Hello everyone, I go by the name of Jai. Although I was born in the United States, I come from a family that holds traditional Asian values mixed in with American values. Education and adapting to the American environment is the key to success. Without understanding how the American system works, we will only continue to fail in our many attempts to reach success.
It is important for me to hold onto my roots, for it is what identifies who I am. I grew up learning to love the Hmong culture and history. The arts such as embroidery and instruments/music intrigues me. Each aspect of art is so rich that it tells its own story. Embroidery has different designs that signify different things. Hmong story cloths tell the stories of our people and heritage. The instruments (i.e. qeej, flute, etc) sounds like a whole other language when in fact, it uses the Hmong tonal language. Each note has its own tone and together, it makes music in which it speaks to the audience. Kwv txhiaj, a form of traditional singing is poetic and has many hidden meanings behind what they say. It can be hard trying to comprehend even a sentence from a kwv txhiaj. Our more modern type of music has evolved so much throughout the 40-50 years. We started off with the Hmong legendary singers such as Pov Thoj, Lis Pos, Touly Vangkhue, etc. and now we have many talented singers and musicians exploring different genres. (i.e. Tsom Xyooj, ICU, David Yang, Cody Lee, etc.)
I guess you could say that I'm your typical fob (fresh off the boat) kind of person. Even though this term has constantly been used in a negative way, I believe that it's something to embrace. To me, personally, I believe that being a fob means that you're someone who still keeps in touch with your roots, even when you're in a society that sees you as a minority. Therefore, my purpose for naming this blog "Operation Fobbiness" is to spread awareness not just about the Hmong culture, but to help others identify themselves without feeling ashamed.
Besides being really Hmong, I also love sinking into dramas, more so of Korean or Chinese dramas. What I really love though, is reading novels. Lately, I have been into Chinese novels that take place in ancient times. These novels are a way for me to escape from reality for a bit. I put myself into the story and every step of the way, I learn something new.
Through this blog, I hope I can share some of my favorite things with everyone. Whether it be Hmong culture/history, music, dramas, movies, novels, or even fiction stories that I write. I hope everyone would help guide me along the way. :)
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