Oral History of Katelyn Doanla
The transcription is an interview with Katelyn DoanLa, an 18-year-old Vietnamese American woman who was born and raised in San Jose, California. The interview covers various aspects of Katelyn's identity, upbringing, and relationship with her Vietnamese heritage. Katelyn discusses her fluency in the Vietnamese language, noting that she is conversational but not fully fluent. She feels this has impacted her ability to fully connect with her Vietnamese culture and community at times. Katelyn also describes her parents' educational and professional backgrounds, as well as the cultural traditions, such as Buddhism, that her family has maintained. The interview explores Katelyn's sense of identity, as she considers herself Vietnamese American but feels more connected to her Vietnamese side as she has gotten older. She discusses the pressure she has felt to conform to certain expectations and values associated with her Asian and Vietnamese heritage, and how she has navigated balancing those with more Western ideals. Katelyn also shares experiences of economic hardship her family faced when her father retired and her mother was still in school, and how they relied on government assistance programs like food stamps. She reflects on how this may have impacted her family's need to assimilate to American culture. Overall, the interview provides insight into the nuanced experience of a second-generation Vietnamese American navigating her cultural identity, language fluency, family dynamics, and sense of belonging within both Vietnamese and American contexts.
Title: Oral History of Katelyn Doanla
Contributor: Jane Cady
Contributing Institution: International Children Assistance Network
Date Created and/or Issued: 2025-04-03
Collection: 2nd Gen Vietnamese-American Oral History
Format: 1 PDF English Transcription, 1 M4a Audio File
Topics: Tradition and Customs | Refugee | Culture Conflict | Education | San Jose | Cultural Identity | Vietnamese American | Language | Ethnicity | Community
Language: English