In the early afternoon of the same day, Peter drove me to the airport for my destination, Los Angeles. From New York to Los Angles, it took about 6 hours of flight. I then realized how big the territory of the United States is: From East coast to West coast, three different time-zones! It’s really unimaginable for people who never travel such a long trip, and by airplane! When I was a High School student at Mont La Salle Nha Trang, Brother Paul Trung had taught me that the United Sates which is composed of fifty States is a very big country, and in my mind, it is as vast as Vietnam from North to South or at most a little larger, with fifty provinces!

How to describe joy and happiness and pleasant gladness seeing some of my former Juniors who had been waiting for me at the exit gate and our pleasure at meeting each other in such circumstances... Indeed, at least ten years had passed, and it was now the first time we again met each other. All of them were members of the group called "LASALLE SPIRIT" they had formed since I had been in the Palawan Refugee Center. As I was amazed and moved looking at these faces which reflected, ten years before, something one used to say "first demon, second ghost, third schoolboys (i.e. spoil-sport teens,)" but were now more or less fully mature. One of them who seemed to notice my amazed appearance, joyfully shouted, "Freøre! STRUGGLE FOR LIFE!" then everyone laughed, proudly. It reminded me of the slogan I used to tell them at certain lectures I had given them in showing the back cover of the BULLETIN of the Institute in honor of Brother Charles Henry, the first American Brother newly elected as Superior General in 1966. This back cover showed a football scene with annotation "Struggle for Life!" I felt I had grown old! I felt happy, anyway, and proud of them, too.

My former students knew, as Peter had about the Statue of Liberty, that I had been eager to see the famous Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. They drove me there the next early morning from Santa Ana, so that I could contemplate its wonderful panorama. It was a long four hundred miles trip and took more than six hours to drive! On this occasion, we came to visit Loc’s family in Oakland. Loc was their classmate in the 70’s at the Junioriate in Thu Duc and at the Petit-Novitiate in Nha Trang. They also drove me to that famous National Park Yosemite. While we approached the Yosemite Park, I said to them, "God has really treated with great favor the United States of America!" One of them replied, "You’ll see more marvels God has granted to America!" then everyone agreed in saying, "Oh yes! You’ll see that. Even though we have been in the United States for several years, we haven’t seen them all yet!"

***

Brother Phong picked me up from the Philadelphia Airport on the late morning of August 15, 1986, then drove me to the community of West Catholic at Chestnut&49th Streets. I had scheduled to be "officially" at the community on August 15 because in my mind I vowed to offer my "new adventure" to the Most Blessed Virgin Mother Mary and to rely on Her Protection and Blessings on everything that could happen to me in future. Indeed, I accompanied Brother Phong and some of his "boys and girls" going to church for the celebration of the Eucharist in honor of the Assumption, immediately after my arrival at the West Catholic community. After the Mass, Brother Director of the community, Joe Boggle, welcomed me into the community. There were ten American Brothers and three Vietnamese Brothers in the community. It made me more comfortable with the Vietnamese Brothers among American Brothers, especially Brother Cosmas Tuan who was regularly present in the community at meal times and at the Liturgy of the Hours.

On the next morning, Brother Joseph Mahon, Auxiliary Visitor of the Baltimore District, came to West Catholic to congratulate me for being able at last to get necessary visa and to fraternally welcome me to the Baltimore District for my college career. Joe was really sensitive and understanding about my puzzlement over my "new life" and particularly concerning my English. He spoke to me very slowly and clearly articulated each word so that I could communicate with him relaxingly. He had inspired me with feelings of self-confidence and relaxation. He had prepared everything for my enrollment in the ESL program at the University of Philadelphia, health insurance included.

***

The ESL program was six weeks long, five days/week, six hours/day. There were about fifteen students per class. The students were from different countries and cultures and, of course, tongues: two from France, one from Germany, two from Colombia, four from Taiwan, six from Japan and one from Vietnam. I was the "oldest" student among them. To communicate with each other, students used "body language" for a while. I was amazed that the teachers could understand everyone, although students spoke with their own accents.

On Sunday of the first week attending ESL program at UoP, I went to Saint James Church for the Sunday Eucharist Celebration. My very first impression was that the church was full of church goers of many different colors and races. It made me knit my brows in surprise and be filled with amazement. Indeed, for a long time before, since my junior high school, I had been told that European people - and particularly capitalist American people - are "materialist" and most of them are "carried" to church only twice in their whole life: at baptism and at funeral mass. When I was in Drancy, it could be confirmed by the fact that on weekday morning mass, there were only three people: the celebrant, Brother Roger and myself; and at the Sunday mass there were at most thirty people. Even at the Christmas Eve and Holy Saturday Mass, there were less than one hundred people. But here, at Saint James Church, according to the posted Mass Schedules, there were five masses, and at each mass, the church used to be full of church goers. The idea of "capitalist American people" disappeared from my mind after that very first Sunday mass.

