The object I picked is a piece of traditional Laos clothing. This piece of clothing is called the “sinh” or “salong”. Each piece of clothing is unique in its own way and it represents our Laos culture. The sinh or salong is usually wore to weddings or festivals. The clothing represents my family’s cultural identity because since ancient times the piece of clothing has been made in small villages back in Laos. My family came from Laos and moved here and landed in Rhode Island and eventually moved to Massachusetts. I don’t know much about my mom’s side of their story but I do know a lot about my dad’s side of their story. I know my Grandmother from my dad’s side stayed in Laos while my Grandfather was in the army. It was hard for my Grandmother to make money since it wasn’t normal for women in Laos at the time to be the breadwinner of the household, so my grandmother would go to the market and sell food at the market. My family’s story connects to other family’s stories cause I feel like our families share the same hardships moving to a new country and having to start over.

– K

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant