From a Hard Working Immigrant to U.S. Citizen

Some people had waited a very long time for this moment. The moment they finally became a U.S. citizen! They may have studied English for many years just to pass either the oral or written exam, which most native-born citizens take for granted. It is a new beginning and one of the biggest days of their lives.

I noticed thousands of people forming long lines of traffic as I sat in my car looking for parking at the L.A. County Fairgrounds/Pomona Fairplex. Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a U.S. Citizenship ceremony, which is also known as a Naturalization ceremony.



Even though I became a naturalized citizen six years ago in order to serve in the Peace Corps, today’s ceremony was still as emotional as it was my very first time and bought back some mixed feelings of happiness and uncertainty. I am sure the new naturalized citizens echo and shared similar feelings and emotions as they swore in for their citizenships.

For those of you who have not attended a Naturalization ceremony, allow me to share with you how it works. We started the ceremony with Oath of Allegiance, which was guided by the judge and followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Then, there was a message by the President, Barack Obama! Unfortunately, it was a recorded speech and not in person. However, the message was clear and very touching. I started to drop some tears as I was watching the president talk on the big white movie size screen and I also noticed others in the audience wipe their tears from their cheeks too. I have to say, it was a great speech!



It seems that the highlight for most new citizens is when they swear in and sign their Naturalization certificates! It seems all their troubles wash away and they start over in the land of freedom, called America! Most importantly, they can VOTE! Since they can vote now, many fill out their registration form and passport application. The ceremony took less than two hours. At the ceremony there were post office staff and passport agency representatives available to provide answers to any questions or concerns that the new citizens may have in regards to passports and voter registration. I heard from one of the post office staff that there were about 7, 000 people in the building who received their naturalization certificate that day! The large room was filled with new citizens from Mexico, the Philippines, China, Vietnam and Korea, just to name a few.



I watched them wave the small size flags in their hands as they embarked on a new journey in America as U.S. citizens. Some shared the tears and joy with their friends and family whom were standing patiently outside and inside nears the ceremony area. To most of them, it was their first step towards achieving the American dream.

Congratulation to new citizens!

UNSPOKEN Conference (Refugees and Human Rights), Utica, NY

It was an amazing to hear personal stories from current and former refugees in Utica, NY and the surrounding area. I was inspired by them and empowered to make a difference. Overall, my presentation went well. However, I wish I had more time visiting Utica. It such an interesting city especially so open and welcoming to refugees!


More pictures and updates on the conference coming soon!

Peace Writer; Every Woman Deserves...(VOF Week 4)

I am interested in being a Voice of Our Future (VOF) correspondent for World Pulse because of my personal experience as a child refugee, where I witnessed war and ongoing violence, firsthand. Being a refugee of wars where human rights were violated, showed me the value of human rights and opportunities such as education that only peace can provide. My ultimate goal is to make a contribution toward resolving international conflicts and the suffering caused by these conflicts to women throughout the world. The VOF aligns with this goal.

My experience as a refugee led me to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Community Studies at UC Santa Cruz. This program focused on social change and social justice. I learned how to assist diverse cross-cultural individuals and organizations through advocacy and how to educate the public in regard to immigration and domestic violence issues. My first encounter working with women’s conflict issues was when I volunteered with a non-profit organization called Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence in the Bronx neighborhood of New York City. Under the umbrella of the Women Domestic Worker project, I supported the media committee, assisted with donor communications, and fund-raising, and participated in various outreach campaigns. Through these experiences, I became committed to resolving conflicts and improving the lives of women. The opportunity to be a part of the VOF would allow me to continue my commitment as an advocate for women.

I continued to help women when I volunteered for two years in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica. During that time, I lived in a small village where I designed, implemented and facilitated grass roots projects. These projects included leadership workshops, girls’ soccer teams and women’s health and nutrition classes. Through sport activities, workshops and arts, the women in my village were able to express their emotions and cope with their experiences as victims of violence and sexual abuse. I appreciate the valuable experience I gained and the strong personal relationships I developed with the women’s group in my village. Through these projects, I was able to connect and understand their struggles, pain and sorrows. I am passionate about working and promoting social change and justice for women and children at the international level, which aligns with VOF.

Due to my Peace Corps experiences, I chose to pursue a Global and International Studies Master’s degree at UC Santa Barbara. The program emphasized living and working in a wide variety of cross-cultural contexts and focused on NGOs and using the bottom-up approach to addresses social justice issues globally and domestically. This opportunity provided me the skills and knowledge to confidently work towards conflict resolution. Working with VOF would provide me an opportunity to continue to put my passion and skills into practice.

I am interested in the VOF because I want to share the innocent voices of women who are victims of human rights violation. In the past, I have had the privilege to write about and to share stories of women; it has been rewarding to witness the impact that these stories have on others. I want to use my writing skills and passion to make change in the world by telling their stories and to inspire others to take up peace making efforts. I recognize the value of compelling writing to help people to understand, care, support and get involved in peace making efforts and to improve the rights of women.

Now that I am fortunate enough to be in a position to help others, I would like to continue promoting social change at the international level with an emphasis on women and human rights. Both my own experience as a refugee, along with the opportunities I’ve been so fortunate to have received, have grounded me and helped me understand the importance of giving back. I earnestly want my work to make the world a better place, one life at a time. I believe the VOF would enable me to further develop my communication skills and ability to serve as a voice for those women who are working hard to effect peaceful change in their conflict-ridden environments.


