DFW International Dinner with 23 Mayors | August 26, 2010
WOW! I don’t think there are enough words that could be combined from the 26 letters of the English alphabet (or any alphabet for that matter) that could possibly describe the greatness of the DFW International Meeting & Dinner I attended with my Father and older sister on Thursday night, 8/26/10. Please stay tuned until the end of this blog post to read a very important message I have to say.
The DFW International Community Alliance is the portal to international North Texas, a region where 44% of the residents are either New Americans or first or second generation. DFW International is a network of over 1,600 internationally-focused organizations in the DFW metroplex and embodies the cultural and economic vibrancy of the global community. Therefore, with C.A.K.E. as my platform, I felt it extremely fitting to be a part of this magnificent event!
As America’s U.S. Miss, I had many important duties to fulfill during the dinner. At the VIP Welcoming Reception, I was to present the Mayors in attendance with an American Flag scarf in the traditional Buddhist fashion by using two hands to place the scarf around their neck. This was a great honor because firstly, I got to meet all the mayors and it fits with my culture since I am Buddhist. This allowed me to get a brief moment to chat with the mayors or the Mayor Pro Tems.
Many board members from the Vietnamese-American Communities of Greater Dallas and Tarrant County were invited to this Dinner. The Vietnamese-American Community is always involved in community events, ranging from the Plano International Festival to Toys For Tots during Christmas time. In addition to members from the VAC, Andy Nguyen, County Commissioner for District 2 was present as well. I remember attending Andy Nguyen’s party when the election ballots were counted and everyone was happy for his victory to serve his public.
Among many other duties I had during the evening, I led the Parade of Nations. This is when a representative from each country is chosen as the flag bearer. When each country is called out, the population of that country’s people in the DFW Area is called out. I am proud to say that Vietnam has one of the largest populations in DFW with 18,000 Vietnamese-Americans!
In addition, after each of the 26 Mayors were introduced, I presented the Mayor of Dallas, Tom Leppert with a certificate after his speech. Now this a Mayor that is hard to get a hold of! He’s always busy with other Mayors discussing important matters so being able to snap a photo with him is an honor!
Now, onto the actual dinner! Before dinner was served, I was introduced asAmerica’s U.S. Miss for the other guests, since I had only met the Mayors before then.
The first course was by Kasbah Grill (Morocco). Unfortunately, since I was leading the Parade of Nations, I was not able to eat a bite of this. Danals Restaurant (Mexico) provided the second course with tamales and quesadillas. For someone who doesn’t really enjoy cheese…I liked this course pretty well! It tasted really good and the tamales reminded me of a certain Vietnamese dish. Kalahari (Nigeria) served the third course with Plantains (amazing!) with Jollof rice, shaved chicken and….who would’ve thought, TOFU! During this course, a beautiful young African girl came up to my table and asked if she could have a picture with me. Of course, who was I to refuse. She was so sweet! The fourth course was from Bali Slush (Indonesia) and by then I was so full I couldn’t really eat! I let my sister and the other representatives at my table eat this course. It looked tasty though and my sister said it was fried egg sliced up, which on any other day, I would’ve gone for, but my stomach felt like it was about to burst.
Dessert was served by the famous, La Duni! There were chocolate truffles, apple pie with powdered sugar, among many other delectable pastries! I must admit, I waited the whole evening for the fifth course of dessert :) I even got a chance to take a photo with the Pastry Chef, Dovia Borja and she told me that the next time I come to La Duni, to say hello and she’ll give me treats. I’m definitely taking her up on her offer!
The whole evening was filled with great people, incredible inspiring stories about people who came to America to live the American dream, and wonderful food. Anne Marie Weiss, the coordinator of this phenomenal event said that, “Dallas is the new Ellis Island.”
As I close this blog post, I would like to take the time to say how eternally grateful I am to be an American citizen and live in America, a country full of freedom, democracy, justice, and human rights. My Family came to America in 1986, escaping from Communist Vietnam after South Vietnam lost the war in 1975. My Father, a soldier during the war, was in a concentration camp for about 2 years where he was starved, tortured, and left to die. Him, my Mom, and older siblings came to America hoping to live in a country without oppression and prohibition, where they could have the chance to prosper and take care of themselves and their family, and participate in community service. The Vietnam country of democracy where my parents grew up in no longer exists to this day and I will never step foot on Vietnamese land so long as this is true… So to this day, I stand for the yellow flag with three red stripes, standing for Freedom, Heritage, and Identity for the three regions: South, Central, and North. America is my home and always will be because in America my family along with many other countless Vietnamese and immigrants of any country have the opportunity to thrive, prosper, and achieve their humanistic dreams.
