Early Years
The daughter of a major in the Royal Lao Army and a shaman, Vang grew up in her early years in Thai refugee camps before resettling in the United States Midwest, with the majority of her formative years spent in the Twin Cities and the Frogtown quarter of St. Paul, Minnesota. She briefly attended the St. Agnes parochial school in the late 1980s before attending the local public high school.
Vang was the oldest of seven children in her family. At an early age, she was known for her intense curiosity and intelligence and a tendency to challenge established norms of American and Hmong society.
Bi-culturalism was a significant issue in Vang's experience as she sought ways to succeed in both Hmong and American society, and this experience is frequently reflected in her later writing.
While issues of bi-culturalism are a part of the experiences of many Hmong refugees, Vang's approach is noteworthy for her consistent efforts to cultivate a more informed, global perspective of those issues, particularly through international travel.
Read more about this topic: Ka Vang
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