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Retail Business Services – the services company of Ahold Delhaize USA – is celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month by shining a light on some of our great associates with Asian or Pacific Islander heritage. This week, meet Quang-Thai Tran, Systems Analyst for Retail Business Services, who has seamlessly blended his Vietnamese heritage with his U.S. home. 

It’s been nearly 30 years since Quang-Thai Tran moved away from Vietnam, but he still carries pieces of the culture with him.  

“I first came to the U.S. in April in the early 1990s, so I always find myself thinking about and missing my family and Vietnam this time of year,” he said.    

While the U.S. is home now, Quang-Thai and his family have found balance and harmony between their Vietnamese roots and their American home.   

“My oldest son is in third grade, and he speaks both Vietnamese and English,” Quang-Thai shared. “I wanted to teach my children to speak Vietnamese so when we call family in Vietnam, or when we go to visit, they will be able to communicate with their relatives. And it’s good for a person to know a couple languages, so I think it’s a real advantage for us and our family.”   

When it comes to holidays, Quang-Thai and his family typically observe those in the U.S., but he says they still love to celebrate the Vietnamese New Year, which coincides with the Lunar New Year.   

“We love Vietnamese New Year – my mom cooks so much food!” he said with a laugh.  

Quang-Thai recalled the first time he visited relatives in Vietnam for the New Year after being away for 20 years. He described the trip as taking a bit of adjustment – unlike U.S. New Year celebrations, some businesses close for several weeks in Vietnam and people take lots of time off work.    

“In Vietnam, it’s common for people to work seven days a week. They don’t have weekends,” Quang-Thai said. “People are working so hard all year round, so around New Year’s they take a couple weeks off; they take a break.”   

In addition to providing a chance to rest, the holiday allows people to visit their families for an extended period – something some Vietnamese natives may only be able to do every few years if they are working or living abroad. The Vietnamese New Year is a joyful time of year for people to catch up with family and to dig in.   

“You don’t have enough stomach to hold all the food people cook for New Year’s,” Quang-Thai joked.  

And the strong ties among family members is something about his heritage that makes him especially proud.   

“In Vietnam, what I think is really good is that children will stay and live with their elderly parents,” he said. “If you have multiple kids, one of them will stay with the parents to take good care of them as they get older and older. And, if that child marries, they’ll bring their spouse to live with them – so parents are surrounded by their kids and grandkids, and they’re not left with an empty house.”   

Of course, that arrangement isn’t always so simple.   

“Different generations have different opinions, so sometimes it’s difficult,” he chuckled.   

And, while Quang-Thai and his family can’t visit relatives in Vietnam every year, they still stay closely connected through technology.   

“If we’re not able to visit for New Year’s, we’ll call our relatives using Facebook or another video service, so we can see them face-to-face,” he said. “So, even though we’re far away, that helps us feel closer.”