As a researcher of the cultural life of Vietnamese living overseas, one of the major lenses through which I analyze their world is semiotics: the study of symbols and meaning. Because of the many overseas Vietnamese who left their homeland in the late 20th century, I often think about what being Vietnamese means to people who feel disconnected from the geographic symbol of Vietnam. When someone says, "Tôi là người Việt Nam" (I am a Vietnamese person), what other concepts of s