From Prairie to Prairie Part II: Arriving and Making a Home in Saskatoon
As told to Hannah Tran by Ba Hung Tran.
This is the second in a two-part series recounting Ba Hung Tran’s memories of coming to Saskatchewan as a young man in the 1970s. The first part, which recounts his family history in Vietnam and the process of leaving the country as refugees, can be found here. This series was initially published in three parts in Folklore Volume 44 Nos. 2, 3 & 4 (Spring, Summer, and Autumn 2023).
Now, the thing I worried the most about when we came to Saskatchewan wasn’t things like money or food. I did worry about the material things, but the thing I worried about the most when I was on the airplane, and we were flying to Saskatoon was how people would treat us. To me, that was the thing I was most concerned about. What I always say is that you can give me a big house, but if I live next to a horrible neighbour, that big house means nothing. But Canadian people were really helpful, and that is one of the reasons I like living here. My first impression was that I was quite happy with the people; they are quite laid-back, peaceful, and friendly.
Our first winter in Canada. From Left to Right: Tran Thi Thu Ha, Tran Ba Hien, Tran Ba Hung, Tran Ba Hau.
When we landed in Saskatoon, it was the policy that immigrants or refugees would be sent to hotels and motels—mostly motels, because it was cheaper, and we would live there temporarily before they could help use get our own apartments. So, we were sent to the Colonial Motel, in Colonial Square.
From what I heard, there were only 300 to 500 Vietnamese people in town at that time. And of those people, only about a dozen people owned a car. So, a lot of Vietnamese people came to visit us, and they actually took the bus. When I look back, that was wonderful!
Even though the population was 140,000 people, the impression I had was that the population was closer to 200,000 people. The size of the city I came from had a population that was almost the same as Saskatoon’s. But I lived on the outskirts of the city, and if I were to walk from my house to downtown, it would only take me 15 or 20 minutes—that’s how small it was. In the mid-80s, I saw this commercial on TV, and it said something like, “Saskatchewan: One million souls, one million stories.” But what happened was that the population was not quite a million yet, but close. But then, that population stayed one million for 30 years. That’s how bad it was in this province.
Saskatoon was really depressing because it was so quiet for us compared to where we were from. We were so used to the noise, we would say, “How come it’s always so quiet?” It actually kind of bothered us. The way that other Vietnamese people described Saskatoon was that there were more houses, buildings, and cars than people, which is actually really true. You could walk the streets downtown and see very few people.
We got to Saskatoon in early April, and one of the first impressions I had at that time was that everywhere we looked, the first thing we saw was “gallon.” The gas stations still said “gallon,” because Canada was still using the imperial system. When we went to the grocery store, we saw pounds, and measurements said things like yards and inches. I couldn’t stand it! Later, in ’82 or ’83, when they introduced the metric system, Canadian people couldn’t stand that either. But for me, it was a chance to learn. Even though some Vietnamese people hated it, I looked at it in a different way—to learn another system, even though it was a bit uncomfortable. So, that’s how I learned something new.
The other thing, of course, was that we came to a new city and we didn’t know anything, so that was really hard and we were adjusting. Now, when people come from other countries to Saskatoon, they probably adjust a bit faster. If you were to come from Vietnam right now, they have Google there now; they have phones, they have cars. But when I came to Saskatoon, we didn’t have even have home phones in Vietnam. In the area I lived in, we didn’t have plumbing. Actually, I carried two buckets of water for my family the last day before escaped Vietnam.
Another thing was that being in Saskatoon was the first time that I saw a sliding door. So, you see, it was quite different in terms of both civilization and technology. Another incident I had with a door—which people don’t notice when they deal with them every day—is that sometimes, doors to businesses are really heavy. And I went to the store, and I thought, is this locked? Because in Vietnam, if a business is open, then so is their door, because it’s so hot out. So, I wasn’t used to pulling big doors like that. But a lady opened it for me, and she was smiling. I thought that was really nice. Then, later, I noticed that everybody in Canada opens doors for you!
One thing about Saskatoon that was a first impression was that the air was really nice to breathe. It was so weird. I had never had clean air, which you never realize until you have good air. The other thing was the sun, which was brilliantly bright—and it was so beautiful, because the air was so clear. It was weird to see air that clear, because where I’m from, it’s always humid, so it’s always hazy. It was so beautiful to see the sun and see the crystal-clear air in Saskatchewan.
