This week we’re hearing from Pa Mipajntsuab in Anchorage. Pa’s family is originally from Laos and she moved here four years ago from California.
PA: I have a Hmong last name but it’s kind of long. Mipajntsuab (mei-ban-zhuo). Yeah, and it stands for “Little Flower Green.”
Learning how to ski, go around and still know how to stop. If you go to fast you can’t stop and you have to slowly go. So you don’t want to injure yourself.
I was so scared, but I was like (gasps) “I should not be scared. I should be a strong girl, to be a strong lady, to go up there and prove it to people.” But snowboarding is kind of scary. I never did it before but I see people go backward to stop. It’s kind of scary.
I like to play tennis. Yeah not really good, but I can do the best I can. I had a person standing next to me showing me how to toss the ball and hit it so I don’t hit anybody and smack them in the back of the head.
Living here is a good thing because you can go hiking on top of the mountains, see all of the beautiful view of it. Go hiking, and take a picture of it and pick blueberries on the bush. It’s beautiful. First time I went to the mountains, sitting on top of the mountain, looking all around… it’s a beautiful state.
Anne Hillman is the healthy communities editor at Alaska Public Media and a host of Hometown, Alaska. Reach her atahillman@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Annehere.
