00:00:01.550 - 00:00:11.470

Okay. So, uh, I’m Ashton Gooding, and … I’m Karen Resnick. Nice to meet you all. Um, so could you state your name and tell us, uh, what you do here? My name is Ty.

00:00:12.060 - 00:00:21.740

First name’s T-Y. Last name’s L-A-M, Lam. I’m a baker, here. So I wake up in the morning, come make all the fresh doughnuts every day here. Get up 2:30 in the morning.

00:00:21.840 - 00:00:35.740

So, every day—everything’s made fresh, every day. Awesome. Um, where were you born and, uh, where did you grow up? I was born in Cambodia. Uh, I came to the United States in 1982.

00:00:36.570 - 00:00:45.970

I lived in Denver for about 20-some years. Uh, then I moved to, uh, Philadelphia for about 7 years. Then I just moved here for my first year here in Houston.

00:00:47.060 - 00:00:59.060

Okay. So did you grow up and live in Cambodia for your childhood? Uh, I came here about 7. Okay. So when I first came here, I didn’t speak a word of English. So when I started second grade

00:00:59.060 - 00:01:12.600

and—and, um, I remember learning, uh, with flashcards. So they showed pictures and I just learned from there. Yeah. So English’s like my third language. So, yeah. So if it’s your third language, what

00:01:12.830 - 00:01:23.910

other 2 languages did you … I speak Cambodian. Okay. And Chinese. So … Um, could you tell us a little bit more about your childhood? Um, a little bit more about

00:01:24.210 - 00:01:34.660

what did your parents do, and stuff like that. Uh, I’m not sure you guys heard of the killing fields in Cambodia. In 1975, when the communists took over. So they took over Cambodia.

00:01:35.270 - 00:01:50.730

So all of us were forced to, uh—to, uh, get out of the city, move to the, you know, the—they call it countrysides, okay. So during that 5-year spans, they pretty much—their goal was to pretty much wipe out the whole populations.

00:01:52.050 - 00:02:06.910

So we were … part of my family escaped, you know? I lost my—lost, uh, part of my family members. We’ve got a big family. I got, uh … just 10 kids, I’m the youngest one, and then, you know, I got 5—5 females and 5 males.

00:02:07.600 - 00:02:20.670

So I lost my brother—my 2 brothers in Cambodia during the killing field and I lost my dad, and I lost a sisters. So the rest of us made it here and after ’39 the Vietnamese took over, that’s how we came—came out of Cambodia.

00:02:20.770 - 00:02:35.070

Then we went to Thailand—migrated to Thailand, and we stayed in refugee camps about a year. Then they finally got sponsored to the US and my oldest brother came here before, uh—before uh—he came here

00:02:35.070 - 00:02:47.590

in like ’79. So he sponsored us here. But, before then, we had to go to live in refugee camp about a year in Thailand. Then they could move us to the Philippines, refugee camp there. So we stayed there about 6 months before we came here.

00:02:47.590 - 00:03:02.970

So the first time land in America was in, um, you know, started in San Francisco, for like, you know, a day—a day or 2 layover, then we came to Denver directly. And I lived in Denver for—going on Denver, pretty much, 20-some years.

00:03:03.060 - 00:03:13.890

Yeah. How did you guys—why did you guys move to Denver? Did you have family or did you know people…? Yeah, my—my oldest brother lived there. So he sponsored us here to Denver.

00:03:13.890 - 00:03:25.840

Okay. So that was our first, you know, uh, destination. So, yeah. And then, high school—you know went high school there, middle school, high school, and then, uh, went to college

00:03:29.460 - 00:03:40.410

there. Um, what was your neighborhood like and how was your school? Where I first came here? Mm-hmm. Now, when—back then, I …. Excuse me. Yeah, we were pretty naïve.

00:03:41.130 - 00:03:49.700

So we just excited, you know. And I don’t think thing was bad, it’s back there as it is nowadays, depends where you live. Now we lived in Commerce City. That’s the first city we lived in.

