The day I left Vietnam: Creative Writing Mr. Lally Class Assignment

The day I left Vietnam

KienCuong Nguyen I still remember that day; it was July 4, 1994. My

family including my parents, my three younger sisters, and I were going

to leave Vietnam to come to the United States. We had permission from the

United States government to come over to the United States because my father

used to work for the United States Army during the Vietnam war. I woke

up about eight o'clock in the morning. After breakfast, I dressed up and

walked around to say good-bye to my neighborhood. Some of my neighbors

wished me a good life and a better education, some told me keep in touch

with them. Then I went back to my house. It was full of relatives and friends.

They came to visit us for the last time and some of them would go with

us to the airport. My girlfriend was inside; she was waiting for me.

United States

United States

United States

I

met her one year ago and we fell in love after six months. When she knew

I would leave, she cried a lot. I took her to the balcony where we had

our privacy. We sat down and then she silently cried on my shoulders. I

knew she loved me very much and did not want to let me go. She looked at

me with tears and asked, "Will you come back?" I do not remember

how many times she asked me this question. And I always replied with the

answer, "Yes, I will." I told her, "After I finish school

in America, I will come back." Then we went out to have lunch at a

restaurant near my house. When we came back, everybody was ready to leave

because my Dad wanted to get there early in case we had...