Inside Out and Back Again

Inside Out and Back Again Glossary

semi-autobiographical

a written work dealing partly with the writer's own life but also containing fictional elements

immigration

the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country

Vietcong (also Viet Cong)

a member of the communist guerrilla movement in Vietnam that fought the South Vietnamese government forces 1954–75 with the support of the North Vietnamese army and opposed the South Vietnamese and US forces in the Vietnam War; from Vietnamese, meaning literally "Vietnamese Communist"

refugee

a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster

loyalty

a strong feeling of support or allegiance

dông

meaning coin, the basic monetary unit of Vietnam

I Ching

Translated as The Book of Changes, the I Ching is an ancient Chinese manual of divination based on eight symbolic trigrams and sixty-four hexagrams, interpreted in terms of the principles of yin and yang. It was included as one of the “five classics” of Confucianism

áo dài

Vietnamese national garment of a tight-fitting silk tunic worn over trousers; meaning literally "long shirt"

cyclo

three-wheel bicycle taxi that appeared in Vietnam during the French colonial period

durian

an oval spiny tropical fruit containing a creamy pulp and a pungent aroma

tamarind

sticky brown acidic pulp from the pod of a tree of the pea family, widely used as a flavoring in Asian cooking

cowboy hat

a hat with a broad, often curled brim and a high crown, typically made of felt

papaya

a tropical fruit shaped like an elongated melon, with edible orange flesh and small black seeds

chick

a young bird, especially one newly hatched

Communism

a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs

gong

a metal disk with a turned rim, giving a resonant note when struck

pancake

a thin, flat cake of batter, usually fried and turned in a pan

Bruce Lee

A US actor and kung fu expert, Bruce Lee starred in a number of martial arts movies

glutinous

like glue in texture; sticky