00:03:50.660 - 00:04:03.360

And, you know, I remember coming here, have the opportunity to go to school, we just excited, you know, just to learn. I’d get all disappointed when it’s summer break, like what we gonna do for 3 months, you know? And, you know, the reason why is that, you know, back in

00:04:03.410 - 00:04:17.100

Cambodia, you never have the opportunities, you know? So we came here; started second grade, and then, you know, like, the—the first 2, 3 years, I remember that’s probably the toughest one we spent summer break, break time, you know?

00:04:17.100 - 00:04:27.400

Like you know, what are we gonna do? You know, it’s summer time. So you get bored. So, you know, I always remember so excited to get back to school. So, you know, just that feeling, it’s kinda hard to, uh….

00:04:27.400 - 00:04:41.900

I know most kids here probably don’t—can’t imagine that feeling because we get—we kinda take things for granted here. So, um, what was the other part of your questions? What was the neighborhood like?

00:04:42.900 - 00:04:54.860

Yeah. Uh, you know, we— Yeah. It—you know, to—to us it was pretty nice, you know. Um, because it was pretty—pretty mixed. We got all kind of, you know, uh, Black, white, Asian, all

00:04:54.860 - 00:05:05.380

these good mixtures. You know, so we went to , back then, we don’t—when you just first learn English, you don’t realize there’s lot of things going on, you know? And, back then, I think more, people back then,

00:05:06.040 - 00:05:19.320

from what I remember, more nicer than what you, you know, see nowaday on TV, this and that. So I think, you know, for—for me, for what I remember, it—it was pretty nice. Pretty nice neighborhood, too, you know. We lived in an apartment in a complex.

00:05:19.370 - 00:05:29.330

You know, so… Yeah. With 3 bedrooms, there’s like, you know, like 7, 10 of us there. So, you know, just sharing three bedrooms. So, yeah, so….

00:05:29.330 - 00:05:40.130

It, you know, it was—to—to us, it was heaven. Having the opportunity to come here and start over. So, you know, it all depends how you’re looking at it. You know?

00:05:40.130 - 00:05:51.510

Uh, what did you do for fun? When you were—when you were younger? Uh, I—I love sports. I remember, you know, when I first came here because we were so, uh, mal—what’s it now?

00:05:51.860 - 00:06:02.170

You don’t have enough to eat. You’re malnutrition, whatever you call that, okay. Uh, the doctor told me I’m not supposed to run that much. You know, not—not be so active—so active because my heart was weak.

00:06:02.740 - 00:06:16.050

So they give me medi—medication the first 2, 3 years. So I take—after I do that, taking my medication, then, you know, in gym I like to, you know, just play soccer, whatever. And, you know, back then, I played soccer, basketball,

00:06:16.830 - 00:06:31.510

whatever. I enjoyed playing basketball a lot. So I’ve been playing since, I think, fourth grade. Yeah. Yeah. Um, well… Um, so what did you do as like—for your first job?

00:06:32.530 - 00:06:47.490

My first job I remember I was doing, uh—doing dishes, going to work for a restaurant, you know, as a teenagers, you know. So, I remember taking the bus, and, you know, just go wash dishes for a couple hours after school.

00:06:47.750 - 00:07:01.130

So, that was my first job, and then after that, then summertime in—in high school, I’d do like a… student program for a high school during summer time. So a summer job I’d guess you call that.

00:07:01.700 - 00:07:10.230

So I did that, we’d go to, you know, different schools, cleaning school, clean gums off—underneath the tables, you know, all that. During summertime. So I did that for a while, you know, for the summers.

00:07:11.120 - 00:07:21.320

Then my last 2 years, I work in a, um, amusement park. It’s called Water World, um, in Denver. So I worked there. And that’s a lot of fun, seeing people coming in, having fun. So I enjoyed it.

00:07:26.480 - 00:07:37.850

Uh, where did you go to college? I went to, uh, Colorado—Colorado Mountain College. That’s down in, uh—up in, uh, Glenwood Springs, by Aspen. So I went there about four years.

