“Who were our enemies during World War II?” Jim asks her, reading from a slick pack of blue immigration trivia cards sent free from USCIS. She leans forward to answer him, “Italy…Germany.” Her voice presses on each syllable  almost musically. With a shy confidence she describes the symbolism of the  red and white colored stripes of the American flag, names the writer of the “Star Spangled Banner”.

 Dung Giang, the daughter of a Vietnamese mother and Chinese father, married into Ismael Appadolo’s large Cham family in Saigon, Vietnam. Cham, an ethnically distinct minority in Vietnam is predominantly Muslim. Dung was raised Buddhist but converted to Islam before marrying Ismael.

“I think every religion has the truth in it,” she responds when asked if it had been difficult for her to convert.

Five years ago, Dung, Ismael and their daughter Rosalia, then 17, arrived in the United States. Luckier than many new immigrants, they were welcomed by Ismael’s family who had left Vietnam in the late 1980’s along with the third wave of refugees leaving that area after the collapse of the Thieu regime. Dung, Ismael and Rosalia were the only members of the family to stay behind. They wanted to be sure that if America did not work out as they had planned, the family would have a place to call home.

When the Appadolos first moved to Seattle, they stayed with Ismael’s extended family, in a house inhabited by five other people. Ismael wanted to find work in his field, international trade and economic management, but his options were limited. He was not yet a citizen and he knew very little English. Dung, who had completed one year of law school in Vietnam, knew no English at all. Rosalia, who had taken some English in high school, quickly adapted to her senior year in public school before entering Seattle Central Community College. She is now taking classes toward completion of a Dental Hygienist program and working as an intern at a dental clinic. Ismael was able to find work, including working as a Student Liaison at St. James ESL, after he finished a job readiness program at the YWCA. In addition to working, he attends classes at the Seattle Vocational Institute, working towards employment in office management.

After a few years, the Appadolos were able to secure a two bedroom apartment, very close to the Cham mosque where the family prays.
Dung began Citizenship classes with her husband and daughter through St. James ESL Citizenship Project. The date for their naturalization is set in mid-March. “They are my stars,” says their tutor, Colleen Dunham, who has been working with them since September. “Most students take years to become prepared for their citizenship exam,” says Jim Hodges, Citizenship Coordinator for the St. James ESL Program. Dung may have had less exposure and practice in speaking English than her husband or daughter but when practicing for the exam with Jim, she is able to easily answer nearly every single one of the 96 possible exam questions. English will be Dung’s fifth language after Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Cham.

When she does encounter a question whose answer she doesn’t know, she makes a point of writing it down. “Who is the Speaker of the House?” “Oh, we have not gone over that yet,” Says the tutor, who spells the name for her. “Nancy Pelosi” is written in upper-case block letters in her speckled comp book. The tips of the N’s crisp and precise.
“Name one right or freedom guaranteed by the first amendment?”
“Freedom of religion,” she says, “freedom of speech.”
 
The Appadolo family became United States citizens on March 15, 2007.■