Immigration Project Reflection

Ambar A.
March 29, 2009

Immigration Project Reflection

I read the book Once Upon a Quinceañera by Julia Alvarez. I think my experience reading this book was a good one because I learned a lot about the Hispanic culture and how some Hispanics lived when they first immigrated to America. I also liked learning about Quinceañera and what might/ might not happen and how every one has their Quinceañera their own way. I was happy with my choice because I learned so much about Quinceañeras, the Latin culture, and immigration and how some immigrants were treated when they first came to the U.S. I also learned that having a Quinceañera helps Latin Americans maintain their cultural ties to their homeland.
I think that it was better to do the lit circles meetings in class than do it online because I think that it was easier to communicate with your group. I think that having the in person lit circles meetings were more accurate and our groups could really see who did/ didn’t do their Dialectical Journal on time. Some problems occurred when I tried to post a comment on someone’s blog and it wouldn’t let me and my whole comment would get deleted. I learned that not everyone has the same perspective. For example: some people thought that it was boring and some thought it was a good book.
I think that it was hard trying to decide which sketch I could stick with in my painting. It was also hard trying to think of ideas for my painting because so many people were taking every idea I had. So, I had to really think for a while. At first I wanted to draw a flat transforming into a high heel (because that was one of the Quinceañera traditions), but I noticed that it would be really hard to draw something like that. So, I had to forget about that idea and think of a new one. I think that you could easily see a connection between my painting and my lit circles book because the connection was the Quinceañera dress. The dress is one of the things you need to have a Quinceañera, and the book is about Quinceañeras.
I think that my final product came out really good. I think that it came out better than most paintings I’ve painted before. I also like the colors that I used because it stands out. If I could change anything about my painting right now I would put the authors name in the same font as the title. I think that this was a really nice experience reflecting on my lit circles book by doing a painting. I really liked it because it was something new and I’ve never done anything like that before. I would like to do reflect on my lit circles book by doing a painting next time again.
I think that interviewing my interviewee about their immigration experience went really smooth. My interviewee was really cooperative and it seemed like he really cared about the project and wanted to help as much as he could. I think that the interviewing went well. I think that interviewing my person 3 times was a good technique because I got a lot of information about my person. In my first interview my interviewee used to live in Pakistan. I thought that was very interesting because I never knew anyone who used to live in Pakistan. In my second interview I learned that the company that my interviewee works for has many locations outside of the U.S such as Latin America, the Caribbean, Argentina and Guatemala. In the third interview, I thought that it was very unique and odd that a consumer filed a lawsuit because she bought a bottle of sparkling wine. And while she was opening it, it flew up and hit her eye, and that was unusual for me because in Italy the bottles have a WARINING sign on them and everyone knew to be careful opening sparkling wine, but I guess they don’t have those signs in the U.S.
I think that having the chance to interview someone about their immigration experience was an amazing experience because it helped me understand what we studied in class. I learned that not everyone has the same experience. I also learned that immigration changes over time because during the time the Chinese came to America they were discriminated and faced so many hardships, and now, since there is so much diversity in America, its different and not one particular race is discriminated, and there is more advanced transportation to get to the U.S. than there was back then.

Once Upon a Quinceañera

Ambar A.
March 11, 2009

Once Upon a Quinceañera

Quote #1:
“Ana Maria came to this country in 1965 when she was eighteen, working hard at everything from waitressing to packing eggs, but kept going to school at night.” Julia Alvarez, page 223.
Significance:
This quote has to do with the question “What hardships do the characters endure as they make a new life?”. It has to do with this question because Ana Maria had to do a lot of things to make a new life and try to survive here in America. I chose this quote because I thought that she had to do so many things that not that many Americans do, but she did that to maintain her new life here in America.
Character Judgment:
I feel sorry for Ana Maria because she had to do so many things when she first came here to America. I also hope that she didn’t have that much of a hard time doing all of those things that she had to do. I also think that she’s very responsible.
Question:
Does it seem like many immigrants had to do many things to maintain they’re new life here in America? Why or why not?
Quote #2:
“The writer critic Norma Cantú thought so. Having a traditional Quinceañera, which reflected the limited roles available to her as a young Latina, she decided to throw herself another Quinceañera at fifty! Her “cincuentañera,” as she called it, included a traditional court, with forty-nine (instead of fourteen) godmothers of such items as a madrina de queques, madrina de AARP, madrina de hierbas y remedies caseros (godmother for cakes, for AARP subscription, for herbal and home remedies). The celebration was a chance to affirm what had been only potential thirty-five years earlier as well as to reframe the tradition from a place of power, intelligence, humor, and experience.” Julia Alvarez, page 133
Significance:
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 that question because that is how Norma Cantú maintained her cultural ties by having a “cincuentañera”. I chose this quote because I thought that it was a really interesting quote because I never knew that someone would do something like that.
Character Judgment:
I think that Norma Cantú did a really unusual thing, in a good way. I think that it was really cool that she just thought of that idea and had a Quinceañera again except only when she was turning fifty.
Question:
Would you ever do anything like that like Norma Cantú? Why or why not?

