This content was published: June 11, 2021. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Huy Mai
by: Miriam Sluis
Flipping the script with Huy Mai
Huy Mai looks at the world with a smile, a glint in his eye. He sees a joke and fun in everything, threading through life light hearted. And he likes to turn the tables: half way through the interview, it’s Huy asking the questions. But Huy has a big heart and a serious plan for the future; to get a degree in radiography and expand his connections, befriending more Americans.
How would you introduce yourself?
“I’m laid back, and currently studying radiography, X-Rays. I’ve been in the US for about three years. The whole time in Portland. As soon as I came here, I tested my English and I got into PCC. And I’m learning so many new things about American culture, especially through the social justice training at PCC.”
What inspired you to work at the Multicultural Center?
“To be honest, because of COVID I lost all my jobs, and I saw this opportunity online. And I thought, if I can have this job, I can learn a lot of new things. Because it’s multicultural, so it’s a good place to learn about other cultures. And Mak and Monica encouraged me a lot to get to know students from other nations and other backgrounds.
In my opinion, at PCC we have too many resources to help students. Compared to my country, there are so many programs to help you come back to school and to stay in school. To get educated, get the certificate and get a job. The environment is really good, students love to come here to study, because it is really open minded.”
What made you decide to come to Portland?
“My parents live here, so I had to come here. It’s like Asian style, we live together, as a nuclear family. My parents came here before me, with my sister. And then she got married and she moved out. We used to have three generations living together, but my grandparents live with my aunt now. My father is 78 and my mother is 70. I have to help my father get around in the house, because it’s harder for him to move around now. They are the most important to me in my life, my parents. That’s why I can live with them.”
Is Portland very different from where you are from?
“I come from Vietnam, that’s where I was born, in Ho-Chi-Minh-City, 38 years ago. We have two seasons there: hot and super hot! And here in Portland we have a beautiful time from March until September, and after that, it gets more difficult. It’s really cold; you can feel depressed, or lonesome. Also the motivation, it can get harder because of the weather. And the language, I had to learn a lot. I studied English before, but when I came here, what is spoken here is completely different. And in school too; the language in school is different from the English you speak in daily life.
“Human relationships are also completely different. In Vietnam we live next door to each other, we are literally very close. You can easily visit with a neighbor. You knock, or you say hi, and you go over there. Here it’s more about privacy, they say you can not trespass. Or if you want to come over, you have to make an appointment or call first. You have to ask permission.
Maybe people in the US are too separate?
“I have no idea. People are born and raised like that. And maybe also because too many things have happened here. Let me give you an example: if you saw someone, an elder, who fell down in the street. What should you do? In Vietnam we would go over and ask if they were ok, and move him or her inside. But in the US, you let him lie over there, you call 911.”
How do you see the future of yourself and for Portland?
“I think Portland is a peaceful place, a place to retire. Sometimes there are riots, like around election time. But in my area, it’s very peaceful. I know I can move and travel around in my neighborhood, and nothing is going to happen.
“I think in the future, I’ll be able to expand my connections. Right now, most of my friends are Vietnamese, like me. But in the future, I think I’ll be able to make more friends with Americans that were born and raised here. And I will be able to improve my English, get the PCC degree in radiography. And then get further training in MRI, that’s my goal.
“For Portland, I hope the city will have land for the houseless. I saw them downtown and recently in my area, they are camping all around us. We should have a plan for them. When we had the snowstorm in February, how can they survive that? I even lost my electricity then. But the houseless have no power, no water. If they can improve their living conditions, it would be a better place for them, to settle down, to live here.”