Her strengths are being able to get along with easy, working hard, and being a very mature person. Her largest strength is being mature about everything. When Mai and her family have to leave Vietnam because the government is going to arrest her Grandmother, she is very mature about it because she does what her father tells her to do without whining. Her second greatest strength is being able to get along with people well. She shows this strength very well on the boat when she becomes good friends with several of the desperate refugees. Her last strength is working hard. The only time she shows this is when she is working in the rice paddies and in her school. Even though she doesn't show this strength very much, it is still one of her good strengths.
Mai's only weakness is being shy around people that she doesn't know. Even though she can get along with other people, she is still very shy. She demonstrates this when she first meets a girl her age named Kim. She wants to ask Kim a lot of questions because she is wearing American blue jeans, but she does not have the courage to. She also demonstrates this when they are in Hong Kong in the refugee camp and one of their friends is getting taken away. She does not have any courage to say anything to him except but to grab his arm.
The changes that occurred within Mai are excellent changes. As the story progresses, she becomes stronger as a person in the mind and in the body. She proves this many ways. One of the ways is when they are in Hong Kong in the refugee camp. During dinner when everyone is getting food served to them, some of the families