As a child, I remember helping my father and our neighbors as they worked in knee-deep

water planting the next crop of rice. The brown water was cool and fresh on my bare legs
and the mud of the paddy was soft and squishy under my feet. I recall very clearly the
sticky heat and the feel on my skin of dust blown into the air by the hundreds of noisy
motorbikes, mopeds and Vespas racing here and there, a father, his wife and child on a
single small motorbike already stacked high with packages of produce products as they
speed to the market. Is it any wonder(opinionated language) that the motorbike is the
most popular means of transport in Vietnam? (1) (Author name, Year, Pg #/Para #) I can
still smell the fish laid out to dry by my mother and the salty, sharp and spicy taste of the
nuoc mam she so lovingly prepared each day for her family. For the child of a farming
family in Vietnam, the world was full of wonder and excitement (opinionated
language???) and perhaps, the most wondrous (opinionated language) thing of all was
school, education and the opportunity for learning.
Satisfying the need and desire for education is one of the most important factors in
societal life. If the government of a particular country fails to satisfy that need, their
country will suffer as the most driven and capable of their country search elsewhere to
find the opportunities they desire. Although it is very difficult, those pursuing the
betterment of their lives will relocate to wherever they can obtain these opportunities.
Although adapting to a new country and sometimes to a new language can be one of the
most difficult impediments to overcome, the driven will do so. In some cases, a lower
level institution such as a Community College can serve as a starting point for those
coming from another country. However, a university degree and the opportunities
resulting from such a degree often remain the shining light for many immigrants.
In most countries, education is a key element to changing ones life and although Vietnam
is no different, opportunities to achieving higher levels of education are extremely
limited. In that country, the literacy rate according to Foreign Credits Classbase is
relatively high for a developing country and currently stands at approximately 90%. (2)
(Author name, Year, Pg #/Para #) However, opportunities beyond primary and secondary
schools are extremely limited. The World Education Services reports that of the 22
million students enrolled in all schools in Vietnam in 2011, only 26,000 or one-tenth of
one percent were enrolled in colleges and universities. (3) (Author name, Year, Pg #/Para
#) Further, according to a recent report by the government of Vietnam, rural literacy lags
approximately 5% behind that of urban areas and they also report that for women in rural
areas, that rate suffers even more by another 5%. (4) (Author name, Year, Pg #/Para #)
Conversely, opportunities for achieving a university level education in the U.S. are quite
high. The Migration Policy Institute reports that in 2008 and of the 1.1 million Vietnamborn immigrants in the United States aged 25 or older, nearly 24% hold a bachelors
degree or higher. (5) (Author name, Year, Pg #/Para #) Like so many other of my
countrymen, I made a dramatic(opinionated language) and life-changing decision and as
a single mother with few resources and with little knowledge of this country, I
immigrated to the U.S.

