Once Upon a Quinceañera

Ambar A.

Febuary 25, 2009

Once Upon a Quinceañera

Quote #1:
“Now our young people are growing up in a diversity of cultures and faith- who is preparing them? Who is instructing them in family, language, faith, traditional aspects of their lives? The quince años preparation is an opportunity to do just that.” Sister Angela, page 94
Significance:
This quote means that since immigration, everyone is living in diversity, and they start to learn about different cultures, they forget about their own. And Sister Angela thinks that having a Quinceañera, you can learn more about your culture. This quote has to do with the question “How do the characters maintain their cultural ties to their homeland while living in America?”. It has to do with this question because having a Quinceañera is their way of staying cultural.
Personal Connection:
I completely agree with this quote because no one teaches us about our culture and our ethnic background because we spend to much time wondering about others. I also think that having a Quinceañera can help us learn about where we came from and we could look up to it.
Question:
Do you think that people forget about their own culture while they learn about others? Why or why not?
Quote #2:
“They had taken ‘un curso’ back in their home countries, though a couple had some formal training and one had actually graduated from medical school in the Dominican Republic.” Julia Alvarez, page 104
Significance:
This quote means that some of the nurses (that worked for Julia’s dad) didn’t really graduate from medical school but some just took a class in their home countries. And maybe this quote has to do with the question “Why have the characters in your book come to America?” I think that this quote might have to do with this question because maybe they took classes at their home country, but they came to America to get a job from what they took classes from.
Character Judgment:
I don’t really think that Julia’s dad should’ve hired nurses that didn’t graduate from medical school. I think that just because they took a class doesn’t mean that the graduated and got a degree. But, I also think that they just took a class and immigrated here to the U.S. to get a job…
Question:
Do you think that Julia’s dad should’ve hired nurses that didn’t graduate from medical school? Why or why not?

Once Upon a Quinceañera

Ambar A.

February 20, 2009

Once Upon a Quinceañera

Quote #1:
“I lay down on that cut grass, looking up at the sky, feeling desolate, lost. Where did I belong?”-Julia Alvarez, page 50
Significance:
This quote means that the character/ artist (Julia Alvarez) started to question “Where did I belong?” and I think that she was confused and didn’t know what to do because she was questioning where she should belong as if she wasn’t wanted. I chose this quote because many people/ teenagers feel that way, and they always ask themselves that question. The significance of this quote was that once Julia relaxes, she just wonders where should she be and where she belongs.
Personal Connection:

I liked this quote because I could relate to it because sometimes I feel that way too. Sometimes I do the exact same thing, and I relax and I just start thinking about what has gone on in my life and ask my self questions and give myself advice like I have given to others.
Question:

Do ever feel that way too (like wondering where you belonged.)? Why or why not?
Quote #2:

“They threw the house they probably didn’t own out the window.” –Julia Alvarez, page 65
Significance:

This quote relates to the question “What hardships do the characters endure as they make a new life?” because one of the Hispanic families paid so much for their child’s Quinceañera, that they probably can’t afford to pay their mortgage anymore. So they pretty much “Threw their house out of the window”. They pretty much used most of the money that they spent hard time working to get as they made a new life for a Quinceañera.
Character Judgment:

I don’t think that it would be a good idea to use most of your money over a Quinceañera, even thought they cost a lot of money, you should keep it under a budget. I also think that they shouldn’t have put their house in danger, because if they loose their house…they wouldn’t have a place to live. If I was having a Quinceañera, I wouldn’t spend so much money on little things that cost a fortune, I would make sure to keep it under a budget and never go over.
Question:
Would you ever “Throw your house out the window?” for a Quinceañera? Why or why not?