***

The TOEFL session had ended, I applied for the test. I was enough lucky to get more points than required (above 520 points) to be admitted to La Salle University. But, because the enrollment for Fall term 1986 had been closed, I had to wait for the Spring term 1987. Brother Joseph Mahon suggested that I continue another TOEFL session at UoP to improve my English. It was a good opportunity to become more familiar with listening to and speaking English.

The second ESL session was ended at the beginning of December. I again applied to take the TOEFL test intending to increase my point scores and to gauge how I had improved my English. Surprise! the scores of my second TOEFL test were much lower than the previous: 495 points! I, of course, disguised such TOEFL results from La Salle University Admission Office. Brother Joseph Mahon comforted me in saying, "Valery, don’t worry! It’s normal." I smiled, then said, "English language is something weird! For example, vowel ‘i’ is sometimes pronounced as sound ’i,’ some other times as ‘e,’ ... The same thing is for the vowel ‘e...’" Joe laughed, then said, "Val, do you know that even for Brother Phong and Cosmas had been in the United States for many years, if we don’t want them to understand what we say, they wouldn’t understand!"

I shared my second TOEFL results with the Brothers at West Catholic community, everyone laughed, joyfully. One of them then said, "Val, taking TOEFL is not that easy! Even if I, an American, had to take TOEFL, I’m wondering if I could pass the test or get more points than you did!"

***

While attending ESL program at UoP, I many times had the feeling that there was something absent and missing in my daily life. Perhaps because I had been used to sending to Vietnam every month boxes of medicine when I was in Paris. And in return for such gift-sending, I received letters and news from my confreres and relatives and friends. I thought my confreres and relatives and friends would expect more of these gifts once I came to the United States. But things didn’t happen as they and I would have expected. In fact when I sought information about "where to get medicine or anything that would be sent to Vietnam," Brother Cosmes let me know that a few years earlier, FBI had prosecuted nearly one hundred Vietnamese physicians and suspended their licenses for providing false prescriptions in order to get medicines from Health Insurance and Medicare. Brother Cosmes also strongly recommended that I do not look for such unlawful matters.

I inquired from Brother Cosmas about what and how did the Vietnamese Brothers, who had been resettled in the United States since 1975 and afterwards, send gifts to their confreres and relatives and friends in Vietnam? Brother Cosmas seemed to be a little embarrassed, then replied, "I haven’t heard about this matter since I came here in 1978, and nobody has mentioned it either. From the thank-you letters or notes published in the magazines "The Spirit of De La Salle" that you have handed to me last month, I know that you in Paris, you guys have done great things sending to the Brothers in Vietnam boxes and boxes of medicines and gifts. It’s really laudable!"

I remembered on May 15, 1981, after the Eucharist celebration in honor of Saint De La Salle at Mai Thon, Brother Lucien Quang, Visitor, read to the assembly some paragraphs of the letter from Brother Fortunat Phong, "... the Vietnamese community in Philadelphia has celebrated Tet Nguyen Dan - Lunar New Year - with folk-songs and folk-music and folk-dances, etc... But after these festivities, I am in debt... I have to work harder to pay it off, etc... There have been many times, I sang ‘On the river side of Babylon...’ My tears rolled down my face thinking of you..." Some confreres whispered to each other, "That’s Phong’s character!" Some others added, "Tears? For what? We need more than that!"

In waiting for being officially enrolled to La Salle University, Brother Cosmas suggested that I take the test for a driver’s license which is "very important and helpful for your stay in the United States," said Brother Cosmas. Moreover, he offered to teach me how to drive. Although I had known how to drive for a long time before the events of 1975 in Vietnam, I must recognize that Brother Cosmas was a great teacher. He was very practical. He drove me to a large and empty parking on early week-ends, marked with pieces of wood or stones the zigzagging path that he described, and said, "You’ll take a driving test on similar path."