00:07:38.160 - 00:07:50.130

I got my, uh, professional photography up there. Um, I like to take pictures. I’m a photographer. I got my, uh—I—when I was in—after I graduated, came back and worked in a photo lab, couple

00:07:50.130 - 00:07:59.960

labs, got some experience. Then ended up buying the store that I worked for. The guy, you know, he’s selling it to me. So I bought—took over the store. Um, so I have my own store.

00:07:59.980 - 00:08:14.040

I have a retail store selling cameras, you know. I shoot weddings on the weekends and do one hour film processing. Everything was going fine, everything was going good until, uh, 9/11… Uh, so you were discussing your—your photography,

00:08:15.570 - 00:08:27.610

um, and I guess we were wondering how did you get into photography? Was there anyone that inspired you to study that? The idea was I love to travel ‘cause of what I have been through in my life, you know, I

00:08:27.610 - 00:08:37.080

like to see things; I like to explore. And I thought, uh, photography would be a—give me an opportunity to—to see the world, you know? When I first graduated, I got recruit to work in a

00:08:37.170 - 00:08:49.550

cruise ship. And, now, I didn’t—you know I didn't take up the offer. You just get out of high school, you know, so new and the whole world in front of you, and I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to go to college.

00:08:49.550 - 00:09:01.480

Options like: pick education or go work now right after high school, and I choose the, uh, education route. So I figured, you know, that way I get more experience with the photography, and I learn more about it, you know?

00:09:01.650 - 00:09:21.760

Uh, so, I think that's part of reason why I like photography and I like working with people. You know, then when I—so I went to, uh, college, give me the opportunity. I—we did a lot in college, you know, went to sea, did a lot of travelings.

00:09:21.790 - 00:09:30.020

We went to like Yellowstones, Grand Canyons. It's all beautiful, you know? The first time, I've never seen that, I was like, “Oh wow!” You know? Everything’s so new, you know?

00:09:30.810 - 00:09:39.910

You don't realize—it's kind of hard to describe when you never seen it before. Everything’s like so “Ooh” and “Ahh” to you, you know? You like, you turn around, 80—360 degrees, you don't know what to take, you

00:09:39.910 - 00:09:50.030

know, what to snap. I remember the professor just laughed, you know? Uh, he just look at us and said “Wow!” You know, he just, you know, just, “Calm down. You know, take your time, and just

00:09:50.120 - 00:09:59.880

focus on your subject, and, you know, start shooting. You know that's, that's the kind of feeling that I get out of, you know, when I travel. I love travel, you know, and I did, you know—we did

00:10:00.160 - 00:10:14.520

quite a bit of traveling and vacation with families and stuff like that so you know…. So I think that's the main part of it. And, uh, I was hoping to—after I graduate, you know, and work for like a, uh, modeling agency, get to travel the world.

00:10:14.900 - 00:10:25.200

You know, that didn't quite work out, didn't get the connections, you know? A lot of to do with who you knows and how you get your foot in the door. And I didn't, you know—I didn’t have that

00:10:25.220 - 00:10:40.620

opportunity. So I just stuck—I decided to go with, uh, portraits and country, and the portrait side of it. So… And so, what was—what did you work in with your photography?

00:10:42.650 - 00:10:53.290

Or what job were you working at? I started out when I was in school, I also worked part time for the school managing the lab. Do a lot of film processing. And then I worked for a photographer up in Aspens.

00:10:54.260 - 00:11:03.170

We do a lot of shoots for, uh, the magazines, Aspen magazine up there. So it—you, know, it’s a good experience going back and forth to Aspens. You know, it's like it’s a different world.

00:11:04.200 - 00:11:19.050

And it's quite a drive, too, you know, from where—Glenwood up—up there. And, uh, it’s, you know…. So I did that for him for like, uh—worked with him about a year, year and a half. Then after that I worked for another photographer up in Copper—I think it's Copper?

