April 17, 1984
That was the day that my family arrived in America. After spending more than 12 months at a refugee camp in Indonesia. I celebrated my 9th birthday there. I had no idea where I would end up or how my life would be. Maybe I was too young to even understand what was going on then.
As I look back and see how far I’ve come, I am grateful for my family giving me this opportunity. At times, I wonder how my life would be if my parents did not risk everything on the open water of the South China Sea. Luckily, my family and I made it to America.
I remember where I came from and how I got here. I am thankful for everything I have and try to not take things for granted.
Anonymous asked: My name is chung Vo, I was in galang in 1981. I was 14 at the time, I stayed there for six months, I left in December. I did not have much memories of the place. How old we're you when you stayed in galang ? When did you leave ? Where do you live now ? I live in oklahoma city. I like to exchange story phone or email ? It's up to you please let me know thank you.
Chung: Thank you for your message. I arrived at Kuku in 1983 when I was 8 years old. My family eventually transferred to Galang and immigrated to California in 1984. I would love to connect with you. Since you sent this anonymously, I am not sure how to contact you. Send me a private message with your contact information.
Napa is the place that comes to mind when most people think about going wine tasting. Ridge Vineyard has a beautiful estate in Cupertino in the hills. Their wine is great too. It is only a short drive up from San Jose.
We did the single estate vineyard flight for $10. After tasting all four, we decided on the 2007 Lytton Estate Zinfandel (Primitivo) for out picnic. We had picked up food from Whole Foods on the way. They have a lovely picnic area with large tables for people. After finishing our bottle, we walked up a few steps to be greeted by the love view of the valley. It was an amazing day for early January. The temperature was about 62 and sunny. We couldn’t have asked for a better day for the middle of Winter.
There is nothing better than sharing a bottle of wine, food and good conversation with a friend.
I came across this outside of Glide Memorial Church in the Tenderloin of San Francisco.
(Source: lifeat35mm)
When I talked about visiting Indonesia, most people thought of it as a vacation destination. I decided to see both sides of the Riau Islands Province of Indonesia. I boarded a ferry boat from Singapore Habour and headed to Batam, Indonesia. It was about a 35 minutes ferry ride to Batam. I stayed at the Turi Beach Resort for one night. It was just as most people imagined. It was a beautiful beach front resort with 2 pools. One of the pool included a swim up bar. I walked out to the pier and enjoy the sunset and the warm tropical air. The next morning, I woke up early to enjoy the beautiful sunrise in anticipation of the my day. I walked out to the pier to take more pictures and spend a little quiet time to reflect on my time there. I didn’t know what to expect of my day.
I checked out of the hotel as the taxi driver waited for us to go to Galang. Galang was about a 2 hour drive South of Batam. We had negotiated a rate of 500,000.00 Rupiah to drive us around for the day. That converted to about $55 USD. The driver spoke very little English and I did not speak the native language at all. We began our journey to what is known as Camp Vietnam to the locals.
I thought to myself how ironic it was that I came back to this island on a boat just as I did the first time 28 years ago. The first time was as a “boat people” on little fishing boat packed with people not knowing what lay ahead. We drifted on the ocean for what may have been days or even weeks, but I don’t recall how long it was exactly. We all hoped to be rescued, but there were dangers of being caught by the Navy or even worst by Thai pirates. I was one of the few lucky people that made it out on the first attempt without any tragic incidents. We were eventually rescued by an Indonesian shipping vessel and brought to an oil derrick. After that we were brought to our first Refugee Camp in Kuku, Indonesia. This was my first stop and eventually landed on Galang I and Galang II before heading off to the promise land of America.
In preparation for my trip, I researched about the refugee camps. The stories I read were far different from my own experience. I wondered if I was so lucky to have avoided all of the tragedies or if my mind blocked out all of these things. I just remembered being with my family and going to English classes. I remembered helping my parents pick up rations and fetching water from the well. My mom had a vegetable garden behind our living quarters. It was a small barrack with a wooden raised area for sleeping that we shared with other families in the same building. It was nothing more than a shack. I was lucky to have my entire family with me and we all made the journey together. I remembered eating fish freshly caught from the ocean. Since we were on the boat, the superstition was to not flip the fish over. I also remembered late one night, we were allowed to out of the cargo area to be on the deck. It was a clear night and my dad taught me about the constellations. He pointed out Orion’s Belt. We were rescued a few days after that.
