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Daughter from Danang | Image Gallery

Two Hometowns

Mai Thi Hiep was born in Danang, Vietnam's dominant port city, home to over 490,000 people. But she didn't live there long. At age six, she was airlifted to the United States and adopted by a single mother, Ann Neville, who renamed her Heidi. The two settled in the small town of Pulaski, Tennessee, population c. 7000.

Danang, Vietnam. Pulaski, Tennessee. Heidi can trace her origins back to two hometowns, on opposite sides of the globe. See her two hometown experiences through her eyes, in these comments taken from the film transcripts.

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  • "One thing I would have (in Danang) if I stayed — I'd have had that family unity I didn't have, that constant love, ties, extended family, aunts, uncles..." Heidi

  • "I hardly ever see my grandmother in the States, uncle once a year, cousin in four years, everyone spread out. I'd see grandparents at Christmas or summer..." Heidi

  • "I do remember going to the temple all the time. I remember the little shrine in our house. I remember lighting the incense." Heidi

  • "I went to Sunday school, then I went to service. Then Sunday night you'd go to UMYF, which is United Methodist Youth Fellowship. On Wednesday night, you went to UMYF too. So every Wednesday and then all day Sunday practically. You went to Sunday school and church and then at 5:00 you would come back — from 5 to 7 you'd go again." Heidi

  • "...My own sisters didn't make it through 6th grade." Heidi

  • " I feel so lucky. [My birth mother] gave me a chance to go some place I'd have a better life —opportunities I woudn't have [had] — travel, college, great education..." Heidi

  • "Now I'm here I see [my birth mother] life — poverty — she says there are days she goes hungry." Heidi

  • "...they just assume I've been living it up and now it's time for me to pick up my duty and take care of my mom..." Heidi

  • "In the past 24 hours, I've spent most of my time with the relatives. It's still hard for me to fathom how close they are...They're there all the time constantly." Heidi

  • "[My adoptive mother] worked from 8 to 4 if not later. I got out of school 2 or 2:30...I never saw her till round dinnertime." Heidi

  • "[Pulaski] is beautiful...But...I guess we just take it for granted because we see it every day. And it's just like, '...so what? There's another barn." Heidi
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