00:11:19.100 - 00:11:29.820

Mountain. And he—uh, then they shoot like skis at the ski resorts. So the couple would go out and shoot, and they would bring back the film. I would do the film processing, and they would

00:11:29.980 - 00:11:49.090

take the picture back and sell it to you know—to the whoever it is—the client that…. So I did some of that. So that's how I could experience a film processing, and, you know, and get to know how to correct for colors, and how to seep , and how to adjust. And after that—after I graduated, I moved back to Denver, then

00:11:49.090 - 00:12:00.530

start looking—you know, working at uh—the first job I had was like a glamour shop. I'm not sure you've heard of it, like inside the mall they've got this portrait studio where you go in and you dressed up. They

00:12:00.620 - 00:12:14.020

dress you up and they put makeup on you. Yeah, and I was, you know, I was the photographer shooting that for a while. After that, I, you know, again started working for, um, Lakewood Camera, that's the camera store that I—I went in there you know,

00:12:14.260 - 00:12:23.330

worked for him and after about a year and a half, that's when I started taking over the business. So, yeah. Then, you know, I enjoyed it.

00:12:23.380 - 00:12:38.260

I enjoy shooting weddings, you know, good to meet different peoples, and some people get all stressed about it, but to me that's a fun occasion. You know, you're just there to capture that special moments, you know. And, uh, before you get to know ‘em personally.

00:12:38.480 - 00:12:47.370

You know, before I shoot a wedding I get to know ‘em—get to know ‘em personally. That way when I’m—they actually shoot, they'll be more comfortable with you. So—and I enjoyed that quite a bit.

00:12:55.300 - 00:13:09.150

So…uh… Uh, at the time did you have a—you mentioned your brother was here before. So you had relatives and family who were living there— Yes. In Colorado? You're right. That's my oldest brother. He didn't got caught up in the—the whole, uh, the

00:13:09.620 - 00:13:21.770

Khmer Rouge, the Pol Pot area. So he—he happened to escape before they took over. And my other 2 brothers, you know, they…they were—they never got out.

00:13:22.370 - 00:13:33.620

So actually we were—going back to that, we were like…the next—the next in line to be killed. So, that year they probably—

00:13:33.810 - 00:13:48.910

they—where we lived, they dug the holes for us already. And, I think it's 1979 and, uh,…. But fortunately for us, the Vietnamese took over that year, and we escaped from that. So…

00:13:49.020 - 00:14:02.460

Uh, before you came to the US, uh, what had you heard about the US? What was your impression? Nothing. You know, we never—we—you know, my mom keep talking about, you know, "See those planes? Someday we’ll fly on it and we'll go somewhere nice." You know?

00:14:03.130 - 00:14:12.400

But we never imagined what US was like. You know, being in third world country, you don't know what's out there. You never been on a plane before. You never ridden on a car before.

00:14:13.110 - 00:14:23.860

So this is—everything’s new. So first thing we—we went on a plane, you know, it's like so exciting, you know? Like walking up and on those stairs, you know. Then when you first—I remember first sitting down.

00:14:24.270 - 00:14:32.250

You, know, first open a can of Sunkist. Soda, you know? It's like “Wow!” You know, this tastes so good, cold, you know. You’re like—just

00:14:32.280 - 00:14:52.340

even—even little things like you remember is like “Wow, it tastes like—” Sooo, uh…let’s see what—what I'm trying…you—you appreciate it. You know, so… Would you say that it was a bit of an adjustment coming to the US, or did you just

00:14:52.400 - 00:15:02.620

fit in just fine? You know, it's—it’s quite bit a—huge adjustment, you know? And just imagine you going to somewhere brand new you never—you never seen before, you know?

00:15:03.950 - 00:15:14.750

And ‘cause of what we've been through you're like just this second opportunity in life, you know? Like, you don't speak the language, you know? So it—it wasn't easy, but because of what we've

00:15:14.910 - 00:15:26.960

been through, you know, we used that as a, you know, a…something to, you know, to encourage to work harder. You know what I mean? You know, everything you see here, electricity, running

00:15:26.960 - 00:15:34.800

water, we never had anything that. You know first time you look at TV it's like, “Oh, what's that?” You know, “A pretty picture on the tube,” you know? We never have that. Telephone,

00:15:34.880 - 00:15:43.090

pick it up, talk to somebody on the—on the other side. You're like, “Oh. How cool is that?” You know? So, you know, back then it's just like little things like that. You, as a kid, you're like

00:15:43.090 - 00:15:51.870

everything’s like “Ooh,” and “Ahh,” “Ooh,” and “Ahh”, you know? It’s like you're just overwhelmed with all this new technology, new stuff that you never had before. So I think you appreciate it more.

