A Step Into Hmong Culture

On February 28^th, 2013, my roommate and I visited the Hmong International Market in St. Paul.  While on the way to the market, we really didn’t have any expectations. Neither of us was very familiar with the Hmong culture, and we planned on going to the market with very open minds.  Little did we know, we were about to immerse ourselves into a completely different culture just a short 15-minute drive from home.  When we first pulled into the parking lot, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.  The cars in the parking lot were average, the buildings/warehouses were a little bit rundown but nothing too surprising, and the people outside looked no other than a different ethnicity you would see walking on campus.  

The second that we stepped foot into the entrance of the east building, I felt a sudden transformation from being the American majority to the minority in Hmong culture.  All American culture, values, norms, symbols, basically my reality, had suddenly disappeared.  I was standing on the outside looking in for really the first time in my life, and it was truly an eye-opening experience.  The sounds, smell, and the commotion and clutter were the first things that registered with me.  I felt like I was walking through a small village in Asia, and which I later found out, I pretty much was.  This market was very chaotic, it seemed like they try and cram as much as possible into the little space they had.  I noticed that each stand was separately owned and generally had 1-2 people working.  My best conclusion for this was that a different family owned each individual stand.  I noticed that some stands were nicer than others, which probably meant that those families had more money than the others.  For the most part, each stand sold different products.  Some sold clothes, while others sold decorations or kitchenware.  Just about anything that you can imagine was for sale at the market.  The stands were very small, about 12 feet by 12 feet.  They were set up on both the left and right sides with a walkway running through the middle of them.  Each stand had their own unique display in the front of the shop and had a walkway around it that could only fit one or two people inside of the shop.  They seemed very unorganized, they didn’t have aisle numbers or product labels like you would find at your typical American grocery store.  

The food at the market was also very interesting.  It was definitely not what you would find in an American grocery store, well besides the vegetables.  Going into the market, I had known that this culture likes to eat all sorts of strange things. It was very interesting to see what they had to offer in the meat section. Pork brains, ears and stomach were among the few that caught my attention.  Oh and I almost forgot the un-skinned fish, how appetizing!

Enough documentation, lets talk about the people and dig a little deeper into the culture!  I think the most interesting thing I noticed when I first got there was how little attention we received.  I noticed how they weren’t the ones to strike up a conversation.  The main reason for this was because the majority of them didn’t speak English too well.  While I could hold a conversation with the majority of the people I spoke with, I noticed that they didn’t feel very comfortable with me, and to be honest, I didn’t feel that comfortable either. 

The first woman I talked to seemed to have a pretty good grasp on the English language.  I wanted to know where they were from and a little bit about their history.  She told me that mostly everyone there was Laotian American.  That means that they are originally from Laos and are included in the larger category of Asian Americans.  She continued to tell me that she arrived here in 1982 after being a refugee who escaped from the Vietnam War in Laos in the early 1970’s.   When I asked her what she thinks of America, she replied, “good.”  All conversations I had were very short and to the point.  I would often try and elaborate or ask further questions and they would have a difficult time understanding.  One thing I noticed that they knew very well was dollar amounts.  I often asked about something I was unfamiliar with, and all they would reply is how much it costs.  I thought they would definitely know English a little better than they did, but it seems as if they don’t interact with Americans too often.

My roommate and I were the only Americans in the market, and we definitely felt apart of the out-group.  Nobody was speaking in English, and nobody was speaking with us.  It was a very strange feeling to experience in America where our culture is clearly dominant.  I noticed how much they valued family, and how close everyone was inside the market.  I spoke with a man and he said that they consist of 18 total families, and everyone knows each other.  They are basically living their own unique lifestyle in America with out really even having to interact with those outside of their culture.  This was shocking to me.  It seems as though they all support each other, they buy each other’s products, and that’s how they get by financially.  This also relates to how they have adapted to American culture.  While I would say that they understand the basics of American culture, I don’t think that they have fully adapted to American culture. The reason for this is because they don’t really need to.  They have just about everything they need right there, and they operating as their own little cultural village within the larger American culture.  

For really never being out of the country and having the opportunity to immerse myself in another culture, this is definitely the closest I have been to experiencing culture shock.  Stepping into this market is the closest thing to being in the country of Laos without actually being in Laos.  While I don’t think that I experienced the full effect of culture shock, I would definitely say that I experienced some of these characteristics.  The first thing I noticed was identity loss. Right when I stepped inside, I felt a part of the minority.  Like I said earlier, my roommate and I were the only white people there.  This definitely created instant confusion with norms.  I was confused on how I should communicate with these people. I felt like I was talking to them extra loud and slow, and it seemed like they recognized that.  I often got double takes from people, probably wondering, “hmm, why is he in here.”  I felt a sense of rejection from their culture. They didn’t seem to be very welcoming, or perhaps it was me who wasn’t very welcoming?  While I knew that I could step right out the door and everything would be back to reality, I don’t think I experienced as intense culture shock where I would if I were in another country.  While learning about culture shock in class, I was always thinking to myself, “that probably wouldn’t happen to me.” But after visiting this Hmong market, I realized what exactly these characteristics of culture shock are like. I am very glad I had the opportunity to experience it. 

Reflecting on my trip to the Hmong International Market, I would say that I am very glad to have had the opportunity to experience this.  I was very glad to be forced out of my comfort zone and was able to see how the Laos culture functions.  It was interesting listening to their language, seeing their clothes, trying their food, and most importantly communicating and interacting with this completely different culture.  It was interesting to see how close everyone in the community was, and how they place higher value on family.  It was surprising to be the minority for once, and feeling uncomfortable and confused with this cultures norms, values, and language.  I think if I were to go back in the future, I would have a much better understanding and appreciation of the Laos culture.