Conversations with my Parents by Oanh Thi Tran

1. What is ironic about the way the author and the father become close? What has to happen to the father? The irony of how the father and son became close is that when they were healthy and young they weren't close but when the father became ill and sick Oanh then became close with him. 

2. How would you characterise the conversation that the author has with her parents? The conversation that the author has with her parents is very brief and confusing but also that Oanh doesn't know who she is talking to. 

3. What is it that worries the author most about these conversations? What worries the author most about the conversations is that she never gets to tell her parents she misses them or loves them, especially since she is far away. 

4. There is a gap between the author’s need to express feelings common in western countries and her family’s lack of desire to express their feelings verbally. How does the family still express their feelings for their child, just not verbally? They express their feelings by keeping regular contact with her. This shows that they still care even if they can't articulate it.