1. Can you believe it, Minh?
Copy !req
2. Ted Wassanasong
actually invite us to his home.
Copy !req
3. What a place.
Copy !req
4. I can't tell if that's a high-def TV
or window overlooking African safari.
Copy !req
5. You know, it's funny,
Copy !req
6. even another person's money
can make me happy.
Copy !req
7. Oh…
Copy !req
8. Minh.
Copy !req
9. Look at that swimming pool.
Copy !req
10. The classic, simple rectangle.
Copy !req
11. The tiles so tastefully filigreed.
Copy !req
12. That is the pool of a man of substance.
Copy !req
13. Welcome, Kahn and Minh.
Copy !req
14. I hope you're enjoying yourselves.
Copy !req
15. Your home is beautiful, Ted.
Copy !req
16. Thank you.
Copy !req
17. As fellow Laotians,
Copy !req
18. I knew you would appreciate
the lowland influences
Copy !req
19. on the architecture and decor.
Copy !req
20. Yeah.
Copy !req
21. So did it come with that pool
or did you have to put it in?
Copy !req
22. Minh, Kahn,
Copy !req
23. I'd like you to meet my dear friend,
Copy !req
24. Nguc Phong.
Copy !req
25. Legendary Lao guerrilla fighter
Copy !req
26. who lead brave assaults
against communist forces?
Copy !req
27. I am that same soldier.
Copy !req
28. How about that, Minh?
This guy serious butt-kicker.
Copy !req
29. Anyway, I'm sorry
they kill all your friends.
Copy !req
30. Yes, that was unhappy for me.
Copy !req
31. But every day, I devote
to honoring their memory,
Copy !req
32. to preserving the culture of our people.
Copy !req
33. Yeah, well, that sound good.
Copy !req
34. Now about the pool,
Copy !req
35. what you think a smaller version of it
in my backyard cost?
Copy !req
36. And remember,
Copy !req
37. I want same tiles you use
with Ted Wassanasong's pool.
Copy !req
38. Right. Here's my estimate.
Copy !req
39. Yep.
Copy !req
40. Yep.
Copy !req
41. My dreams are shattered.
Copy !req
42. Yep, mine, too. Have a beer.
Copy !req
43. Ever since I see Ted's pool,
Copy !req
44. I can think of nothing
but having one in my own backyard.
Copy !req
45. But it too expensive.
Copy !req
46. Well, it doesn't have to be.
Copy !req
47. A pool is basically a concrete shell
with a suction and return system
Copy !req
48. and some motor-assisted plumbing.
Copy !req
49. Mm-hmm.
Copy !req
50. Yeah. Yeah, you just need
to find a few guys
Copy !req
51. who enjoy doing construction
in their spare time,
Copy !req
52. and offer them rights to use the pool.
Copy !req
53. Something's happening here.
Copy !req
54. Oh, my God, we're gonna build a pool.
Copy !req
55. Really?
Copy !req
56. Wingo.
Copy !req
57. This hard hat is my armor.
Copy !req
58. When you're working construction,
Copy !req
59. your head is still
your most valuable tool,
Copy !req
60. so you've got to protect it…
Copy !req
61. Huh?
Copy !req
62. A rectangular pool.
Copy !req
63. It'll be like having a mid-level motel
next door.
Copy !req
64. I can't believe it.
Copy !req
65. That giant hole filled with dirt
Copy !req
66. is the place I'm gonna spend
the rest of my childhood.
Copy !req
67. Well, before you do,
Copy !req
68. you're gonna train in swimming, CPR,
and pool etiquette.
Copy !req
69. Huh. I'm still excited.
Copy !req
70. Is it possible that our life
has finally achieved total perfection?
Copy !req
71. Tell me, what is Connie's
grade-point average?
Copy !req
72. Is it A?
Copy !req
73. A-plus.
Copy !req
74. And what kind of steak is that?
Copy !req
75. Is it choice?
Copy !req
76. Prime.
Copy !req
77. And that pool in my backyard,
is it a hallucination?
Copy !req
78. No, it's real.
Copy !req
79. So it is true, then,
our lives are nearly perfect.
Copy !req
80. Only missing element is membership
in Nine Rivers Country Club.
Copy !req
81. Well, Ted Wassanasong
is on membership committee…
Copy !req
82. Of course. And he like us now.
Copy !req
83. Oh, this coming together very nicely.
Copy !req
84. Oh, hello, Ted.
Copy !req
85. Well, this hilarious.
Copy !req
86. I just come to shop for new five-iron,
but then I run into you guys.