Once Upon a Quinceañera

Ambar A.

March 5, 2009

Once Upon a Quinceañera

Quote #1:
“In the Hispanic community, traditionally it has been the women who hand on the faith. Hispanic women are the evangelizers and teachers of values, yet their leadership has often gone unrecognized. The Quince Años blessing publicity acknowledges this historic role” –United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, page 179
Significance:
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 quote because this quote was talking about how Quinceaneras are a blessing and it is a historic role, I thought that it has to do with maintaining the cultural ties between America and their home countries. I chose this quote because I thought that it was a powerful quote and that it really stood out to me.
Personal Connection:
I agree with this quote because I think that women aren’t really recognized for what they do, and if it wasn’t for them, life would be really hard without them. I can relate to this quote because I know someone who does everything for her family and makes sure that everything is in place and perfect, but the people in her family don’t even notice the nice things that she’s done for them.
Question:
Do you agree with this quote? Why or why not?
Quote #2:
“College was supposed to be the next step, but I kept crumbling under pressure. The headmistress at Abbot suggested to my parents that I take a year off. After all, I was younger than most of my senior class, having turned seventeen in late March. Then, too, none of the colleges I had applied to had accepted me. No doubt my Abbot teachers had felt compelled to address my perplexing behavior vis-à-vis exam taking, even as they presented extenuating circumstances or mentioned improvement at the time of the writing of their letters of recommendation. And of course, since I had walked out of SATs and achievement tests, I had terrible scores.”- Julia Alvarez, page 183
Significance:
This quote has to do with the question “What hardships do the characters endure as they make a new life?”. It has to do with this question because Julia was having a hard time with her education and it was hard for her to get into college which is really sad. I chose this quote because it really showed that she had some major problems when she was in the U.S.
Character Judgement:
I don’t think that Julia should’ve walked out on the SATs because SATs are a huge part of grades and they count a lot. But I can understand that she immigrated to the U.S. so she might not be used to the American customs but I think that she should’ve tried harder. I feel sad for Julia because she must’ve been going through a lot and must’ve been under a lot of pressure. :[
Question:
How do you feel about everything that has been going on in Julia’s life?

Once Upon a Quinceañera

Ambar Avila

March 1, 2009

Once Upon a Quinceañera

Quote #1:
“Probably, he took on one to many jobs, wanting the extra hours, struggling to make his way up the success ladder to become o professional in America.” Julia Alvarez, page 133
Significance:
This quote has to do with the question “What hardships do the characters endure as they make a new life?” This quote has to do with this question because the photographer took to many jobs because he wanted to be discovered and become a professional here in America instead of his home country. I chose this quote because this situation occurs often and that’s why the photographer almost missed the girls Quinceañera.
Character Judgment:

I don’t think that the photographer should’ve took so many jobs and he should’ve made sure that he wasn’t booked so he wouldn’t be in a situation like that. I think that the photographer should’ve been more organized and he shouldn’t have called in the last minute to tell them that he might not come…he should’ve called ahead of time.
Question:

Would you ever take to many jobs and not be organized like the photographer? Why or why not?
Quote #2:
“Still, the whole night seems unreal, with a terrible storm raging not far from here: the teenage mariachi’s surprise entrance during dinner singing “Las Mañanitas”, the changing of the shoes- not flats to heels, as the ritual prescribes, but heels to higher heels; the crowning by her mom with her hairdresser standing by to adjust Ashley’s curls around the rhinestone tiara.” Julia Alvarez, page 137
Significance:

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 Ashley had a traditional “Latina Quinceañera” and that’s what they would do everything that Julia said they did. I like this quote because it told you almost everything that happened but in only one sentence.
Personal Connection:
I can connect to this quote because I’ve been to many other Quinceañera before and I’ve seen this stuff happen but in a different way. I can also connect to this quote because one Quinceañera that I went to did the exact same thing so I thought that that was cool.
Question:
If you could, would you have a Quinceañera like this one that Julia describes? Why or why not?