Tangled Threads Response

               I really enjoyed reading Tangled Threads because it gave me some insight into Hmong culture. I liked it especially because my student teaching experience was at Patrick Henry High School, and there was a large Hmong student population. I remember being curious about their culture but too shy to ask questions then. Reading this text answered some of those questions now. It was cool.

                I remember being clued into the food culture of the Hmong students because they sold egg rolls in a fund-raising capacity, and I always marveled at the deliciousness and reverence of Hmong food culture. I love people who love food because I love food too. There's plenty of love for all of us, no? Anyway, I was always amazed at these young students capability to make awesome grub. When I was sixteen, I could barely make sandwiches effectively. Those ladies made better egg rolls than any purchased one I ever ate. Of course, I didn't know they were in arranged marriages then too...

                I found this discovery within Hmong culture a little distressing. I had NO IDEA that some of my students back then were probably already "married" to each other or promised to one another. Wow, culture shock. It makes sense to me now, after reading this book, some of the things I saw and heard and their actual contextual placement within PHS's social structures, so I find myself grateful for this book in ways I had not anticipated when I picked it up.

                I also appreciated the glimpse into the shamanic ways of Hmong culture as well. It was interesting to watch the character of Grandma come to grips with a modern society that seems to have little time or space for the ancient comforts of a shaman-based metaphysical anchor. Thumbs up.