Copy !req
87. Oh, Kahn, good to see you.
Copy !req
88. We're on our way
to distribute food to the poor.
Copy !req
89. Is that euphemism
for playing round of golf?
Copy !req
90. Because I'm in.
Copy !req
91. Kahn, you do know that it's
Makha Bousa today, don't you?
Copy !req
92. It is one of our most sacred holidays.
Copy !req
93. Oh, right. I guess it slip my mind.
Copy !req
94. Ah. But only momentarily,
because tonight Minh and I throw
Copy !req
95. Makha Bousa celebration dinner
at our house.
Copy !req
96. I insist that you both join us.
Copy !req
97. Well, that would be super. I accept.
Copy !req
98. Really?
Copy !req
99. Oh, okay then, I see you tonight.
Copy !req
100. Ah. You know, it so nice that lately,
Copy !req
101. - you and I able to spend more time…
- Kahn, the poor.
Copy !req
102. Oh, yes, the poor.
Copy !req
103. I, uh… I hope they get more money soon.
Copy !req
104. Good morning.
Copy !req
105. We're here to sign my son up
for a course in CPR.
Copy !req
106. We're essentially getting a pool.
Copy !req
107. Well, we have a basic, one day course.
Copy !req
108. We also have a two-week course
Copy !req
109. which includes advanced emergency care
for infants and seniors.
Copy !req
110. - He'll take the two-week course.
- What?
Copy !req
111. Your grandfather might come to visit,
Copy !req
112. and I'd like to be able to say
we did everything we could.
Copy !req
113. Gentlemen, I'd like to make a toast.
Copy !req
114. To a man whose backyard soil
was of a consistency
Copy !req
115. which made for hassle-free excavation,
Copy !req
116. and had no interfering sewage lines.
Copy !req
117. Hey, Kahn, dinner guests are here.
Copy !req
118. Already?
Copy !req
119. Oh, I wanted everything perfect.
Copy !req
120. Start assembling my pool furniture.
Copy !req
121. Good evening, Kahn. I hope…
Copy !req
122. I hope it's all right if I brought
a few of our Laotian friends.
Copy !req
123. Certainly.
Copy !req
124. I think we got enough pina coladas.
Copy !req
125. Magha Puja just starting in backyard.
Copy !req
126. And ta-da.
Copy !req
127. Ted, look who is getting a swimming pool.
Copy !req
128. Yeah, redneck neighbors build it for me.
Copy !req
129. Maybe next I have them build me railroad.
Copy !req
130. How that for revenge?
Copy !req
131. Kahn, the railroads were built
by the Chinese, not Laotians.
Copy !req
132. Ah, same difference.
Copy !req
133. It just joke.
Copy !req
134. Maybe too far?
Copy !req
135. A word if we may.
Copy !req
136. Nguc and I feel that you've become
grievously disconnected
Copy !req
137. from your heritage.
Copy !req
138. Mm-hmm.
Copy !req
139. It's as though you've completely forgotten
that you're Lao.
Copy !req
140. What? Ah, that's not true.
Copy !req
141. Take a look around, Kahn.
Copy !req
142. Can you point to one Lao artifact
in your home?
Copy !req
143. Can you recall the last conversation
you had that was not in English?
Copy !req
144. In our homeland,
Copy !req
145. the Lao man is oppressed
by his government.
Copy !req
146. But inside of you,
Copy !req
147. the Lao man is oppressed by himself.
Copy !req
148. You destroy your own ethnic identity.
Copy !req
149. It is sterilized in the chlorinated waters
Copy !req
150. - of your swimming pool.
- Oh.
Copy !req
151. You've become what is known as a "banana."
Copy !req
152. "Banana"?
Copy !req
153. Consider the properties of a banana, Kahn.
Copy !req
154. Its skin is yellow,
but its insides are white.
Copy !req
155. Uh, but…
Copy !req
156. But I'm not white.
Copy !req
157. Okay, everyone. Steak's on.
Copy !req
158. Who need ketchup?
Copy !req
159. They call me "banana," Minh.
Copy !req
160. - That crazy, right?
- Of course.
Copy !req
161. You very Asian. Very Lao.
Copy !req
162. But Ted say there no visible evidence
of my heritage.
Copy !req
163. People Magazine.
Copy !req
164. Didn't we have a subscription
to Xaignabouri Muang Weekly?
Copy !req
165. Well, I guess it must have run out.
Copy !req
166. There not one stinking trace
of our homeland in this place.