00:15:51.900 - 00:16:04.460

I think nowadays you don't see kids appreciate them. And I think like kids here, they go to school. They don't understand, you know how lucky they are, here. I mean, you know, they—to me

00:16:04.610 - 00:16:17.920

it's just a waste of opportunity. You don't appreciate it, and then I guess sometime in life when you never had it before, I think you appreciate it more, and I think that's what we went through, you know? So everything—you know, everything—everything’s like new;

00:16:17.920 - 00:16:29.140

everything’s, you know, exciting; everything’s learning opportunity, you know, seen as an opportunity to better yourself, so…. So that's how, you know—that's how we view this world. And listen, it was a challenge to

00:16:29.140 - 00:16:44.870

learn the language. But, you—you know, when you put in a situation where you're forced to—to learn it in order to survive, then, yeah, you—you tend to pick it a lot quicker, you know? So— and then, you know, when you go to school, you speak it all the time; you learn; you try

00:16:44.870 - 00:16:57.030

to listen; you learn all the time, you know? So it's—and I was fortunate to—when I went to, um, moved to, uh, , when I was about 4th grade, you know, I got a couple friends. I go to their house.

00:16:57.060 - 00:17:07.990

The parent would just…. And I told ‘em, you know, any time I make mistake when I’m speaking English, correct me right away. So they did that, and that helped me a lot. And, you know, we still friends as childhood.

00:17:08.760 - 00:17:22.370

Talk nowadays, you know, and we still, you know, keep in touch with one another. So—so I was fortunate to have friends like them. So… Um, so when you first came here did you have a community or network of friends,

00:17:22.900 - 00:17:31.990

family members that were in the area, or anything like that? Not really, you know. I mean, everybody's new, and, you know, we don't have the car, you know? Everything's like—I walked to school.

00:17:32.270 - 00:17:40.100

Everything's like, you know…. And we had—you know, my brother had a car. And one car is like the whole family, you know, jammed in there so .

00:17:40.280 - 00:17:51.320

Yeah, I remember , you know—but, uh, I don't remember having any community that—to go to really. So, you know, my thing’s just school and that was it. You know, I have that going for me so…

00:17:53.360 - 00:18:01.760

What’d you do after school ended? Did you go— Uh… —home? Did you go to an after school? After school, what I would have did—if they have after school program, most likely I

00:18:01.760 - 00:18:11.240

would sign up for it. Then after that, you know, then I go home. You know, play with kids—you know, play with other friends, you know? From what I remember, you know, uh, after I finish my

00:18:11.260 - 00:18:21.470

homework, then I get to go play, you know. So that's the thing. If I had homework, I haven't finished it, I don't get to play. So my thing is come home, do my homework, okay I finish, you

00:18:21.470 - 00:18:31.460

know, then I can go play with my friends. So yeah, you know. And, you know, we'd—we’d play and hang out. Played tennis, basketball, Hi-C , you know, all that fun stuff that kids do.

00:18:35.250 - 00:18:46.460

So… Uh, When you first came here, were there anybody in the community or anyone at school helping you with the transition? You mentioned your friend's parents like helping you with English. Yeah, but when I first start out they got a English as a second language.

00:18:46.990 - 00:18:57.970

Yeah. So that's—that's what they put me in. That's how I learned. But when I get home, I was on my own. So there's like no—you know, no assistant helping. ‘Cause my family, when you came

00:18:57.970 - 00:19:07.240

home, you just speak Chinese, you know? So, in a way, I—I got the disadvantage there. I come home; I don't get to use English. So the only English I use is when I’m at school.

00:19:08.400 - 00:19:17.450

So, you know, but…. So, but—but that way I—in a way, it's good. And that way when I don’t—I never forget my own language, you know?