On the morning of driving test, Brother Cosmas still reminded me of several things he experienced when he had taken the driving test some years earlier. During the driving test and at a traffic light, the examiner said, "go straight!" My car was on the left lane and on the surface of the road there was a white arrow indicating left-turn sign. I was embarrassed, wondering, "Go straight? What does it mean? Go straight means ‘go straight, in front,’ or ‘follow the left-turn sign’?" I was distracted when approaching the traffic light. I didn’t pay attention to the blue or red lights, and I really didn’t know why I drove following the arrow direction. "Good!" The examiner said and made me regain my attention. I was lucky, because at the critical moment, the traffic light turned green and in front of me there was no other car. I thus passed the driving test. Brother Cosmas congratulated me in saying, "Very good! You know, there are many people who do the driving test for three or four times to pass. And you, at the very first driving test, you passed!"

Brother Cosmas also encouraged me to apply for the Social Security Card. "It’s extremely necessary," he said, "that you get a Social Security Card because it’s kind of your ID card in the United States." He accompanied me to the Social Services, helped me fill in forms, etc. But I was denied because my visa status was marked Student Status F1. I didn’t realize how important that was, and I didn’t pay much attention to it afterward.

***

I was admitted to La Salle University for the Spring Term 1987. Brother Christopher had based my placement on certain certificates that I had declared on the enrollment forms, granting me fifty units, i.e. I had to get seventy more units to complete my Bachelor Degree at La Salle University. Although I had to take several required classes, e.g. English I&II, and College Writings I&II&III, I concentrated on computer units. Professor Mr. Samuel, Dean of Studies and Counselor at the Computer Department, advised me to take one computer class for each semester, but I insisted in attending two computer classes. He said, "It’s very hard, Brother!" I replied, "But, I have no choice."

I was lucky to have Brother William Quinn, former Visitor of the Baltimore District, teach me at the very first computer class: BASIC language, Word and Excel applications, etc... I had to recognize Brother William Quinn’s love for his students, especially for me. There were many times he looked at me, both paternally and fraternally, tried to explain at his best every commands, comments, inputs, outputs, etc... and showed satisfaction only when I could do them by myself. THANK YOU, BROTHER WILLIAM QUINN for having given me encouragement and an enthusiastic start to my eager desire learning computer sciences!

The Spring term was at the end. The INS at the university called and reminded me of the nearly expiration date of my titre de voyage, July 7, 1986. The officer said, "In principle, every passport or titre de voyage must be valid at least 6 months to be legally able to stay in the United States." Brother Cosmes therefore accompanied me to the French Consulate in New York to have it extended. Despite any explanation and arguments and promises, the French consulate agreed to extend my titre de voyage up to October 27, 1987, i.e. for only six more months from the date of my request, April 27-October 27. "La loi c’est la loi! (Law is law!) the officer said. Thus, I must return to Paris and apply for another extension. No other option!

I had known that returning to Paris and going back to Philadelphia wouldn’t be that simple. I shared my concerns with Brother Joseph Mahon. It seemed that he had prepared for such a situation. He calmly assured me, "I have prepared necessary legal documents for you, don’t worry! Here are some testimonial documents in your favor, e.g. ‘good student at UoP’, ‘current student at LSU’, ‘Affidavit from the INS at LSU’ and ‘Affidavit from the District of Baltimore assuring every expenses enabling you to stay in the United States’. I think that’s enough for you to obtain a visa going back to LSU for your college career at LSU." So I went back to Drancy at the end of May, 1987, after more than ten months living in the United States.

***

The second term as Auxiliary Visitor of the Sub-District of Saigon in Paris of Brother Alexandre was going to finish by the end of June, 1987 and the Sub-District had proceeded with the election for a new Auxiliary Visitor. I was back to Paris "on time" for such election. Rumors amidst the Brothers of the Sub-District had been spread that "It’s time for Brother Desireù Leâ Vaên Nghieâm to be elected as Auxiliary Visitor." Whether by unexpected encounter or by purpose the same Brother Deùsireù had come to Paris a week before the election day.

Brother Deùsireù came to Drancy "just for a visit" on the first morning I had come back. On this occasion, I met with him personally in my room. He seemed to "hear" the rumors and be ready to accept the nomination. However, he told me, "Valery, whom do you think appropriate to be elected Auxiliary Visitor?" I smiled, then replied, "Who else could be much ad hoc (more appropriate) than you?" We laughed. He continued, "To tell the truth, I know that the Brothers rely on me, but I still hesitate because, as you may know, la raison d’eâtre de notre Sous-District (the reason for the existence of our Sub-District) seems no longer strongly documented nowadays." From my deep interior, I had been thinking of and agreeing with his opinions. I was nevertheless inclined to maintain the Sub-District, arguing with him, "We had lost the Sub-District in Thailand right after the events of 1975, I think that the Sub-District of Saigon in Paris is a great - and maybe a unique - landmark for important and necessary relations between our Confreres in Vietnam and overseas." A few days later, Brother Deùsireù was officially assigned Auxiliary Visitor of the Sub-District of Saigon in Paris.