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2011 Voices of Our Future Applicants, World Pulse

I am a working progress! So I applied for the 2011 Voices of Our Future Applicants, World Pulse. As an Applicant, I write weekly article to complete the task. I am not sure if I will make the cut but I am excited to gain new skills, make friends I have never met across the globe and an opportunity to excel in my writing! Check out my first assignment!

Hope; Citizen Journalist

Three years ago, I started a blog, titled “Curious and Determined.” The purpose of this blog was to share updates with friends and family on humanitarian projects, interviews and experiences. I conducted research on returned refugees in Cambodia for my Master’s degree. However, as I was deep into my research, I realized returned refugees, particularly women and girls, are suffering from many problems such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and discrimination in their village upon resettling back to their home country, Cambodia. Their stories echoed. I wanted to do something about it. I started to share their stories on my blog.

A few months ago, I fell upon PulseWire’s website. I started to read stories and profiles of women across the globe who are doing amazing things with limited resources! Then it hit me, these women inspired me and gave me hope again to do something about women and girls whom I left behind in Cambodia two years ago.

I am extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity to use these amazing tools (Web 2.0) in order to make social change happen! I am most excited to learn new skills from other “Voices of Our Future” candidates and I would like to expand on my social networking community in the media. I look forward to share my experiences and meet new PulseWire friends. I hope to exchange ideas and receive feedback from my fellow PulseWire users.

Through using Web 2.0, I believe these tools will bring many solutions and opportunities for the women’s empowerment movement, globally. For example, up until a few months ago, I had no idea that there are women who have similar interest as me and are either already established into their projects/programs or just started to make a difference in their community and across the globe. The Web 2.0 brings women with similar interests and goals together in order to make social change not only locally but also globally. This tool is also giving women an opportunity to share their ideas and the confidence to ensure that those ideas will be put into action! Most importantly, through PulseWire providing a safe place for women to express themselves and to write their opinions and experiences, allows other like-minded people to learn and provide feedback. Through this social networking comes a strong community of women who are empowering each other, encouraging each other and working together for social change and social justice!

The Web 2.0 empowers me to believe in myself especially expressing myself through writing. Since I recently found my new passion for writing, I hope to excel as a writer and learn new skills as a journalist. Through these new skills, I hope to continue to help women and girls in Cambodia as well globally by being their voice and sharing their stories to the rest of the world.

Million of Gallons Sewage Were Spilled, Beaches in San Diego are closed!

The San Diego power outage is no longer a problem for residents; however, the beaches are closed. As the weekend approaches and the summer has come to an end, many locals and tourists are looking forward to a relaxing time at the beach this weekend. Tourists from the Midwest are excited to get some tanning in before they head back home. Local fishermen are hoping to catch some fish. However, due to Thursday's massive power outage, more than a million gallons of sewage spilled onto San Diego's popular beaches.

The lights were back as of Friday morning in sunny San Diego. Residents are back to work, children are out on the street (they get a day off from school), and businesses are back up and running! The electricity was accidentally cut by one of the workers around 3:30 p.m. Thursday in southwest Arizona. Millions of Southern California residents were affected by the power outage. Those who were stuck in the freeway either had no cell phone service or did not have access to the radio due to the power failure. In other words, they had no idea what was going on. Some believed it was another terrorist attack since 9/11 is just few days away. One main resource that America depends on is their electricity. Without it, San Diegans are hopeless and vulnerable. Others thought the power outage was due to over use of air-condition since it was in the high 90s and low 100 degrees in the beach town!

READ MORE!!

Woke up to beautiful red wood trees!

Woke up to beautiful red wood trees! But had the worst Thai food ever in Crescent City! The road trip continues up North!

My husband and I stopped in Crescent City area to camp. The camp site was amazingly beautiful! We were surrounded by rivers and red wood trees! The ranger kept the bathrooms nice and clean! I had a nice warm shower last night but a cold one this morning because the heater is broken! They are fixing it at this moment...

We took a detour to Smith river with nice trail to hike. It was so refreshing with clean air! We stopped in Crescent City for lunch. I was surprised with so many Thai restaurants to choose from! Unfortunately, we ended up eating at the worst Thai food that I ever had! Their peanut sauce was full of salt! The BBQ chicken was not even BBQ! It was not cook but taste like microwave heated chicken! I learned my lesson!

We are continuing up North along the 101 highway....Stay tune!

Russian River; The Northern California Getaways!

My cell phone has no service, on most mornings it is overcast, and there is no Internet service. Besides the downside of a rural remote small town atmosphere, there are a lot to do at the Russian River! I have been staying at the Russian River since Monday. So far, I learned to river kayaking by myself, practiced yoga in an outdoor surrounding nature and took a lovely beach hike to visit the seals! I did all of these activities with just less than two days!

Since the place I am staying is not too far from the ocean but it is on the river, sometimes the fog hides the beauty of the area. However, once the fog slowly disappears, I enjoy looking at the cows across the river and appreciate the beautiful green trees and colorful flowers that this place has to offer! There are not too many options when its come to places to eat. I had clam chowder bowl at a small cafe along the ocean with an amazing view! The chowder was a bit watery but it was good! On a side note, I miss sf's chowder because it was thick and delicious!

So far, what I like about this place is that I can kayak on a calm water and peaceful environment! Once in awhile I get to see birds, seals and cows! Yesterday there was a friendly seal that was following us. It would pop up on the river surface every now and then. It would look at you in the eyes and then go back under the water! It was so cute. I felt we had our own entertainment on outdoor water! Other than that, I almost fell in the river while getting out of the kayak after parking it! I found out that I love river kayaking because it works my stomach and arms! I also love the Russian River so far!


P.S. I am off to Bodega Bay to have some delicious seafood for lunch! :)