Even though I’d seen snow briefly in Montreal, I saw my first real snowfall in Saskatoon. From what I saw of the light snowfall, it was so beautiful. Actually, I was in the Colonial Motel looking through the window at the back alley, and there was a trash can there, and it was still beautiful! Like magic.
Another impression of the weather was this: When we were staying at the motel on 8th Street, we didn’t see a lot of pedestrians. But I saw this lady, around 20, and she was wearing shorts and a light jacket, walking her dog. So, I thought, this is probably a warm day, right? Now, I didn’t know where to check the temperature, so I decided that I would just walk from the Colonial Motel across the little park to the Safeway. For anyone who knows Saskatoon, that’s a really short walk! You just have to cross a street and a parking lot, but that day, I had my first frozen ears, toes, and fingers.
It was so painful, and when I was in Safeway, I was standing there thinking, “How can I walk back?” It was that awful. So, I was standing there waiting for it to get better, which took forever. Even though it didn’t get better quickly, I had to walk back, and my ears froze again. When I came back to the motel, I had tears coming out of my eyes, and I stood in front of the stove to warm my fingers and ears. And that night, when I checked the weather on the TV, it was 6°. Years later, that was so funny, but that was my coldest moment.
Another place I remember is the convenience store beside the Safeway, where I walked to buy stamps and envelopes to write home. Back then, you know, we didn’t have phones or whatever, so we had to buy letter paper to write. So, I went in there and I grabbed those things, and when I came out, they didn’t have prices, so the girl at the counter asked me, “So, do you know how much this is?” and I was quite impressed that they were that trusting. Where I’m from, people don’t do that. They always go check the price, because a person might lie and tell you a different price.
Another thing was that when I was at Superstore—back then, called SuperValu—and a person bumped into me. Or, I bumped into her, and when I turned around, she started apologizing profusely. I was so shocked that I didn’t say anything. I felt bad, because I think she probably had the impression that I was mad. But I couldn’t believe it. Oh my god! I bumped into them and they apologized!
And when I went to pay for my things, I noticed that customers said thank you. But, for what? Where I’m from, the only person who says thank you is the owner of the store, because he gets your money.
One thing that made living in Saskatoon quite depressing was that there were no jobs yet. Most of the Vietnamese guys back then, when they got here, they didn’t get lucky, or they didn’t have skills. Pretty much all of them got dishwashing jobs. One of the things we could not stand in Saskatchewan was, first, the weather, but second, the economy. I wouldn’t say that it was poor—it’s just that there was no economy. Good investors would come in and pass, so people couldn’t get jobs. Both my younger brother and I went to school, but we didn’t do very well. I went to university, but I dropped out, so all my life, I’ve just been doing odd jobs—minimum wage jobs. There was a time that I was a baker, which was sort of a trade. But all along, I’ve been a craftsperson. I do origami, and that’s my second profession. The art scene in Saskatchewan is really good. Where I’m from, when you mention arts and crafts, people think it’s a poor people occupation. And another thing is that, in poorer countries, people don’t appreciate art, because they can’t afford it. And because they can’t afford it, they can’t understand it. So, when Vietnamese people come to Canada, even if they own things like fancy houses, nice furniture, and big houses, barely any of them own fancy art. In Canada, people like handmade stuff because it’s a country with technology. But in Vietnam, where there is no technology and everything is handmade, they would rather have machines. The point is that people here can afford to do it. I don’t make a lot of money from it, but I can afford to keep going.
So, because it was so hard to get jobs in Saskatoon, my sister lived here for awhile, and then couldn’t get a job, so she moved to Toronto. Later, she sponsored my parents and my younger sister to move there too. She could only afford the three of them, so my two brothers stayed in Vietnam, and my youngest brother died of cancer. So, it is only my oldest brother who lives there now.
Whenever I go to Toronto, the people will ask, “Why do you live in Saskatchewan?” But, it doesn’t matter where you go, there’s always something called ignorance. I don’t mean stupidity—just a lack of knowledge. And actually, when I meet people there, sometimes, to them, the entirety of Saskatchewan is farmland. They think that the only job is to farm. I remember that the first couple of times someone said that to me, I got kind of offended, but later, I came up with this response: “I live in Saskatchewan instead of Toronto because I’m not afraid of nature, I’m afraid of traffic.”
I never wanted to move to Toronto, because I have no guts. I realize now that, at that time, I left home at a very young age, and I realized that I was a very fragile child. Everything terrified me. The other thing at that time was that, to come from a poor country, technology terrified me. You know, back then, people considered that I spoke English very well compared to many people, and even though I’ve lived here long enough now, I still hate talking on the phone. Sometimes, I talk on the phone, and I panic, because I don’t understand what they are saying.