Before going to extend my titre de voyage, I met Brother Deùsireù reporting to him the reasons why I had returned to Paris, the satisfactory results of ESL sessions at UoP, and the "so far so good" results from my Spring Semester studies at LSU. Brother Deùsireù seemed to be hesitating for a while, then asked, "Frankly speaking, do you intend to return to Paris after your studies?" In a flash of mind, I remembered that Brother Joseù Pablo,Superior General, had asked me the exactly same question, therefore, I replied to Brother Deùsireù in the exactly same way (Cf. page 121.) Brother Deùsireù’s reaction was also exactly the same as Brother Superior General’s with a slight difference that he added, "Great! I wish you good luck and success!"

I had thought that extending my titre de voyage would be very easy, but I was wrong. Until now I hadn’t realized what could be wrong. When I had presented my expired titre de voyage and submitted all necessary documents to have it extended, the lady officer asked me something in a tone really difficult to hear and at top speed, i.e. she spoke too fast, I begged her to repeat. She looked at me with anger and shouted, "Vous ne comprenez pas le Francais? Prochaine fois, reviens avec un interpreøte!" (You don’t know French language? Come back next time with an interpreter!) I beseeched her to understand my situation but, despite of any efforts at explaining, she categorically refused, shouting, "Next on line!"

I left with a feeling that she was overworked and perhaps a racist... I was really frustrated, but what could I do? On the next morning, Brother Roger volunteered to accompany me to the office as interpreter. I was lucky meeting not "the ogress of yesterday," but a much nicer lady officer who, just within a few minutes looked at my documents, then said, "Ah Oui! C’est facile! Mais il faut plusieurs semaines et vous serez informeù aø retourner prendre votre titre de voyage extendu pour deux ans! (Why yes! It’s easy! But it takes several weeks and you’ll be informed to come back to get your titre de voyage extended for two years!)"

While waiting for the titre de voyage, the couple Huy Hoang and Nga used to invite me to go shopping at the Chaâtelet Metro Station. One day, walking around, I saw displayed two IBM computers. I told to Hoang and Nga, "Come here by the computer! I’ll show you something really interesting!" I realized that the computers and screens (monitors) were on when I saw on the screen the DOS command and the flash prompt:

C/>_

I opened BASIC language, typed in a few command lines, then entered the command <RUN>. Before hitting a key to run the program, I said to Hoang and Nga, "Look! Guess what will display on the screen?" They kind of held their breath, attentively looking at the screen. I hit <ENTER>. "Oh!" excitedly exclaimed both Hoang and Nga, "The South Vietnam Flag yellow with three red stripes!" We all agreed to leave it alone then walked to another department.

On the mid-July 1987, immediately after receiving the extended titre de voyage, I went to the American Embassy applying for visa to the United States. It was quite fast, done and approved on the same day. The visa was like the previous one, i.e. valid for two entries to the United States within three months. Such easy and quick visa approval had confirmed what I had heard my friends saying, "If you have been approved and provided a visa to the United States one time, the second or the third, or even many times afterwards, can be very easily and quickly approved."

I went back to Philadelphia on the end of August, on time for continuing my college carrier at LSU for the Fall Semester 1987. My former students in Santa Ana, California, made me a wonderful gesture of partage fraternel (Fraternal Sharing) in sending me an IBM compatible, AST, computer equipped with a twenty megabytes hard disk and two floppy drives. Thanks to this computer, I could make connection from my room to the server PRIME FRAME at La Salle University, i.e. I could do assignments from my room without going to LSU. Although the connection had been slow, even very slow, but it was much better than spending time for the trip from West Catholic at Chestnut Street to LSU at Olney Avenue by night, and foremost I could save money for metro tickets. Wow! Many late-nights, but happy and enthusiastic!

***

***

The Spring Semester had passed quite quickly. In the Summer sessions which used to be six-week-sessions, I was able to get some more units. My studies progressed so far so good although I had been in probation for failing the Statistics and Probability course. Frankly speaking, I didn’t know why and how my mind was disturbed and I was unable to hold back my feelings with the Statistics and Probability woman professor when I learned that she was from the Soviet Union. I was myself surprised by my such behavior. I was trying to be more "mature of mind and heart," but I didn’t know why I couldn’t overcome these negative feelings. The counselor suggested that I take Statistics and Probability course again from another Department. I took it from the Business Department, and... good!