Hey all!

My name is Lam, I'm a recent college graduate from a small liberal arts college in Claremont, California (somewhat near Los Angeles) called Harvey Mudd College. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in engineering, and I was quite involved with affinity organizations and community activism while I was on campus.

While I spent all my time studying science and engineering in college, I am a dancer at heart. I would describe my main dance style as popping, hip hop, and urban dance--but I'm also interested in learning a variety of other styles such as krump, breaking, house, and new style hustle. I am mostly a freestyle dancer, but have also dabbled in the choreography scene as well.

I was born and raised in San Gabriel, California-- part of the larger "626" area that is considered by many to be the biggest Chinatown on the West Coast. The 626 area is part of the "suburbs" east of Los Angeles.

I also consider home to be Orange County, California--specifically the Little Saigon area due to my heritage. Orange County neighbors Los Angeles and lies southeast of it. I currently live in the heart of Little Saigon.

Por qué estoy en Couchsurfing

I'm on Couchsurfing because I recently received the Watson Fellowship! As a Watson Fellow, I will be conducting a one-year research trip around the world on a topic that is very personal to me: the intersections of the Vietnamese diaspora and the hip hop/urban dance communities.

To do this research, I will be traveling to the Netherlands, Germany, France, Australia, Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan for the next year. My trip is tentatively planned to start July 29, 2018 and end sometime early August 2019.

If you're interested in reading more, I've posted my project name and description below! I've also pasted links to the Watson Foundation (the organization that funds this fellowship) below as well!

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Vietnamese Diaspora: Counterspace Through Dance

The Fall of Saigon, the refugee camps, the loss of one's nước—the traumas of the Vietnam War live on in every single family of the Vietnamese diaspora. While these events may fade away as "history" to the rest of the world, these traumas were passed down to the second generation of Việt Kiều in various forms, from the loss of language in interpersonal family dynamics to systemic oppressions like inaccessibilities to higher education. In my Watson year, I will explore how intergenerational trauma has turned the second generation of overseas Vietnamese towards dance, especially the styles of hip hop, street, and urban dance. I hope to gain deeper insights on how these dance styles form communities that go beyond just emotional outlets to become counterspaces—spaces that are liberatory and healing to the self and the community.

Watson Fellowship: https://watson.foundation/fellowships/tj
Watson Foundation: https://watson.foundation/

Intereses

• hip-hop music
• ethnic studies
• choreography
• popping
• hip hop dance
• urban dance
• freestyle dance
• krump

Música, películas y libros

Favorite music:
Hip hop, R&B, "simpy" songs with interesting vocals, "dance-able" music... So yeah it's kind of vague and I'm pretty open to most genres. This is just the pattern I've noticed to the type of music I mostly listen to.

Favorite movies:
My answer honestly changes every time you ask me.

Favorite books:
I really need to get back into reading one day... I was obsessed with manga at one point of my life.

Algo increíble que he hecho

Created an entire community from scratch! I founded the 5C Freestylin' Collective at my college, which is a freestyle dance organization. No such organization/community existed before in my college, but now it's thriving!

Enseña, aprende, comparte

Always down to share my love for dance. Always down to go to freestyle sessions/labs/cyphers/jams. Hit me up especially if you're a fellow dancer.

Low-key aspiring amateur cook! I mostly cook Vietnamese dishes, but I'm always down to learn new things.

Qué puedo ofrecer a los anfitriones

I'm new to Couchsurfing so I'm not exactly sure what to put here!

But some things I'm always down to share are my personal story and my perspectives on things. Down to share in more detail what my project entails for the Watson Fellowship. Probably a lot more, so just ask!

Países que he visitado

Canada

Países en los que he vivido

United States