00:19:18.240 - 00:19:28.800

So, you know, we always speak our own language at home, you know, because my mother doesn't speak English that well. And she tried to learn, it's hard for her to learn. So, you know—so I just speak Chinese to her all the time,

00:19:36.410 - 00:19:47.800

so. Uh, what—what would you say is the most difficult part of immigrating? The most difficult part? Yeah, in your experience. In my experience.

00:19:52.400 - 00:20:08.290

Uh…I don't know that's just—I don't view it as a—you know, I view it as an opportunity. So most people—you know, I didn't come here because they dragged me here. We came here because we were—we wanted to. So I don't—I don't see that as an obstacle or a—

00:20:08.330 - 00:20:21.580

a hardship. So to me, it's just selecting a land of opportunity , you know. So I don't see any hardship in that. So it's kinda hard for me to describe as something that's difficult. So after what we've been through, you know, we're like,

00:20:22.020 - 00:20:46.510

“Yeah. This is a blessing.” Um, so how did you decide to come to Houston? Family. Um, my sister need help with the—the donut shop. So—and, uh, I was

00:20:46.510 - 00:20:58.020

helping one of my brothers in, uh, you know—in New Jersey with a liquor store. Then she needed help. So I—you know, that's why we came here and are helping her out. And we try to learn the business, too. And, hopefully, someday, we'll open our own donut shop.

00:20:58.020 - 00:21:08.760

We'll see if we like it or not. But the idea, get up early 2, 3 o' clock, 2:30 every morning is kind of tough, you know. That's like the best time to, you know, get sleep. And I haven't used to it.

00:21:08.870 - 00:21:23.900

I've been here about, you know, almost a year now. So still—still working on it, but yeah. Still adjusting. So… So you all—so you and your brothers and sister all came into Colorado and then went your

00:21:24.040 - 00:21:36.650

separate ways? Right, then we all went our separate way. My—my sister, uh, here, Nancy she went to a— a—actually she been to quite a few places. She went to Washington D.

00:21:36.650 - 00:21:48.320

C.. Then she went to Seattle, and, um, then from there she went to, uh, California, and then here. So then my youngest sister has been here for a while. So she got married and she moved here with her husband.

00:21:49.390 - 00:22:01.480

Then my, uh—my oldest brother’s still in, um, Colorado and my oldest sister is still in Colorado, and my fourth sister is still in Colorado. And then my third brother is in, uh, Philadelphia. So we kind of all scattered.

00:22:06.380 - 00:22:18.780

Uh, what area of Houston do you live in? Southwest. Yeah, southwest of here. I guess Southwest Houston. Yeah. How would you describe the area or the community that's—that’s in the area?

00:22:19.230 - 00:22:30.380

It—it's still new to us. You know, we just move in and we don't get to know the, uh—the neighbors, the neighborhood that well yet. Um, you know….

00:22:30.380 - 00:22:44.520

Uh, Houston is such a big city. UH, when we first moved here, we didn't even anticipate or…uh, didn't realize that they got like so much problem with burglary, you know bur—bur—um,

00:22:48.430 - 00:22:58.150

with, uh, theft, burglary. So we experienced that, you know, about 6 months after we move in. So that was like something we didn't expect to experience.

00:22:58.450 - 00:23:08.540

We see it on the news every morning. You know, something— somebody go rob this and rob that. So, you know, we got a—so we got a house, you know. Some guy tried to break in our house, you know, like 7 o' clock at night.

00:23:09.650 - 00:23:22.900

And, you know, broke our glass, broke our window so that he could go through that, and called the cop in on that. You know, that's—I think that's the—you know, that's one experience that we don't want to ever go through that ever again in life, you know.

00:23:22.900 - 00:23:37.000

And, I guess that's part of living in a city like this, yo know? So…uh, so far, you know it's, you know, it's nice. I like it. I don't mind. So… Do you live close to your sister?

00:23:37.500 - 00:23:45.330

Do you guys both live in the same area? Uh, not really. We're kind of—kind of a little bit scattered. About maybe 15 to half an hour from each other.

