I was born in (Be Lin Dwe). My house was built with wood, nails, and bamboo. I have 2 siblings and I am the third child. My parents were farmers. We began to farm during the rainy season and we would end around September. When I was young, I helped my parents with farming. I did not get the chance to help my parents with money, because I had to work as a servant. My parents taught me how to cook at 14 years old. We do have a lot of Karen traditional food and there are so many that we could not even count it. To go shopping for food, we took the wagon wheels and we slept on the street for two days to get there (Gi Klaw Pu).

I did not go to school. I did have a dream of wanting to become a soldier when I got older. When I was with my friends, we would work together at farming and nothing else. I once did go to the city of (Gi Kaw). I began helping my parents when I was around 14 or 15 years old. I started dating at age 17 or 18 years old. My parents did not teach me anything about relationships. I just learned it on my own. I got to spent a lot of time with my wife and I was drawn to her. We would tell each other I love you. We got married in 1996 and after marriage I had to work a lot to support my family. I raised my kids well. They became good people. There are a lot of celebrations in our country. My whole family’s religion is Buddhism, but I am the only Christian. I miss my childhood life, but I can’t do anything about it. The reason I came to America is because I was not happy in Thailand nor Burma. I am happier living in the United State but it is still kind of hard for me due to not knowing the language, such as reading or writing and communicating in different places such as stores and the hospital.