Once Upon a Quinceañera

Ambar A.
February 15, 2009

Once Upon a Quinceañera

Quote #1:
“There had been several incidents at my school, older boys spitting at me, throwing pebbles at me, chasing me down the block, accusing me of being a Commie because they overheard me say that our island was next to Cuba, where the dreaded Castro was getting ready to launch bomb against the United States.” – Julia Alvarez, page 26.
Significance:
This quote relates to the question “What challenges do the characters face upon their arrival?” It relates to this question because when Julia arrived no one was that big of a fan of immigrants and they were racist and they just didn’t think that Julia and her family should belong in the U.S. They also just wanted them to go back to where they “belong” but they (the students at her school) didn’t realize that Julia and her family went there for a better life and they weren’t giving them that opportunity to have a better life.
Character Judgment:
I feel so sorry for Julia because of what people did to her; I don’t think that what they did was right. I think that Julia shouldn’t care about what people did/ say to her because she should not care about them because it’s her life she should get a chance to do whatever she wants with it. And that’s exactly what she did. :]
Question #1:
Would you every do something like what the people at Julia’s school to someone else? Why or why not?
Quote #2:
“I don’t care what class or group you come from, every girl should have one.”-Isabella Martinez Wall, page 32.
Significance:
This quote means that Isabella Martinez Wall thinks that every girl should have a Quinceañera. This quote kind of also means that Isabella isn’t a racist/prejudiced person because she wants almost about every girl to have a Quinceañera even though they aren’t a Hispanic race. I also think that this quote means that Isabella Martinez Wall thinks that Quinceañeras are really special that it shouldn’t just be a Hispanic/Latino tradition.
Personal Connection:
I agree with Isabella because I’ve been to many Quinceañeras before and I’ve seen how much fun the Quinceañera has and it looks like a wonderful experience. I think that every girl should have the opportunity to have a Quinceañera so they could have a wonderful memory in their mind for the rest of their lives. :]
Question #2:
Would you want other girls and you to have a Quinceañera? Why or why not?

Field Trip Reflection

Ambar Avila
February 12, 2009

Field Trip Reflection

Part 1 From Haven to Home:
I think that the purpose of this exhibit was to show/let people know the history that the Jews went through and their hardships living in America. I think it was also meant to show people how the Jews have helped create America how we live in it now days. While we were at the exhibit I learned a lot of things that I have never known/heard of before. In the year of 1654 is when the first Jews came to America. I also learned that a Jewish lady named Ruth Handler invented the very first Barbie doll, and I thought that that was really interesting. I also learned that in the years 1654-1766 the Jews fought for equality because others (Americans) feared that if they excepted the Jews, they’d have to except everyone else (everyone else’s race/culture). I also learned that George Washington assured them that the government would protect their religious rights, so that’s one reason why the First Amendment is in our Constitution. I also learned that when slavery was going on the Jews divided because some agreed and some disagreed. So approximately 9,000 Jews fought for the Union and approximately 3,000 Jews fought for the Confederacy. I also learned that 20,000 Jewish women boycotted and broke into the Kosher Butcher shops. Another interesting fact to me was that the Jews somewhat started Las Vegas.
Part 2 Children of Immigrants:
a) The photograph that stuck me/that I liked the most was at a Photo Immigration Rally in Chicago in 1998. I liked this picture because of the angle; it was shot at a worms eye view. And it had a little girl sitting on someone’s shoulders with an American flag in her hands and you can see the tall buildings in front of her.
b) The quote that I chose was “When I left my country Vietnam I didn’t know that I would probably never come back again. I was just 10 years old. I knew my life began from this moment.” Ngoe Nguyen, Vietnam. From Between Cultures. This quote was interesting to me because I thought that it was amazing because he/she was only 10 and its amazing how they automatically knew that their life was going to start from that moment. I also thought that it was really powerful for a 10 year old to think that.

Immigration Reflection

Ambar A.

February 6, 2009

Immigration Reflection

An immigrant is a person that was born in a country that travels to another to country to live in. (For example: Someone was born in China but they left China to go live in the U.S. So they immigrated from China to the U.S.) Some people want to immigrate to another country because they want to live a "better life" or because they want to "start over". Also sometimes some people move just because they have to.
Some of the things that the U.S has to offer other than other countries are more freedom. We get more rights and we have chances to decide what our laws should be. We also have more food and water than other countries around the world because there are more starving/parched people in other countries than the U.S.
The U.S. has been affected by the immigration because now the U.S. has different cultures, and ethnicities. If you kind of think about it this way, the U.S. is kind of like most of the countries put together! And another thing that affected the U.S. with immigration is that ever since immigration started there has been racism, and segregation.
If there wasn’t any immigration, I wouldn’t be here right now. And my life hasn’t really changed at all due to immigration because immigration started long before I was born.