Question

This week we will watch, discuss, and learn from the video "Daughter from Danang". Respond to the questions.

How could Heidi have prepared better for her trip to Danang?

Do you think the trip was worthy it?

Would you say Heidi was culturally competent? Why or Why not?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AU_VUe2HX0&t=33s

Answer 1

Heidi was so ecstatic and anxious at the prospect of reuniting with her long-lost mother that she did not give much consideration to the fact that she was making the trip to Vietnam was probably of less importance to her.

In preparation for the trip, she exchanged a few phone calls and letters with her mother. She understood that her family needed money and she was excitedly planning to help them. She put much attention to buying presents and prepared cash to carry with her as a gift. Nhu explained to her that it was a Vietnamese custom for children to care for their parents when they got older and while Heidi wanted to help, she was unsure about her ability to follow her native cultural practices as she related more to her Southern American identity. She wasn't personally motivated to learn about Vietnamese culture through books or films. For her, reuniting with her mother was more significant than going to Vietnam.

While there is no way to assure that a person can be totally prepared for how they might react when the emotional stakes are high. Things might have been different if Heidi’s accomplice and translator, Nhu hadn't left early to visit some of her family in Hanoi. As a result, Heidi felt overwhelmed when she found herself in an unfamiliar situation with the family’s requests. Besides this emotional buildup, Heidi faced difficulties in communicating with her family as she was receiving incomplete and inaccurate translations.

Moreover, before the "breakdown" scene, Heidi had began to long for her spied and child back in her home in the United States. Thus, she was not prepared to experience her limits in terms of feeling isolated and was terribly homesick even though ironically she had reunited with her long lost natal family.