My journey was far different from countless lives that were less fortunate. I read of stories about people being raped and killed at sea by Thai pirates. As I walked through the cemetery on Galang, I wondered about the stories of all these people. I saw hundreds of unmarked graves along with graves of children and women. I read a story about Dai Nhan Tinh. She was raped in the forest by 7 other refugees. She survived the journey at sea only the be brutally taken advantage by people searching for freedom just like herself. How could someone do that to another person. She later committed suicide. The Humanity Statue was erected in her honor. She was not the only person that took her own life on the island. I was lucky that my parents gave me the sheltered childhood I needed or maybe I was lucky enough to not remember any of this. My family was granted asylum to immigrate to the US with the help of my aunts and uncles already living in the Bay Area.
I had hope to see more of the refugee camp. I was only able to see the Buddhist temple, Catholic Church, and museum. The museum was located at the site of the former UNHCR offices. My first stop was Quan Am Tu. I was overcame with emotions as I handed my offering to the monk. He didn’t speak any English or Vietnamese. Somehow I was able to communicate to him that I was Vietnamese and I was once a refugee at this very camp. He took me to the side and showed me some pictures and told me stories, but I couldn’t understand anything. The taxi driver tried to translate, but he knew very little English himself. I kept it together and lit some incense. I prayed for all lost souls and the workers/volunteers at the camp. After that, I made my way through the rest of the camp. Sadly, I didn’t remember much of the camp. Maybe a lot of it looked different because the trees and forest have grown back. Nature has a wonderful way of recovering just like the human spirit. I hope all the boat people are able to find peace and rebound.
It has been a while since I had a free weekend. There has been a lot on my mind lately. I have been busy with work and my personal life. I just needed to get away from home. I woke up and I wanted to some barbecue. I checked the weather it is supposed to be foggy and overcast along the coast. I figured it would be a perfect day to go to the beach since the weather is going to be terrible. I don’t like crowds. I decided to drive out to Pacifica and visit Gorilla BBQ. I got there around 1 PM and there were a long line already. I don’t think I got food until 2 PM.
I got the 2 meat combo. I ordered ribs, and pulled pork with mac n cheese, and coleslaw as my sides. For some reason I remember the food being much better the first time I went there. Being that I was starving, I proceed to eat my food and I tried to finish everything. I didn’t bring beers with me this time. I had some water to wash down the food. It is not the same without beers.
After wrapping up my left-overs, I drove down Highway 1 towards Half Moon Bay.
This is the first time I was back in Half Moon Bay since trying to go to the Half Moon Bay Wine Festival.
It was interesting retracing 2 different dates with 2 different people (not on the same day).
About a year ago, I decided to give back to my community. I have always given money to various charities and non-profit organizations. It is so easy to just write a check and never have to face the people that are less fortunate. I started volunteering with a group called Boobs4Food. They set up monthly events that is focused on fighting hunger and food related issues.
This was my first experience at Glide Memorial Church. This is the first time that I will actually see the people that these organizations serve. The past events have been various food banks. It is work that needs to be done, but it humbling experience to see the people. You see people from all walks of life. There were plenty of homeless people, but there were also people that were just like any of us. They just don’t have enough for a warm meal.
After the event, all the volunteers met for a nice meal. I do not feel guilty about having a nice meal after see what people will do for simple food. I do not volunteer to make myself feel better about myself. I appreciate what I have and I try to not take that for granted, but it does give me perspective. I should try and enjoy life and enjoy what I have. I am lucky to have the luxuries in life. I am fortunate enough to have great friends and the means to enjoy it. I had just as much fun volunteering with great people as I did sharing a few drinks and delicious food with them after the event.
Thank you everyone for making my Saturday such an amazing day.
“You say the magic’s gone, well I’m not a magician
You say the spark’s gone, well get an electrician
And save your line about needing to be free
All that’s bullshit babe, you just want rid of me”
— “Better Things” ~ Massive Attack featuring Tracy Thorn
“they say time will
make all this go away
but it’s time that has taken my tomorrows
and turned them into yesterdays”
— Ben Harper ~ “Walk Away”