being home is that I'm not the same person that I was but what exactly do I do with that. Berkeley obviously has had effects on me but when it comes to bringing it back to my friends, family and community; how do I approach it all.

3. This has been a time of reflection and thought. Being in the Berkeley bubble makes you constantly think about the community, school, and only things in between. I forgot how it feels like to stop and think over your life in a grander scheme of things. I forgot how to develop myself slowly in quality and not quanitaty.

My summers are usually short lived, crazy and just as hectic as a my school years and as this Sacramento life comes back at me, I realize a couple of things...

Batman Begins

so... this has been one of my most prolonged and procrastinated projects I've ever done. I've been telling myself over and over again to just slow down and write a quick blog but its so hard to find the time and energy to just reflect over a day. Plus all this blogging stuff is really new to me and I'm not exactly sure why I'm doing this, may it be for present self, my future self, others, whatever...All I know is that I got to start somewhere.

so... its been a long minute since my school year ended and my summer started. Half of me is glad to be home and living the kick back life again with family, friends, and 4 mile runs but the other half of me misses the community, Casa J, my EAOP students, the endless cupcakin, and the constant inspiration I was surrounded by. Even though I'm not done with Berkeley, I can't help but to think Berkeley will never be the same for me.

Summer Game Plan: so right now, I'm taking it really slow, day by day: I leave for Vietnam sometime around August 8th, 2008! Before that I will:

1. Take a Vietnamese Class at Community College (CRC)

2. Work off my 2 year long Berkeley Belly I've accumalated over the years and beat my boi David So to that "Body of Greek God" he always talks about

3.Watch "The Dark Knight" on July 18th

4. Celebrate my 21st B(at)-day on July 29th

5. Work at Summer School Program at Sullivan Middle School in Fairfield

6. Get good with the family and the little sister!

7. SASC-SI!

8. Remember who I was, who I am, and what I wanna be. Keep BLOGGIN!

9. August 8th - Vietnam. New Game Plan...fo sho