Copy !req
167. If stranger walk in here, he says,
Copy !req
168. "Ah, this must be where Johnny Smith live,
not Kahn Souf… Kahn Stouff…"
Copy !req
169. Oh, my God. I cannot say my own name.
Copy !req
170. Oh, calm down now.
You can still say your own name.
Copy !req
171. You just freaking out right now.
Copy !req
172. You spoke perfect Lao
to your own mother just last week.
Copy !req
173. Sa-baai-dee, luuk-saaotee naa-hak.
Copy !req
174. Bpen-jang ci ai?
Copy !req
175. Wait, are, are you saying good night,
or are you cursing at me?
Copy !req
176. You see?
Copy !req
177. Connie can't even speak Lao.
Copy !req
178. That is messed up, Minh.
Copy !req
179. Mm… Maybe you're right.
Copy !req
180. We could connect
a little more to our heritage.
Copy !req
181. Yes… that an excellent plan.
Copy !req
182. Connie, you remember the gong we hit
during American Idol?
Copy !req
183. Let me show you what it's really for.
Copy !req
184. Hmm, these weeds weren't here yesterday.
Copy !req
185. Hands off, redneck. That's my celery.
Copy !req
186. The Lao people are self-sufficient.
Copy !req
187. We grow our own food.
Copy !req
188. We not rely on big supermarket to nurse us
like helpless calf at mother's teat.
Copy !req
189. Well…
Copy !req
190. Okay then.
Copy !req
191. We're gonna swim now.
Copy !req
192. Have fun, hopeless Americans.
Copy !req
193. Enjoy splashing around in your river
that leads to nowhere.
Copy !req
194. Yeah, it great to be back in touch
with my roots.
Copy !req
195. Minh buy beautiful piece by Lao artist.
Copy !req
196. Painting of people
toiling in rice paddies.
Copy !req
197. It's great to support Lao culture, Kahn,
Copy !req
198. but your home is still a shrine
to American material luxury.
Copy !req
199. I guess I little confused.
Copy !req
200. I cannot help but notice
Copy !req
201. your state-of-the-art home theater system,
Copy !req
202. and your four-car garage.
Copy !req
203. Sure, I own all of these things,
Copy !req
204. but they don't own me.
Copy !req
205. I'll try to explain.
Copy !req
206. This is Man of Louang Namtha,
Copy !req
207. carved by a native highlander
more than 300 years ago.
Copy !req
208. It's the embodiment of the Lao spirit.
Copy !req
209. This is my link.
Copy !req
210. As long as I carry this,
Copy !req
211. everything else is meaningless.
Copy !req
212. So I just keep one of those in my pocket
and I can have big screen TV?
Copy !req
213. You got an extra one
of those guys lying around?
Copy !req
214. Unfortunately, you're not ready yet.
Copy !req
215. It wouldn't mean to you
what it means to me.
Copy !req
216. So, what for dinner?
Copy !req
217. Is that a joke?
Copy !req
218. You know damn well it's rice and meat.
Copy !req
219. Oh, of course.
Copy !req
220. I get so used to American diet
of extreme variety.
Copy !req
221. Yeah. This better.
Copy !req
222. Yay! I won.
Copy !req
223. Can you throw it… Throw it here.
Copy !req
224. I will now tell stories
of my childhood in Laos.
Copy !req
225. Growing up in the village,
I had two chickens.
Copy !req
226. One of them was named Phouma.
Copy !req
227. Marco.
Copy !req
228. Polo.
Copy !req
229. I don't recall the name
of the other chicken,
Copy !req
230. but, sometimes,
I would put both of the chickens
Copy !req
231. in the wheelbarrow.
Copy !req
232. This was very funny.
Copy !req
233. I'm a submarine.
Copy !req
234. Don't splash me.
Copy !req
235. Mm-hmm.
Copy !req
236. You know, sometimes I think
I'd like to visit Indiana.
Copy !req
237. Is that weird?
Copy !req
238. Hey, man, you know, dang ol' go
with that feeling, man.
Copy !req
239. - I think that's a great dream, Hank.
- Thank you.
Copy !req
240. Boy, Kahn's in there right now,
Copy !req
241. beating himself up for God knows why,
Copy !req
242. when he could be out here
floating under the stars.
Copy !req
243. It's wild.
Copy !req
244. Ten yards away, a man suffers,
Copy !req
245. but I'm still completely able
to enjoy his pool.
