Post 4

Q: 1

“'We are a miscegenation-happy people,' Ed Morales concludes.” Pg. 231

First Miscegenation means crossbred. So now knowing this, I think that people have adapted very well in the US. They are mixing and assimilating well. Americans are more than accepting these new comers. People are adapting to the situation at hand.

I think that we now see the crossbreeds that they have created. Almost no one is full anything. I myself am some of almost everything.

How many people do you know that are a single race/culture?

Q: 2

“That's why I tell young girls, you have to stand up for yourself. Be bien preparadas. If you can't fight for yourself, how can you fight for family, your country your community.” pg. 262 Dolores.

I can relate to this because, my mother has always taught me to stand up for myself. Just like Dolores states “If you can't fight for yourself, how can you fight for family, your country your community.” Though I am an American I still need to be able to stand up for myself, my family, my friends, and my rights.

It must have been a challenge for young girls to be confident in their selfs when not in their own country. They already must feel like they don't fit in. But now on top of that they are shy and/or uncomfortable, as a teenager. Adapting to this culture as a teen ager must have been very difficult.

Have you ever had to stand up for someone or something?

Post 3

"All we got is what you see on our backs," one African American woman tells me, pointing to her two little boys in basketball jerseys with numbers on them.”

pg. 136

The journey coming to America must have been a hard trek for this woman and her family. They could not bring very much only what they can carry with them. They would have had to leave many things behind. It must have been very sad for them.

This reminds me of what my mother says in the grocery store. We only buy what we can carry. If you compare a trip to the grocery store to the hard trek to America, our life here seems pretty great.

Do you think that it is the same for people immigrating to the U.S. now?

“They keep the economy going, she concluded.”

Julia's Aunt pg.140

This reminded me of something that came up in class the other day. Someone said that immigrants help keep the economy smooth. I think that this is an interesting topic. Immigrants may help the economy by having more people to buy goods, but they also hinder the economy buy taking jobs away from the natives.

This person is acting like these immigrants are just here to help with our problems. “They keep the economy going,” she says. But they came here for a new life, not to be treated like extras to buy more goods from people.

Do you think that people feel this way now a days?

Post 2

“I do as many quinces a year as weddings,” pg. 92 Father Jorge Perez

I think that this quote shows just how many people maintain their cultural ties to their homeland while living in America. It also show how many people of this culture came to this part of America. This Father either has very few weddings, or there are a lot of people maintaining there cultural ties. This is an example of one church in the entire country. Think of how many Latinas there must be in the rest of the country. True it may be that this area has more Hispanic people in it. Still remains the fact that a lot of girls celebrate there quinces.

I am amazed at how well these girls are adapting to their new lives in the U.S. I am one to comfort new people and outsiders. I hope that people also did that for these girls and that is why they are getting more comfortable in America.

Why do you think that these churches are having as many quinces as weddings?



“If we could, we'd bring the whole family.” pg 124 Rosie

I feel bad that a lot of people had to leave family members behind. I hope that people like Rosie eventually get enough money to pay for the rest of their family to come to the Americas. This shows how hard it must have been to travel to the U.S. All the heart ache and the stress is unimaginable. I am glad that we have risen above that. Nobody should have to go through that, anymore.

I find this very sad that they could not bring their entire family with them. I can't imagine how it would feel to have to leave someone behind or to be the one that must be left behind. I am glad that it is now easier to bring your entire family over to the U.S.

What percentage of the families that had to leave members behind, do you think made enough money to get those members voyage to the U.S.?

Post 1

Most of the book Once upon a Quincenra, deals with people that are already here, not actual immigrants. The only person that was an immigrant so far, is the actual author of the book. The only quote that I have found that applies to immigration, was when the author refers to her family having moved to the U.S.

In 1963, when she moved to the U.S. She and her sisters had been told by passersby on the street who herd them talking loudly in Spanish: “Spics! Go back to where you came from!” Yet in spite of this and other racist incidents happening, there was no question that her older sister was still going to have a quince.

Pg.26

I think that this quote shows that the author was discriminated upon when she was young and is trying to show that despite any racist problems, the coming of age ceremony was still a very big part of their lives. I think that if she wanted to write about being an immigrant in the U.S., she could have just written her life's story. This book is not really about immigrants, but girls of a different nationality celebrating one of their traditions in the U.S. Despite the fact that she had trouble immigrating here, this does not mean that all immigrants had that bad of an experience in the U.S.

Why do you think that keeping to tradition is more important then fitting in?

If You were in the author's place would you still have a quincenra?

Once Upon a Quinceanera

Post 3

NAME Killian Henson DATE 2/12/10
TITLE TIME HOURS
AUTHOR Rick Riordan PAGES 219-375

TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK 156

QUESTION 1:

Which character would you like (or not like) to be your friend? Why?

RESPONSE 1:

I think that Annabeth would be a great friend to have. She is strong in the heart and mind. I think that she would always stick by your side. Also the fact that she is a daughter of Athena. Her mother goddess of wisdom, reason and purity. Annabeth also has many of these traits and so I think that she would be a great friend to back you up in many situations and she will also stand by you loyally.

QUESTION 2:

What other character(s) beside the main character is really important to the story? How and why?

RESPONSE 2:

I think that Annabeth plays a vital part in this story. She stands next to Percy throughout most of his adventures. She has the wisdom and reason of Athena behind her. And she uses that to help Percy fight and figure out problems.

She also knows more about Greek Mythology. She knows all of the Greek Gods, Titans and other creatures. She helped figure out that Aunty Em was actually Medusa. Using this knowledge saved her friends on many accounts.

She also knows a lot more about being a half-blood. Percy only just learned what he truly was, but Annabeth has grown up around other half-bloods. She lived at camp since she was seven and knows all about the world that the mortals cannot see. This is why I think that Annabeth plays a crucial part in this story.

Post 2

NAME Killian Henson DATE 2/05/10
TITLE The Lightning Thief TIME 3 ¾ HOURS
AUTHOR Rick Riordan PAGES 127- 218
TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK 91

QUESTION 1: What does this book make you wonder about? Why?

RESPONSE 1: When ever I am reading one of my fantasy books I always wonder if it is based off of something real. I always with they were real and that I was some part of them. I love all the excitement and adventure. In some ways I am glad that they are not real because, often if one of the characters did something slightly different, it could mean the end of life as we know it. Even though I know that all of these books are most likely fantasy I always wonder in the back of my head if just maybe parts of them are real.

QUESTION 2: Do you think you would read another book by this author? Why or why not?

RESPONSE 2: I love this book and if I found another fantasy book written by the same author I would take pleasure in reading it. I have had good experiences reading books by the same author of my favorite series. For example the author of the Twilight saga also wrote the book The Host. The Host was even better then the Twilight saga. I am also looking forward to reading the sequels to this novel. So in a nut shell, I am looking forward to reading more books bay the same author.