Finding Light in Darkness
A friendship story across cultures
Avina comes to America
In 1994, I met my lifelong best friend. Her name is Avina, and she came to America as a Vietnamese refugee when she was three years old.
I remember her telling me stories about escaping the communists on a boat to another country. From that country, she and her parents had been sponsored to Idaho in America. She had only vague memories of being on this tiny fishing boat for days in the fog. She’d wake up, thirsty and hungry. Her mother would find her in the fog, put water in her mouth, and feed her small bits of the food they had brought. Her mother would tell her stories and try to get her back to sleep.
In Idaho, her mom and dad found work in a restaurant. They spent several years saving enough money to open a restaurant of their own. They moved her to Arizona.
In Arizona, they rented restaurant space, found suppliers, and opened their first Vietnamese restaurant. They named it after Avina.
I didn’t see a point to existing before meeting Avina
Avina started school there. She spoke perfect English. Her parents did not. Avina came home from school every day to the restaurant. She was her parent’s translator for all…
