“DO YOU PLAN TO GO TO VIETNAM TO CONTRIBUTE?”
This is a question that I receive quite a lot when sharing about my current life in America.
After more than 20 years since the first day I stepped off the plane, I have experienced many ups and downs in life in this country.
From the days of being penniless, buying a used shirt for 5 dong and having to put it down, to now being a doctor in the US, in the budding millionaires group and having a prosperous life with a small family here.
So do I have plans to return to Vietnam to work in the near future?
My answer will be no. I have no intention of returning to Vietnam to work.
The first and biggest reason I want to stay is because when I work as a doctor in America, I have better financial conditions. That is the most important leverage for me, as I am paid in dollars and that salary is in the top 5% of people with the highest income in the US.
When I return to Vietnam, my salary will definitely decrease a lot. And that was a huge change for me and my family.
Unless there is an international hospital in Vietnam, such as Vinmec, they want to invite Vietnamese-American doctors like me to work for them, along with an attractive compensation package equivalent to my current job, then somehow I will consider returning to Vietnam to work for those hospitals.
But at the present time, with the general conditions of hospitals and clinics in Vietnam, I don’t think I will return.
You may ask:
- Why am I like this?
- Why don’t I want to return to contribute to my homeland Vietnam?
- Or go to America and “get a little bit of sea water and forget the smell of pond fish”?
General Secretary To Lam spoke at Colombia University during his recent visit to the US:
“Not only in Vietnam, if you have the conditions to continue studying and contributing to the country, even if you are studying in the United States and contributing to the United States, we also highly encourage it. This is not a thought that we do for our country, for our people, but our concept is that it is at an international level, a human level, so that we can continue to have a common voice and unity to achieve the country’s highest goal, in which also has responsibility for common international and world problems.”
I also very much agree with him.
It is not necessary to return to Vietnam to contribute or contribute to our homeland, but anywhere in the world we can return to our homeland, Vietnam, in one way or another.
I still have many completely free programs and courses, along with support and sharing to help, both materially and with experience, for young people and younger generations of colleagues.
When I step abroad, I learn good things and new thoughts, which I will share with young people in Vietnam, hoping that it will somehow help them reach out to the world.
In addition, every year my family tries to arrange to travel to Vietnam for a few weeks to a month, bringing back the dollars earned in the US to develop tourism in our homeland.
Although they are few and cannot be compared to the country’s great predecessors, I think these are all ways that exiles like me can contribute effectively to the country, with all of our knowledge, experience and resources.
Another thing is the reason why I said that my income and this job in America is very important to me.
Firstly, this source of income not only helps me take care of myself but also my family and children. Besides, only when I have economic conditions, stability and financial prosperity in America will I have the ability to do volunteer work for the community in Vietnam.
Suppose if you are homeless or don’t have enough to eat, then whether you are in America or Vietnam, how can you have extra money to give to charity, or maybe it’s only within a certain limit.
“A person with a sore leg can never forget his painful leg and think about something else. When he is suffering so much, he can no longer think about anyone else.”
Second, I am a person who always has a sense of responsibility.
But the first responsibility is that we need to be responsible for our children.
I want my children to grow up in a good environment in America, then go to school, participate in sports and talent development activities. I want their life to be like that, and it is my responsibility as a mother to create conditions and ensure their financial life so that they can have that life.
The next responsibility is that of being a child, I also want to give my mother a full and prosperous life in her old age.
First, practice at home, second, practice at the market, and third, practice at the temple.
I think that before thinking about volunteering for anyone else in the community, we need to fulfill our responsibilities to our families first. Maybe later, when my children are grown up and go to college, my family will return to Vietnam more to travel, to see a doctor or teach English for free.
Those are plans for the future. At the present time, I feel very satisfied with life in America and I will always try to contribute and support the Vietnamese community as much as possible.
I hope I will have good health to fulfill my responsibilities to myself, my family and contribute more to society.
Thank you for always accompanying and supporting me in every small project.
Dr. Christina Nguyen
The Phoenix Medical Academy.
