Roots: part of the body of a plant that develops, typically, fromAngkor Wat, Phnom Penh Cambodia, summer 2008 the radicle and grows downward into the soil, anchoring the plant and absorbing nutriment and moisture.

Sue, the director of baan AYUI is going with me to visit my birthplace, Houasai (Houaxai, Houaxay), Laos.  While teaching the Akha children the value of preserving one's culture, I feel as if I'm holding a mirror and see a reflection of myself when I look at them.  I remembered being young and wanting to live like all my American friends and thinking that my mom's culture and ways of life was strange or ancient.  But as I've gotten older, I have observed how the elders of the community are diminishing and the younger generations don't know much about the traditions or customs of our own people.  My dream was to go to Yunnan Province to find my parents' birth place, but never in my wildest dreams did I dare think that I will be so close to visiting my own birthplace. 

Our roots makes us who we are regardless of how we've changed through our language/accents or our looks, the roots of our past is the nourishment that completes our quest for our personal history. This workshop is so more than teaching children the art of photography, working with these hill tribe children made me realized something that I was totally unwaware of, that my parents were a minority in their home country as well. 

My emotions are a mixture of joy and sadness.  I've been imagining this moment (of me visiting my birth village) for awhile now and each time, I would get all misty eyed.  I wish that my mom could see me now...see that I have not forgotten where I came from and that I am proud of my heritage and lineage.