Mirth Pham was born in Vietnam. He left his native country when he was 21 years old. Minh has been in America for almost two years. There is still much he does not understand about America. 

Once Minh was in a supermarket. He saw an old man and an old woman. They wanted a box of cereal .The box was on a high shelf. The man and the woman couldn't reach it. Minh saw a ladder. He got on the ladder and got the box. He handed it to the elderly couple. They thanked him. 

"Where are your children?" asked Minh. "Why don' t they help you buy food?" 

"Our children have their own lives," said the man and the woman. "We like to be independent." Mirth doesn't think this is right. In his country, .children help their parents. Minh gave the elderly couple his phone number. He told them to call him if they needed help. One night they asked Mirth to dinner, but they never asked him for help. 

One day, Minh was walking with a Vietnamese friend. The two were going to a movie. Minh wanted to go to a restaurant first. Minh took his friend's hand. He pulled him toward the restaurant. People on the street stared at Minh. In Vietnam, friends often hold hands. Minh found out that people in America are not used to holding hands. 

Minh Pham is going through a process known as re-socialization. Socialization is the process in which a person learns to live in a society. Everyone goes through this process. Minh went through it when he lived in Vietnam. But the Vietnamese way of life is much different from the American way of life. When Mirth came to America, he had to learn a new way of life. He had to learn how to live in a new society. 

Minh has learned a lot about American life in two years. He still has a lot to learn. The process of re-socialization can take many years. QUESTIONS:

Q1:
1. Who is at the center of this story?
2. Whose life does this story focus on?
3. Whose experiences are treated in this story?
Q2:
1. Where does Mirth Pham come from?
2. What is Mirth Pham's country of origin?
3. In what country was Mirth Pham born?
Q3:
1. How long has Mirth Pham been in the United States?
2. How many years has Mirth Pham been in America?
3. How long has it been since Mirth Pham arrived in the US?
Q4:
1. How old is Mirth Pham?
2. What is Mirth Pham's age?
3. State the age of Mirth Pham.
Q5:
1. What did the old couple in the store wish to purchase?
2. What purchase were the elderly couple in the store hoping to make?
3. What did the old couple in the store desire to buy?
Q6:
1. Did Mirth Pham help the elderly couple?
2. Did Mirth Pham lend a hand to the old couple?
3. Did the older couple receive hellp from Mirth Pham?
Q7:
1. Did the eldery couple have kids?
2. Were the elderly couple parents?
3. Had the old couple got any children?
Q8:
1. Where did Mirth Pham and his friend walk to?
2. What location were Mirth Pham and his friend walking to?
3. What were Mirth Pham and his friend going to on foot?
Q9:
1. Is it normal for friends to hold hands in Vietnam?
2. Is holding hands a common friendly gesture in Vietnam?
3. In Mirth Pham's home country, do friends normally hold hands?
Q10:
1. Is life in Vietnam similar to life in the US?
2. Does the Vietnamese way of life resemble the American way of life?
3. Are there only a couple minor differences between life in America and life in Vietnam?
Q11:
1. What process did Mirth Pham go through moving to a new country?
2. What did Mirth Pham go through as he learned to live in a new country?
3. What did Mirth Pham experience as he got used to life in a new nation?
Q12:
1. How long can the process of re-socialization last?
2. How long can re-socialization take?
3. How long can it take for someone to become re-socialized?
Q13:
1. Was there any way for the elderly couple to contact Mirth Pham?
2. Did the elderly couple have a way of getting in touch with Mirth Pham?
3. Was it possible for the old couple to reach Mirth Pham?
Q14:
1. Did the elderly couple get in touch with Mirth Pham?
2. Was Mirth Pham ever contacted by the old couple?
3. Did the old couple ever reach out to Mirth Pham?
Q15:
1. Were the old couple contacting Mirth Pham for help?
2. Did the elderly couple get in touch with Mirth Pham because they needed his help?
3. Was the reason the elderly couple contacted Mirth Pham in order to get some help?
Q16:
1. Why did the elderly couple get in touch with Mirth Pham?
2. What was the old couple's reason for contacting Mirth Pham?
3. What did the old couple wish to do with Mirth Pham?
Q17:
1. Where did Mirth Pham want to go prior to seeing the movie?
2. Where did Mirth Pham before he saw the movie?
3. Before stopping at the movie theater, where did Mirth Pham wish to go first?
Q18:
1. Did Mirth Pham's friend pull him towards the restaurant?
2. Did Mirth Pham's companion pull him towards somewhere to eat?
3. Was it Mirth Pham's friend who pulled him in the direction of a restaurant?
Q19:
1. Is it common for Americans to hold hands?
2. Do people in the US typically hold hands with each other?
3. Is holding hands a common friendly gesture in the United States?
Q20:
1. Does Mirth Pham have more to learn about the United States?
2. Are there more things that Mirth Pham needs to learn about the United States?
3. Is Mirth Pham's education about the United States still a work in progress?