Copy !req
246. I guess I'm just growing up.
Copy !req
247. Would it shame our entire people
if I sit on chair?
Copy !req
248. This not about comfort.
Copy !req
249. This is about being true to who we are.
Copy !req
250. It about never being
called "banana" again.
Copy !req
251. What we need is to focus harder.
Copy !req
252. Look who passed.
Copy !req
253. Way to go, Bobby.
Copy !req
254. - Yay!
- Congratulations, man.
Copy !req
255. Let's hit the pool.
Copy !req
256. Oh, God!
Copy !req
257. Kahn, what the hell
Copy !req
258. did you do to our swimming pool?
Copy !req
259. It now reflecting pool.
Copy !req
260. We need peaceful space
in which we can meditate.
Copy !req
261. We had a deal.
Copy !req
262. Oh, you had deal with old Kahn.
Copy !req
263. The homogenized, Americanized Kahn.
Copy !req
264. That Kahn no longer exist.
Copy !req
265. And neither does pool.
Copy !req
266. I learned CPR for nothing?
Copy !req
267. I went to school on a Saturday.
Copy !req
268. So help me,
Copy !req
269. the only thing keeping me
from wishing a pox on your house
Copy !req
270. is that your house is next to my house,
Copy !req
271. and the pox could spread.
Copy !req
272. And Connie finally getting used to eating
fermented fish chunks and rice husks.
Copy !req
273. So how does it feel, Kahn,
to rediscover your roots?
Copy !req
274. Uh, well… it not always fun.
Copy !req
275. But as I recall,
life in Laos not always so fun.
Copy !req
276. So I guess I'm on right track, right?
Copy !req
277. - Wrong.
- Oh, dear.
Copy !req
278. Kahn, right now the Lao community
is not taken seriously.
Copy !req
279. The Cuban exile community in Florida
is taken very seriously.
Copy !req
280. Do you know why?
Copy !req
281. Uh… Gloria Estefan?
Copy !req
282. No. They wield political influence
in this country
Copy !req
283. while maintaining ties to rebel groups
in their mother country.
Copy !req
284. In the mountains of our homeland,
Copy !req
285. there is still a small
but determined movement,
Copy !req
286. a resistance to the communist regime.
Copy !req
287. Imagine it, Kahn,
Copy !req
288. a free and independent Laos.
Copy !req
289. Yeah, that sound great.
Copy !req
290. With men like Ted Wassanasong
leading the way,
Copy !req
291. - the dream can become real.
- Yes.
Copy !req
292. But an undertaking like this
can only work with total commitment.
Copy !req
293. Oh, I'd be happy to write a check.
Copy !req
294. No, Kahn, we want you
to join the armed resistance
Copy !req
295. and fight for us on the front lines.
Copy !req
296. Front lines?
Copy !req
297. Oh, yes, Kahn, there may be risks,
but I wonder,
Copy !req
298. is life as a banana better than death
or is it worse?
Copy !req
299. Will you join us, Kahn?
Copy !req
300. Of course, he will join us.
Copy !req
301. He is a proud Lao man,
Copy !req
302. willing to shed his blood
for our mother country.
Copy !req
303. Uh…
Copy !req
304. This crazy.
Copy !req
305. For first time, I feel pride,
I feel like true Laotian.
Copy !req
306. And you say it crazy.
Copy !req
307. I'm saying that in matter of days,
Copy !req
308. you chuck all the furniture
and pick up machine gun.
Copy !req
309. Maybe it time to take stock.
Copy !req
310. You know what I think?
Copy !req
311. I think you starting to sound
a lot like…
Copy !req
312. a banana.
Copy !req
313. Kahn,
Copy !req
314. - that's ridiculous.
- No time to argue.
Copy !req
315. I have training,
Copy !req
316. then I supposed to build sandbag fortress
around Ted's house.
Copy !req
317. Connie.
Copy !req
318. You can stop hulling rice.
Copy !req
319. We're going to Whattaburger.
Copy !req
320. Nice shot, Tom.
Copy !req
321. Sa-dang aa-wut.
Copy !req
322. Nguc.
Copy !req
323. You are a disgrace.
Copy !req
324. You won't survive five minutes in combat.
Copy !req
325. Especially you.
Copy !req
326. I can't have this.
Copy !req
327. I talked councilmen Ebberd
Copy !req
328. into making the first Tuesday
in May "Lao Freedom Day."
Copy !req
329. We are parading from the nail salon
to the boba tea shop,
Copy !req
330. and we are going to look smart doing it.
