Where We Land

Hoangmai (Mai) Pham is a Vietnamese American refugee and physician, founder of the Institute for Exceptional Care. In our conversation she shares how her family escaped from Saigon before the fall, what it was like adapting to an American life, the challenges of understanding her identity when no one would talk to her about the past, and how she ended up moving back to Vietnam for a year to get answers. Mai shares all this and more in her debut memoir, Bridge from Saigon, available on Amazon.WATCH on YouTube!REACH OUT:Want to share your immigration stories or have a question? We'd love to hear from you. Shoot us an email: [email protected]:*Follow WWL on IG: @wherewelandpod*Follow WWL on TikTok: @wherewelandpod*Follow Claudia on IG: @claudiavl8Click here for a list of immigration resources / organizations you can support.ABOUT THE HOSTS:Luciana and Claudia Valdiviezo know what it’s like to move to the U.S. – twice. They were born in Peru and lived there for only a few years until their parents moved the family to the U.S. The sisters kept in touch with their roots, speaking Spanish at home and every Christmas when they visited Peru for the holidays. Then, when they were 12 and 11 respectively, the family moved back to Peru. Growing up both Peruvian and American during those formative years gave Luciana and Claudia a deep understanding of what it means to belong, and not belong, at the same time.The sisters eventually moved back to the U.S. Luciana is a marketing professional living in Washington D.C. with her husband and two young children. Claudia is a writer living in New York City.

One of the downsides to living abroad is being far away from friends and family. So when people you love suffer an accident, go through a prolonged illness or pass away, you don’t always get to be there for them in all the ways you wish you could. In this episode we discuss our experiences with long-distance grief and how it's shaped us.WATCH on YouTube!REACH OUT:Send us your questions to: [email protected]:*Follow WWL on IG: @wherewelandpod*Follow WWL on TikTok: @wherewelandpod*Follow Claudia on IG: @claudiavl8Click here for a list of immigration resources / organizations you can support.ABOUT THE HOSTS:Luciana and Claudia Valdiviezo know what it’s like to move to the U.S. – twice. They were born in Peru and lived there for only a few years until their parents moved the family to the U.S. The sisters kept in touch with their roots, speaking Spanish at home and every Christmas when they visited Peru for the holidays. Then, when they were 12 and 11 respectively, the family moved back to Peru. Growing up both Peruvian and American during those formative years gave Luciana and Claudia a deep understanding of what it means to belong, and not belong, at the same time.The sisters eventually moved back to the U.S. Luciana is a marketing professional living in Washington D.C. with her husband and two young children. Claudia is a writer living in New York City.