May L. Xiong
I was born in Ban Vinai, a refugee camp, in Thailand.
My family came to America in September of 1987. I hardly remembered my first two years in the States. I was paralyzed in a state of survival and culture shock. However, I clearly remembered the evening when my uncle and waves of relatives came to welcome us at the airport. As they drove us home, the street lights and traffic lights glimmered everywhere. As my hands rested on the window, as if I were reaching for the lights, I thought to myself, “This has to be heaven. Stars are everywhere and so close in reach!”
With my experience, I am sensitive to the needs of space for family and children. I understand how much home instability can affect children. I know well, because as a teacher, I’ve seen with my own eyes. If every child can live in a permanent home, how great that would be!