00:23:46.160 - 00:23:56.750

Yeah, 15 minutes to half an hour. So… Uh, have you lived in other parts of the city than your current location? Or always the same place? I lived my—my sister for a while.

00:23:56.910 - 00:24:14.220

And then after—after we found our own place, you know, we moved out. So it's still Houston, still southwest, you know? Yeah. Um, did you work at anything else or did you just help her out at the donut shop? Well, I just come here to try to learn the business .

00:24:14.300 - 00:24:30.260

So, you know—-o that's why I concentrate on just…see if it—you know—if it’s something you want to pursue later on. So, it just give me opportunity to learn another craft. So… How would you describe your experience in Houston?

00:24:30.380 - 00:24:38.470

Has it been a positive one? You mentioned the whole incident with the burglary. Yeah, except for, you know—it's—it’s a positive thing. But, you know, just like one incident, you know?

00:24:38.770 - 00:24:47.180

And, um, we—we learned from it. We went to an HO meeting and we found out, you know, most of the neighborhood got broken. And odd thing was, you know, then

00:24:47.180 - 00:25:02.800

we brought up—it’s like…it seemed like the law here is just protecting the criminals, you know? And…and I, you know, that the neighbors like—they always feel so helpless. They—they not willing to do anything about it, you know?

00:25:02.800 - 00:25:12.170

They go, “Oh, yeah. This is…” They learn to accept it as the way of life. And, you know—and I'm not used to that, you know? I work hard to get where

00:25:12.170 - 00:25:22.120

I'm at and I don't want to accept that as a way of life, you know? I want to find solution, you know, to get that resolved, you know? So, you know, we end up talking to more neighbors,

00:25:22.470 - 00:25:37.280

getting to know one another more, and, you know—and that way keep an eye on it for one another. So I think that will help, uh, prevent that. And, you know—and see any strange thing; drive—someone strange—somebody's driving, you know, around the neighborhood that we don't

00:25:37.280 - 00:25:50.460

notice it or never seen before, then you start, you know, taking note and write down their license plate, and stuff like that, and start calling the cops. So I think that eventually will calm that—you know—that situation down. So, yeah.

00:25:54.440 - 00:26:08.930

How would you compare your experience here to that of Colorado? I love Colorado! I would move back to Colorado in a heartbeat. Yeah, it's— seriously, it's—it’s different. It's more laid back in Colorado and I think people…a

00:26:10.800 - 00:26:21.870

lot nicer, okay? Here seems so aggressive, you know, so in a hurry to go nowhere really. I never got so cut off so many times in my life until I got here.

00:26:22.590 - 00:26:30.880

They don't signal; they just cut in front of you. And then you see the news like, you know, “Let ‘em go. Don't argue with them. They've got guns.” Everybody—I guess everybody here carry guns.

00:26:30.960 - 00:26:40.880

I don't know. So that's like something getting used to, you know, wild wild west or something. I don't know. But—but, you know, I—I—like I said, I lived there for some—20-some years.

00:26:41.020 - 00:26:53.490

I guess when you live there for that long—and we never—I never gone through this kind of situation. I remember, you know, we live in area where you can actually leave your garage open at night, and you don' t have—don’t have to

00:26:53.490 - 00:27:04.580

worry about it. Here, you can't do that, you know? Here you drive, you gotta look like 360 degrees man! Just to be alert! You know? You see people come right behind you, tailgating you, and next

00:27:04.630 - 00:27:15.870

thing they cut in front of you. So it's—it' s different. Yeah. So it's different lifestyle here. And I didn't expect Houston to be that bad ‘cause I—you know, I lived in back east and I thought you know, New York, you know, back east is kind of bad too.

00:27:16.500 - 00:27:28.650

But man you guys, whoo! Houston might be number one in that area. So… Um, so what's your day-to-day schedule like?

00:27:30.210 - 00:27:41.290

Come, work, go home, sleep. No. No. You—you know, right now we got like a day off. So, you know, we will take—usually the day off on the weekends. So, you know, uh,

00:27:41.990 - 00:27:56.180

normally we, you know, get here about 3, 3:30 in the morning. We get up 2:30. Gets—you know get about 3:30. And normally you know we clean, by the time we clean, about 2:30, 3 o' clock. Then we have to go buy stuff for the or whatever we got out so.

