Hiding in her father's fishing boat, Maria Nguyen fled Vietnam with her family in 1978. After 6 months in Malaysia, they came to the USA where Maria eventually settled in Boulder.
Nguyen's family left because it was difficult to live under the Viet Cong, who took control in 1975. Changing the currency, they made people's savings worthless. It became important to look like you didn't have money, so Maria, an accomplished seamstress, put away her nice clothes and took to wearing shabby outfits.
At the marketplace to buy meat, a shop owner advised Nguyen, "First, you buy vegetables. Then you buy meat and hide it under the vegetables. That way, no one see you buy meat." You had to be careful about what you wore, what you ate and what you said. Anybody could file a complaint against you and then "they knock on your door in the middle of the night, put the blindfold on you and no one ever see you again," said Maria.
The impetus for leaving Vietnam came when Nguyen's father, a professional fisherman, was repeatedly forced at gunpoint to sell his catch below cost to the government. This made it impossible for him to cover his expenses, pay his employees and support his family.
In the States, Maria and her family initially lived in the Stockton, California area. She said, "Life very hard...have to learn everything like a baby, to talk, to walk, everything!" She and her husband took turns working, taking care of their growing family and going to school to learn English.
Nguyen and her mother both developed asthma in California. Maria's health was so bad she told her husband, "I think I die here." In 1986 her mother moved to Boulder where her health improved dramatically. Visiting her mother for one week, Maria also felt better.
Nguyen decided to move to Boulder in 1987. Looking for work, she found an Asian grocery for sale; her friends and relatives loaned her money to buy it. "Someone give me $1000; someone else $2000," said Maria. It took time to build credit with wholesalers, but she eventually earned the solid credit record she said she has today.
Nguyen works hard every day to keep Asian Seafood Market successful. (Her son fills in on Tuesdays when she spends the day with her grandson.) She helps customers find products, rings up purchases and orders merchandise. Her one employee, Misael, readies produce for sale, stocks shelves and assists customers.
Nguyen returned to Vietnam in 2004 for her mother-in-law's funeral. She said life is better there now, but she prefers the US where people are "free to speak" and can improve their lives by working hard, as she has done.
Next: Maria Nguyen's recipe for Vietnamese spring rolls
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