In the memoir Grande never forgets about her precious streets that she grew up in of Mexico. Grande states that she was visiting “the shacks on the other side of the canal where Meche lived (Grande281). For many immigrants like Grande the United States could not be fully accepted because they always remember their people in their old community. My father always remembers beautiful small town he grew up in. Every time my father goes to visit Mexico, he always visits the streets that he once enjoyed as a kid.
Cofer’s mother wanting to stay in El Building, whilst her father yearned to live somewhere else, because she never got over the yearning for la isla “The Island”. Her mother only cooked with foods she could pronounce the names of which were some of the same brands her own mother had used. Cofer’s mother shopping outside of La Bodega going to Sears, Penney’s and Lerner’s, showed a willingness unlike the other women to shop in American stores but still held onto the small comforts that reminded her of her home land. (53-55) Cofer’s cousin is fully assimilated into American life. She claims it herself, she is and American woman and will do what she pleases.
When I was six, my parents decided they needed a change of scenery, so we moved to Titusville, Florida. Only 15 minutes from the space center, it was an interesting place to live. My mom got a job at the center, and we got free passes to see launches. I learned a lot about the space program and must have viewed 15 take-offs. After a while, the excitement wore off and seeing a launch when walking out to get the morning paper was something everyone took for granted.
I remember being in 8th grade at Leroy F. Green middle school and hearing kids making jokes to their friends about me being white washed. At first I didn’t really understand why they were calling me that. Until I started realizing that I was different from a lot of the African American kids that I went to school with. I was never the one to just stick to hanging out with other African American kids. I never believed in sagging my pants, acting up in class, or speaking like I didn’t have any sense.
It was a Tuesday in a hot summer day in El Salvador that was the day I left my family. I woke up earlier than usual that day because I could not sleep any more; I was very scared and nervous about my long travel. It took me twenty days to get here to the United States. Around nine o’clock A.M my family and I made a prey so everything could go good, we finished preying then I started giving hugs and kisses to everybody especially to my mother and father. After
Ma-Maw’s frustration grew out of fear of the unknown, she would say she wished Pa-Paw was here because he would take care of her and would know what to do. Here comes the elbows part of this story; some nights when Julie was trying to cook, Ma-Maw would help with dishes but would nudge Julie out of the way if she got too close to the sink because this space was hers at the time. We knew at that point that we would not only have to focus on our lives; finding schools for the kids, getting back to work, gutting homes, buying clothes and cars, but we had to also worry about the well being of our grandmother, both mentally and physically. So after new doctors and hair stylist were found we sat down and developed a plan which included her wishes and path back to independence and privacy. Now looking back on our
Third month, I finally accept the fact I’m going to America. But another problem came out, I don’t know how to speak English, even we have English class at school, but they just teach the basic conversation. its just like a huge boom throw it my life, so my mom got me a tutor, and I hate that
He went to church every Sunday and even though he heard the words the preacher was saying he did not learn a thing, which made his parents worry and they prayed for him often that he would soon find his way to the Lord. He was also, like many of us, he hated going to school. It wasn't until he got the hang of it that he started to enjoy going. He started to notice that math was starting to make sense and that geography was not just colors on a map but real places. His parents were starting to notice how smart he was and they thought that maybe he was to smart for the 6th grade so they moved him to 7th grade which turned out to be a bad idea because that is when he started to hate school and it was soon after that, that at the age of 14 he would drop out of school.
However, since she was just a little girl they didn’t care as long as you paid the right amount and as soon as they knew it the Guevara family touched American soil. Now with more knowledge about the states and more money they decided to start there lives out in New York. With three plane tickets ready for them they quickly boarded days from just arriving. My father, mother and sister ended up settling in New Rochelle. They loved going to the city, its something they could have ever experienced in Peru.
When they would talk about their families and tell me their stories of why they were there, I found myself getting angry at God. I didn’t understand how God could let a child go through all that suffering. I later realized that everything happens for a reason and that I was sent to Mindo for a special reason. I was to be a friend to these children. I wanted make their lives better, even if it was just for than one week I was in Mindo.