Its a Nice Place to Visit, but . . .

Nate and I met this man and his family in Hanoi when he asked me to snap a picture of him and his family. Nate and I only chatted with them for a few minutes, but we were absolutely transfixed by their life story.
At the age of nineteen, he fled Vietnam. It was the late 1970s and the Vietnam War was over; but under the new regime, things in Vietnam were going from bad to worse. Vietnamese people were fleeing in droves. This man escaped to Thailand where he met his future wife in a refugee camp.

Eventually, they married and immigrated to The States where they still live today. They put each other through school. He earned two master's degrees and holds a managerial position with Intel. She became a dentist and has her own practice. They have two children. It was over a decade before either one of them managed to return to Vietnam for a visit. They have since made several trips back.

I asked them if -now that things were improving in Vietnam- they ever thought about moving back to Vietnam?

They sheepishy smiled and then shook their heads.

No, they enjoy bringing their kids back to visit, but would never move back.

-Jack