00:27:56.960 - 00:28:07.600

When I get home about 5, 5:30-ish, and go to bed about 6, 6:30, 7 o' clock . That's our daily routine, you know, working at a donut shop. So, work hard.

00:28:07.630 - 00:28:24.040

Go to school. Um, what would you say is the one thing you’re most proud of? Uh, the most—one thing I'm most proud of? Just…I don't know.

00:28:24.040 - 00:28:37.540

I think…just being here, being in America. Just opportunity to—have—just have the opportunities to pursue whatever

00:28:37.540 - 00:28:49.160

you wanted to do, you know? I just—to me just have that opportunity just realizing, you know, how lucky it is to be here, you know? And most people—when I went back to Cambodia seeing,

00:28:49.680 - 00:29:04.320

you know, the country the way it is, and, you know—and just realizing, “You know what? We're real lucky, even though we've been through much all—and through all that hardship.” You know? And just making you, uh, appreciate it more. And I think, you know, I—I don't take

00:29:04.390 - 00:29:19.370

things for granted really. You know, I just appreciate everything that's in—that’s in front of me. So… So you've been back to Cambodia? Yes, I went back. That's when I went, uh—went back, uh, to marry my wife. So, yeah. Went

00:29:19.370 - 00:29:29.710

back there twice. And when I first came here, I—you know, I told myself I would never go back ‘cause of what happened. And I end up going back so . It's ironic how life works sometimes.

00:29:29.760 - 00:29:43.250

But, you know… Uh, has anything changed since you've gone back? Any noticeable differences? Yeah that's—they got cars now—more cars now. But, you know, it's…it's

00:29:46.290 - 00:29:55.220

kind of hard to describe. Here, you feel a lot safer. There, they drive crazy, you know? They go all kind of direction, every which way, you know?

00:29:55.260 - 00:30:04.620

And you can’t—you have a hard time even crossing the street. But they got too many cars in the street. It's not like planned—plan out a way time—a way ahead, you know.

00:30:05.380 - 00:30:18.020

And way—everything’s like—all the houses built next to the street so there's not—there's not enough street for the car, you know? And there's more people now, you know? I mean from what—you know, when I was there as a kid, you know, you don't have that

00:30:18.020 - 00:30:30.250

much, and now there's, you know, a little more progress but I think still too much chaos. You know, they don't have, you know, opportunity’s in school, you know, to educate yourself, you know, unless you're wealthy, rich.

00:30:30.760 - 00:30:44.510

Then you have that opportunity at school. Here, everybody is given the equal opportunity to be educated, you know? And the kids most of them don't realize it. They just go to school, just play and do whatever, and they

00:30:44.510 - 00:30:53.380

never have that feeling having nothing. You know, when you get up, nothing to eat, you know? Then you can't force yourself to work hard.

00:30:53.800 - 00:31:08.610

And here, everything’s kinda given to ‘em you know, and they never have—never have that—that realization what nothing feels like. So, you know, I think that's a big difference there. So you met your wife in Cambodia?

00:31:08.730 - 00:31:19.350

Do you have other relatives? No, uh, just my wife's side of it. And I met her—you know, her uncles live in Colorado and they—I've known ‘em for 20-something years.

00:31:19.690 - 00:31:31.150

And he’s a videographer and we end up shooting weddings together. I do the still photography; he do the video. And he ended up, you know, telling me, "Hey, I got, you know, a niece down in Cambodia right now, if you're interested."

00:31:32.350 - 00:31:43.560

And we end up talking. He's like real persistent. I’m like, “Okay.” I go to a little vacation there, find out, just meet her and things kind of work out. So, here she is,

00:31:47.070 - 00:31:53.920

so. Well, uh, do you have any more questions? I—I think I'm good. Well good. Good . Well thank you. You're welcome. Thank you so much for your time.

00:31:53.920 - 00:31:59.810

It was a pleasure. All right, thank you. You're welcome. I hope you guys get something out of it. And uh all right. All right.