Copy !req
331. Yep.
Copy !req
332. Yep.
Copy !req
333. What happened to your face, Kahn?
Copy !req
334. Finally steal a pool from someone
who knows how to fight?
Copy !req
335. No. It training accident.
Copy !req
336. I take butt of rifle to the face.
Copy !req
337. Hah. What poetic justice.
Copy !req
338. You steal a pool
and then the butt of a rifle…
Copy !req
339. steals the… health of your face.
Copy !req
340. Hey, you treat me with respect.
Copy !req
341. I happen to be colonel
in Ted Wassanasong's army.
Copy !req
342. Uh, yeah, I still don't really get
what that is.
Copy !req
343. I just want the got-danged pool back.
Copy !req
344. So clean it up, and then,
you can spend the rest of your life
Copy !req
345. running around like a jackass
with Ted Wassanasong.
Copy !req
346. Run around like jackass?
Copy !req
347. Hah. Shows what you know.
Copy !req
348. At any moment, Ted could call me,
say code word "Siddhartha",
Copy !req
349. and then it not just running around
like jackass anymore, buddy-boy.
Copy !req
350. Uh-huh. And what happens
when Ted says "Siddhartha"?
Copy !req
351. Well, we get on cargo plane
and fly to Laos.
Copy !req
352. If we are not blown apart
by anti-aircraft fire,
Copy !req
353. we parachute into mountains.
Copy !req
354. If we not shot on way down,
or die on impact,
Copy !req
355. we march into capital.
Copy !req
356. And then…
Copy !req
357. well…
Copy !req
358. we probably all be shot
or run over with tank.
Copy !req
359. Uh, some of us may get taken prisoner.
Copy !req
360. And then most likely they torture us
or reeducate us, and then…
Copy !req
361. put us in their army.
Copy !req
362. Huh.
Copy !req
363. Anyone else notice
he cuts a pretty nice figure in uniform?
Copy !req
364. When Ellen returns,
Copy !req
365. she's making fajitas
with Justin Timberlake.
Copy !req
366. Don't start, Kahn. I'm not turning it off.
Copy !req
367. Who were her guests?
Copy !req
368. Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson.
Copy !req
369. What were they plugging?
Copy !req
370. - Fitness tape.
- Mm.
Copy !req
371. When I was a banana,
I would have eaten that up with a spoon.
Copy !req
372. You know, I'm getting sick
and tired of that word.
Copy !req
373. You and me both.
Copy !req
374. I don't know what's worse,
being sent on suicide mission in Laos
Copy !req
375. or having Ted Wassanasong tell me,
Copy !req
376. "I'm sorry, Kahn,
but your salute is not crisp enough."
Copy !req
377. Why you let Ted Wassanasong
tell you what to do,
Copy !req
378. what to like, what to think?
Copy !req
379. Isn't that why we fled
the communists in Laos?
Copy !req
380. And the homeowners' association
in Orange County?
Copy !req
381. Well, yeah, but…
Copy !req
382. Kahn, don't you want to hear
beautiful strains of Brahms
Copy !req
383. come off Connie's violin?
Copy !req
384. To eat yourself silly on baby back ribs
Copy !req
385. and then, fall backwards
in your sparkling swimming pool
Copy !req
386. like those iced tea ads you love so much?
Copy !req
387. Hey, Ted.
Copy !req
388. I want to thank you for making me remember
Copy !req
389. who I am and where I come from,
Copy !req
390. but I won't be needing these anymore.
Copy !req
391. I don't understand.
Copy !req
392. How do you plan to parade
without your uniform?
Copy !req
393. Oh, my parading days are done.
Copy !req
394. It's like this.
Copy !req
395. If you want someone to play
a round of golf, give me call.
Copy !req
396. If you want someone to feel guilty
about the way they choose to live,
Copy !req
397. call someone else.
Copy !req
398. Dominga.
Copy !req
399. This is good living, eh?
Copy !req
400. You know, someday, maybe I buy you out,
Copy !req
401. bulldoze your home,
Copy !req
402. and extend pool to Olympic size.
Copy !req
403. Well, that's a dream, I guess.
Copy !req
404. Yeah…
Copy !req
405. but this is real.
Copy !req
406. Bobby.
Copy !req
407. Not again.
Copy !req
408. Mr. Dauterive, can't you just chew?
Copy !req
409. Thank you, Bobby.
Copy !req
410. It just joke.
Copy !req
411. Maybe too far?
Copy !req