Another thing that happened is that I went through a depression, even though at that time, I didn’t know what to call it. I was so sad that you wouldn’t even believe it. I was so sad that I could have died. I literally could have died from the loneliness. It wasn’t that I didn’t have anybody—I had my brothers and sister—and compared to the guys who came here and had no one, I had it better. One thing about being lonely at that time was that I didn’t have a girlfriend. I had a girlfriend back home, but I had to leave, and then I didn’t have another one until 1988, six years later. I was at that age—you know, a teenager, young adult—so that was hard.
But the real loneliness is that I was living away from home. That’s loneliness; that’s the bigger picture; that’s the loneliness that has always been there. And, suddenly, you have to do so many new things, and I was weak. I’ve always been a talker and a thinker; I’m not a doer. So, it was hard.
So, my sister did move to Toronto, but she struggled there, too. Actually, I had to pay rent for her for the whole year. And then, in 1987, I went to see her, and she was living in an attic. It wasn’t that bad, and I even had fun in Toronto with all the food and the things I could do, but I realized that I didn’t actually like big cities. And so, I came home and I never thought about moving to the big city again.
One thing about Saskatoon compared to the big city is that the people are very friendly. But that doesn’t mean that there is no racism. When I met my ex-wife in 1988, we both worked at a coffee shop. And when her customers and some of her acquaintances found out that she was dating an Asian guy, they were really against that. She didn’t mention much to me at the time because she didn’t want to upset me. One time, she introduced me to her acquaintance, and the guy was obviously racist. He made some remark like, “Oh, you’re Asian, but you’re okay.” But it wasn’t horrible. I mean, racist people are horrible when they humiliate you, or beat you up, or kill you. So, to me, that was very minor.
I’m also the kind of person that deals with racism by looking down on racists. I look at them, and I say, I am above you, because I am not like you. The other way I deal with it is that I go through my day for the people that I like, not the ones that I don’t, because focusing on the people that you don’t like does not help you.
Another racist incident I got into not too long ago was when a guy got into a fight with me at my job. He had been living in Vietnam, and he started to condemn the country, and I told him that he was being racist. He started saying all these bad things that Vietnam was doing, and I told him that I wasn’t interested. I said that that’s them as a country, that’s not me as a person. I’ve lived in Canada for 40 years. I think he just wanted to pick a fight.
In a way, I’m a strong person in some situations. I guess I’ve learned a lot from racist experiences. You know, there was a time that I lived in Vietnam when I was the majority. 90% of people in Vietnam are Vietnamese, so I’ve seen what it’s like to be viewed above others. Then, I came to Canada, and I was the minority. So, I understand both sides. When I was young, I had Chinese friends, and when they ran into other Chinese people, they would speak Chinese, and that made me really mad. But then in Saskatoon, when I spoke in my tongue with my friend in front of a white person and they got annoyed, I understood that I was wrong, before—because it made me upset. As time goes by, we understand why other people are upset more, and as we understand this, we learn how to better deal with it. You have to learn how to tolerate each other—both minority and majority.
Even though I was originally disappointed to come to Saskatchewan, once I stayed long enough, I got used to it, and I started to see something else. I think this is true for the entirety of Canada, but it’s definitely true for Saskatchewan—that the people make you feel welcome to be here.
There was one other thing too: a sentimental reason. Now, when I escaped Vietnam, it wasn’t exactly that I wanted to leave. It’s just that, with the circumstances, I had to go. And then I was in a refugee camp, and it was a shocking experience, but I got used to certain things, and then I had to say goodbye. So, when I came to Saskatchewan, I had this thought in my head: I am never going to say goodbye again.
Trần Bá Hùng.
I have a lot of interesting stories, and I can talk forever, but that is the story of how I was born into an area in Vietnam called the prairie, and I ended up here in Saskatchewan, in the prairie again.
Read Part I of this story here.
BA HUNG TRAN is a self-taught origami artist. He immigrated to Canada from Vietnam in 1981, and has made his home in Saskatoon, SK ever since. Ba Hung Tran learned Origami, the art of paper folding, during his childhood in Vietnam. In Canada he started his home-based business, Tran’s Origami, in 1994 to sell his handmade origami products including origami jewelry, framed origami art, greeting cards, flowers, ornaments, and fridge magnets.
“people stories” shares articles from Folklore Magazine, a Saskatchewan History & Folklore Society publication.