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This activity sheet is aimed to introduce you to the effects of cultural changes upon people and their society. The activities focus on the cultural and geographic upheaval of the Hmong people as an example. These activities also encourage you to interpret the ways people express themselves, and to develop your own personal expression skills

1 Hmong Teenagers

What To Do

1. Using the information in the following websites, write an article for a magazine about the difficulties experienced by Hmong teenagers adapting to living in western countries. You might like to include some direct quotations from Hmong teenagers in your article.

2. The Hmong Homepage contains a collection of resources relating to Hmong history, culture, language, and current events. Check the following within the sites below:
   • Hmong FrequentlyAsked Questions (FAQ)
   • Hmong International Human Rights Watch

   You may find links to other material that you may also like to incorporate into your work.

3. Websites to visit:
   • WWW Hmong Homepage
     http://www.hmongnet.org/

   • A review of 'Facing Both Ways: Reflections on Growing Up in Two Cultures'
     http://www.hmongnet.org/publications/fbw.html

   • Hmong Homepage Teen Feedback
     http://www.hmongnet.org/teenfeedback/

   • The Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library website includes specific search engine links for the region.
     http://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVL-AsianStudies.html

   • 'Hmong Means Free'
     http://www.hmongnet.org/publications/hmf-intro.html
     Scroll down past links to other resources you may wish to explore later, to 'The Hmong Experience in Asia and the United States'

   • 'Hmong women's role: Perspectives toward change in Hmong women' by Melyssa Yang includes information about Hmong teenage girls.
     http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Ginza/6952/women.html

2 Childcare Workers

What To Do

1. Read the description of 'The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures' by Anne Fadiman.
   http://www.spiritcatchesyou.com/bookdescription.htm
   You can also read an excerpt from the book at:
   http://www.spiritcatchesyou.com/bookexcerpt.htm

2. Read 'What do the Hmong believe will happen to them if they receive a blood transfusion?' by Dr Pao Saykao.
   http://www.hmongnet.org/faq/blood.html

3. Read 'Death and Dying' by Dr. Pao Saykao.
   http://www.hmongnet.org/faq/dying.html

4. Discuss your perception of the implications of the information about cross-cultural problems given by Anne Fadiman and Dr. Pao Saykao with your group and try to decide what it is that the Hmong believe about illness.

5. Imagine you are training young child care workers or paramedics and want to explain to them that other cultures may view illness differently to the way that we do. Consider how you would introduce the Hmong beliefs to the group, who will be dealing with the parents of young Hmong children in a non-Hmong cultural environment, such the city or town where you live.

6. Write an article or a speech to explain the situation to them.

3 What has Happened to Hmong People?

What To Do

1. Write a report explaining why so many Hmong people have had to leave their former homes in Southeast Asia and settle in western societies such as those in North America, Australia and Europe.

2. Gather your information from the following websites.
   • 'Refugees from Laos: historical background and causes'
     http://www.hmongnet.org/hmong-au/refugee.htm

   • 'Hmong-Australian Resource Page' linked to Background Info, Hmong in Australia, Hmong in China, Hmong in Laos, Hmong in Thailand, Hmong in USA, Hmong in France, Hmoob, Music & Songs, Internet Links.
     http://www.hmongnet.org/hmong-au/ozintro.htm

   • WWW Hmong Homepage: Frequently Asked Questions
     http://www.hmongnet.org/faq/
     http://www.hmongnet.org/faq/books.html
   

3. In your report, mention the following:
   • Where Hmong people have settled (including in Australia)
   • Some of the problems facing Hmong people settling in new lands
   • What you are able to find out about the Hmong in Australia
   • Why they left their homelands
   • Problems facing the Hmong remaining in their homelands.