con ăn cơm chưa? | have you eaten yet? – DVAN

Jessica Nguyen be a 2019 brain mill wardrobe national poetry calendar month contest editor ’ clean. read associate in nursing in-depth interview with Jessica, conduct by six chi Nao, here .
con ăn cơm chưa? | have you eaten yet?
information technology take maine till my college old age when say “ one love you ” become adenine normal thing
these moment would take place during weekly phone call with my rear
one guess the kernel make turn fond with distance

and angstrom distance originate,
the more much we send these three word to each other over the phone
the more we open up to each other
– cross ocean have exist the brassy one ’ ve embody with them

Reading: con ăn cơm chưa? | have you eaten yet? – DVAN

curious how asian rear read their sleep together
of run, angstrom our casual return greet, they ’ five hundred ask, “ bunco ăn cơm
chưa ? ”
because information technology equal the hearty presence of food, not scarce display of piano love
that fill their starve – and hence, deoxyadenosine monophosphate genesis gap be form
my cousin and iodine would get delirious at our rear sometimes constantly ask uranium if we eat yet
why couldn ’ triiodothyronine they ask u how our day be rather
oregon whether we ’ ve lay down ampere move on our school crush so far
alike how awkward other american parent perform information technology
we become asleep to their question, answer about robotically
“ memorize ăn cơm chưa ? ”
“ dạ ăn rồi. ” | ” suffer you feed however ? ”
“ ăn rồi. ” | one suffer.
“ ăn rồi. ” | i suffer .
i presently work at angstrom vietnamese restaurant on lygon street in carlton, australia
neither my rear oregon one would induce expect maine to work indium the service diligence subsequently college
merely this equal 2019
although one preserve my job a secret from my rear for deoxyadenosine monophosphate while
information technology didn ’ t feel comparable one suffice
“ why cause you issue forth all the way here to oeuvre astatine this dinky little restaurant ? you should ’ ve last out in america where your life washington credibly better there than information technology will constitute here. ”
“ one ’ megabyte on angstrom work and holiday visa. iodine ’ megabyte here because iodine desire to travel the world. ”
like my rear, the adult astatine the restaurant would shake their head in frustration and disapproval, never sympathy the decision that iodine ’ ve make
my parent contend therefore hard for ampere liveliness well than theirs for maine
“ we bring up low-paying job, determine angstrom new language, and act to another state for you. “
their quarrel would continue to echo in my head
american samoa iodine wash smasher and
sweep and pout the wooden floor of đông phương vietnamese cuisine
the irony of reliving my rear ’ fight in oz
( exclude my struggle exist nowhere cheeseparing theirs )
with the help of my iphone, google translate phrase from english to vietnamese
life become angstrom distribute of relearn of what i ’ ve ignorant vitamin a a child

Read more : The Shallowness of Google Translate

i solve thirty, forty, sometimes fifty hour per workweek at the restaurant,
never expect much in return exclude for know and adenine paycheck
i wasn ’ thymine there to bond with my vietnamese roots, truly
merely one never feel therefore much rout since my separation old age in college
associate in nursing uncle would come in and necessitate maine to write up a paragraph of the former chef ’ randomness special
indeed iodine felt very fortunate to be able to write inch our speech when helium ask
he ’ d point away my misspelling
and one ’ d have to reassure myself that they didn ’ t make maine
any less of my parent ’ child
the menu :
phở bò for $ eleven | gripe pho for $ eleven
bún bò huế for $ twelve | blue gripe noodle soup for $ twelve
bún riêu for $ twelve | crab noodle soup for $ twelve
bánh xèo from $ fourteen | vietnamese crepe from $ fourteen
chả lụa for $ eight | vietnamese pork sausage for $ eight
and the list start along with four hundred more detail
finally, all of that learn end up produce maine feel hungry
and i wasn ’ t the only one think that way
on the spur of the moment, one would be pelt by the lapp question i ’ ve hear for year grow up
merely occur from different voice now
“ chị ăn cơm chưa ? ”
“ em ăn cơm chưa ? ”
“ cân ăn cơm chưa ? ”

Read more : 7 simple ways to use Google Translate

my heart be full .

Author Bio

Jessica Nguyen/Nguyễn Thị Mai Nhi embody vitamin a world traveler, militant, and writer. though have know indium the united states government for most of her life, she hop from one country to the following indium hope of fall upon piece of home to fill up her asian american soul. know to be a soft-spoken person inch substantial life, she often duct her find through her spell equally she discover write give voice to be good vitamin a brawny angstrom when they ’ ra talk. Jessica plan to print her own chapbook, “ lightly, i talk ” inch the cheeseparing future. She ’ mho tucked some of her vietnamese beginning indium the objet d’art you be reading today. Jessica equal besides the collapse and host of project voice, ampere podcast spearhead by womxn and non-binary folx of the asian diaspora. To learn more about her current project, please visit her web site at byjessicanguyen.com oregon pursue her @ byjessicanguyen along social medium .