Relocating from one country to another can be a traumatic event and can be especially so
if the language and cultures differ substantially. Like two-thirds (repetition error) of
other arriving Vietnamese, my English language skills were limited and as a result, so
were the options open to me (Im confused what do you mean here). Like more than
one-third (repetition error) of the other newly-arrived Vietnamese women, I began
work in a fairly low level service industry job, that of a cashier in an Asian supermarket.
However, I did not lose site of my goal.
Knowing that improvement in my life position required an ability to communicate in the
language of my newly adopted country, I spent uncountable hours working on my
English skills. I used every opportunity open to me to advance my language and
communication ability. I spent as much time as possible as a volunteer at a local library,
at a local food bank and at my sons school. After much effort, struggle, depression,
doubt and more than a few tears, I finally felt that my language skills were sufficient to
take the next step in my master plan, I enrolled at Mission College.
At Mission College, my immediate goals were clear, I concentrated on furthering both
my English and math skills. Although I was told that my entrance testing indicated that I
could skip some of the English as a Second Language and math courses, I decided to
take the full range of classes to fill in as many gaps as possible. I also made a decision
concerning my intended area of concentration for my later studies and began taking basic
Accounting and related business courses. I was fortunate to benefit from the
professionalism, dedication and assistance provided by the instructors and staff of
Mission. Through my own hard work but also as a result of their efforts, I was able to
earn an Associates Degree with honors, was on the Deans List during most of my time
at Mission, won two scholarships and was able to earn a place at San Jose State
University.
In the fall of 2013, almost exactly ten years after coming to the U.S., I entered San Jose
State University as a Junior Student. I continue to work towards my next intermediate
goal, that of obtaining a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a
concentration in Accounting. As was my experience at Mission, I have benefited from
the dedication and care offered the students by the instructors and staff of SJSU and I
look forward to relying upon them as I pursue my ultimate goals of obtaining a Masters
Degree and being accredited as a Certified Public Accountant. However, the most
important goal as yet unmentioned is the example I have set for my son who now sees
that all things are possible with an education.
As a young girl in Vietnam, I did well in school but because of my family situation,
education beyond the secondary level was out of the question. Relocating to the U.S. has
been extremely difficult and traumatic but it has afforded me opportunities which would
not have been possible had I stayed in Vietnam.

Please pay attention to the references format. Only the name of author, year, article name
Summary of article isnt needed.
References:
(1) Number of motor bikes and Vespas
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEX
T/EXTEAPREGTOPTRANSPORT/0,,contentMDK:20458737~menuPK:2069374~page
PK:34004173~piPK:34003707~theSitePK:574066,00.html
Motorcycles are presently the primary mode of transport in the major Vietnamese cities.
In both Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, motorcycles account for 60 - 65 percent of
vehicular trips, with bicycles accounting for another 25 percent.
(2) http://www.classbase.com/Countries/Vietnam/Education-SystemThe fact that the
literacy level in Vietnam stands at 90% may have something to do with the fact that
children as young as 18 months of age are admitted to public kindergartens, where they
are introduced to arithmetic and the alphabet. Their 12 years of formal education begins
at age 6 when they enter compulsory primary school where they will remain for 5 years
(3) http://www.wes.org/ca/wedb/vietnam/vmedov.htm
In 1997, there were 22 million students enrolled in all levels of education in Vietnam.
Among them 13.2 million in primary schools, 4.3 million in secondary schools, and
26,000 were in enrolled in colleges and universities.
(4)https://vietnam.unfpa.org/webdav/site/vietnam/shared/Census
%20publications/5_Monograph-Education.pdf (Table Page 23)
(5) http://migrationpolicy.org/article/vietnamese-immigrants-united-states#5
Adult Vietnamese immigrants were less likely to hold a bachelor's degree than the total
adult immigrant and native-born populations.
In terms of academic achievement, Vietnamese immigrants were less educated than the
overall foreign-born and native-born populations. In 2008, 23.7 percent of Vietnam-born
adults age 25 and older had a bachelor's degree or higher compared to 27.1 percent
among all 31.9 million foreign-born adults and 27.8 percent of all 168.1 million nativeborn adults. An additional 22.3 percent had some college education or an associate's
degree compared to 16.4 percent among all immigrant adults and 30.8 percent of all
native-born adults.
On the other end of the education continuum, 32.6 percent of Vietnam-born adults had no
high school diploma or the equivalent general education diploma (GED), the same as
among all foreign-born adults (32.6 percent) and higher than native-born adults (11.7
percent). About 21.4 percent of Vietnamese immigrant adults had a high school diploma
or GED compared to 21.9 percent among all foreign-born adults and 29.8 percent among
native-born adults.
http://migrationpolicy.org/article/vietnamese-immigrants-united-states#5
More than one-third of employed Vietnamese immigrant women worked in services.
Among the 372,000 Vietnam-born female workers age 16 and older employed in the
civilian labor force in 2008, 34.8 percent reported working in services; 15.9 percent in
manufacturing, installation, and repair occupations; and 12.1 percent in administrative
support (see Table 2).