2 Khmerican Sisters

Our Ma recounts her experiences of coming to the USA for the first time after fleeing the Khmer Rouge Regime and leaving the Thai refugee camp, Khao I Dang. She shares what it was like starting high school immediately, meeting our Ba at one of the blueberry fields in Oregon, and learning to survive and navigate a new life in a new country that she barely knew with limited resources and support. This is one of the many revealing stories that highlight the challenges and realities of an immigrant's life. Many immigrants do not have a chance to rest and heal from their trauma and are typically placed in poor urban communities with inadequate financial and mental-health support.

As 2020 comes to an end, we take a moment to reflect on the past 6 months of the 2 Khmerican Sisters passion project, celebrate all of our achievements, and chat about our goals/lessons for 2021. We will also finally answer the question of what it means to be Khmerican "Khmer-American".

Chanira Reang Sperry, a 1.5 Khmer American and daughter of Refugees, is an influential leader advocating for equitable opportunities in the field of education for over 20 years. As a Director of Student Services at UW School of Dentistry, she uses a race and equity lens to inform her work in mentoring students and teaching from a culturally responsive curriculum. In this episode, she shares her experiences of what it was like having to acculturate into American culture, raising her mixed-race children, and navigating an interracial marriage. Chanira also reveals her family’s heart-wrenching story of escaping by boat from Cambodia to the United States that moved us deeply.

COVID-19 has been a roller coaster of emotions for many people, including Soup Pha, who has had a lot of time to be idle in his thoughts. Soup is a Thai-Khmer American Singer, Host and Actor. He opens up about depression and trauma as well as the ups and downs of the music and entertainment industry. Soup emphasizes the importance of loving yourself, having compassion for others, and learning to heal from a dark past. His passion and positivity is incredibly infectious. Soup also challenges us to embrace in our Khmer roots by brushing up on our native language.

Lives by the motto, “work hard, play hard”, Anchie has traveled to 31 countries & counting. Tune into this episode to learn about the life and travel journey of a Taiwanese American Engineer.