My name is Dah Wah Moo. I was born and raised in Burma. Growing up the families were poor and had to work in the farms. When I was a child, I had to take care of my younger siblings. I am the third child of nine siblings and I learned how to cook at twelve years old. At the age of  fifteen, I knew how to cook everything. When I was not old enough to work outside, I stayed home and had to carry water in a bucket to the house, and to cook for the family. The traditional food in the household was rice, vegetables, and fish paste. Meat was not affordable by our families. When it was the season of fishing time we would go fish. As I got older, I got the chance to work as a farmer. I did not mind working like a boy who had to take care of cows, because I was not afraid of it. All my siblings were farmers and we helped our parents to farm as they got older by cutting fields and rice fields. Since I was a kid until adult life, I have never play in any sports. Even though I had time, I did not know how to do it.

I have never gone to school, or know nothing about education. I think education is good. If boys and girls are smart, they would have equal opportunity and education. I moved to Mae La Camp to be with my grandparents for a little. While I was in Mae La Camp, my grandparents passed away. The people in my  community at Mae La Camp were friendly and nice to me. I got separated from them, since I came to The United States. As I got older and became an adult, my relationship with my parents was more distanced, because everyone went their separate ways and lived far from one another. When my siblings and I had time, we would go visit my parents and they would hug and kiss us on the cheeks because they were happy to see us. My parents would be sad when we had to go back to another country like Thailand. They were not happy to see their kids have to leave instead of staying with them.

The big city I got to go to was Pa Ah in Burma and Ma Soe in Thailand. Pa Ah was filled with skyscrapers and huge buildings. Houses were made individual and were very big. I met my husband at the UN in Mae La Camp taking a picture for my ID to become an official refugee there. My parents did not know about me getting married and they did not get the chance to meet my husband, because we lived in different countries. My tradition in marriage was the Karen Wrist Tying Ceremony, because my religion was Buddhism. I got married when I was 28 years old. I did not know anyone in the Army. I have lived in the United States for five years now.