1. What do the Hmong consider their most important duties and obligations? How did they affect the Hmong's transition to the United States?
The Hmong viewed dedication to their family and culture their most important obligation. The dedication to their family and culture is important because they did not have much especially when they came to the United States. The Hmong's most important duty was farming because that is how the Hmong were raised to make a living and provide for their families. This was greatly affected by the Hmong's transition to the United States because they could no longer continue the farming they once did. Because of this inability to continue their farming lifestyle once they moved to the United States the Hmong had a hard time supporting their families. Not being able to farm led to Hmong's having to take on more traditional roles. Taking on traditional roles was not something the Hmong's were used to so this lead to many of them receiving government aid.
2. What was the "role loss" many adult Hmong faced when they came to the United States?
The Hmong adults faced significant role loss throughout their transition into the United States. When moving to the United States the Hmong adults were stripped of their normal life "roles." Being stripped of the roles that the Hmong's once had forced them to change their roles in a dramatic way. In the book a psychologist named Evelyn Lee conducted a role-playing exercise with six members of the Hmong culture that had made the transition to the United States. During this role-playing exercise, it became obvious that the family’s roles had changed completely because of their move to America. These roles changed so dramatically because the once self-sufficient Hmong's were now dependent on the government and sometimes their children for help. An example of this in the book include the mother who used to teach her children but now they were sent to school. Another major role change was in the way Hmong's gave birth. Before arriving in America Hmong's would give birth in their homes and would later bury their placentas in their homes. This tradition changed when moving to America because now they were giving birth in hospitals sometimes without the option to take their placentas with them when they left.
3. The concept of “fish soup” is central to the author’s understanding of the Hmong. What does it mean, and how is it reflected in the structure of the book?
The concept of fish soup is first talked about in chapter to where the author tells a story about a boy who was explaining the process making of fish soup. Although the boy could have just listed the ingredients and explained how to make the soup he told how to catch the fish, what lure to use, how to clean the fish, and where to catch the fish. The reason this is significant is because this shows the Hmong's beliefs that all parts of any process are equally important and that everything is somehow connected. This belief is shown throughout the book in how close the family is. It is also demonstrated because the Hmong's believe that the spiritual and physical bodies are interconnected and that American doctors treated the physical body but not the soul. This connection between the spiritual and physical body helped the Hmong's to explain certain medical phenomenon’s. An example used in the book of this is when they explain that a long labor could be cured by drinking water in which a key had been boiled. By drinking this water it was believed to unlock the birth canal.
4. Hmong refugees in America noted the most serious problem for them in the US was having "difficulty with American agencies?" Why do you think they felt this way? What can be done to lessen the problems?
I believe the Hmong's felt that they had difficulties with American agencies because they felt like their culture was not respected or understood by Americans. Hmong's struggled because they had to deal with people who did not understand their culture. This made it hard for the Hmong's to handle situations that would have been easy before they came to America. A perfect example of this is wanting to bury the placenta in their hoes after birth. When the Hmong's came to America not all American doctors understood their culture and did not allow them to leave the hospital with the placenta to keep up with this religious practice. A way this could have been prevented is by American agencies that ere dealing with the Hmong on a daily basis could have tried to learn more about their culture, and their belief system. An example in the book were better knowledge of the Hmong culture would have benefited is the care for Lia. The healthcare providers that cared for Lia did not understand the culture, and Lia's parents did not understand the medical regimens. A better understanding on both the healthcare side and the parents side could have possibly decreased the amount of hospital visits for Lia.
5. Share your emotional response to the book. What part of the book were most meaningful to you and why?
Throughout reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down I was able to learn more about a culture that I have never even heard about before. Learning about the Hmong culture and their beliefs showed me how different they are from my culture and the importance of learning about theirs. The importance of learning more about their culture became even more evident when Lia's doctor became fed up with the inability to communicate with their parents. This lack of communication and understand led the doctor to send Lia to a foster home. This part of the book was the most meaningful to me for many reasons. Frist, I cannot imagine moving to a different country, getting diagnosed with a major health problem, and then being sent away from my family members. Not only did Lia have to transition because of her move to America but also to her new foster family. Lastly, this part of the book showed me the importance of communication between families and medical professionals. If the doctor in this story would've made a better effort to learn more about the culture, and even the language Lia may not have gone to the foster home in the first place.
-Describe how reading this book (and participating in this class) will affect your professional life?
I think that reading this book and participating in this class has shown me that it is imperative to learn about different cultures. Learning about different cultures is not only important because it helps you as a nurse provide better care but also helps you to understand the patient. Understanding the patients culture will help me as a nurse understand how they view medical care, and some cultural beliefs and treatments that they may use. Knowing the alternative treatments each culture uses can help me as a nurse figure out whether the treatments they are using are harmful or helpful to their diagnoses.
6. Discuss the relationship between this group of people, Hmong, and another cultural group using a current article or your text- similar, If so how they adapted or different, what made that difference.
Another cultural group that is similar to the Hmong’s is Mexican Americans. They are similar in the nature that both picked up and moved from their homes without knowing what was to come in the United States. Mexican Americans seemed to have an easier time transitioning because the Office of Citizenship provided information to the immigrants at two points during the transitioning process. This information was provided to them when they became permanent residents and when they were ready to begin the naturalization process. The transitioning process for the Hmong’s may have been easier if they were taught the American culture and educated on different American practices.