"Little Saigon," by David St. John

       

(For some reason the format is messed up so click the black space below the video to play it. You might have to move around your mouse to find the play button.)

        The story called the “Little Saigon” was written by David St. John and it is of poem. An extremely long poem and it was easy to read through it. I hate reading or writing any poems, but this one was not bead because it is easy on my mind and eyes.

This poem seems to be a sad poem because the girl, Ngoc Be, was sad that her father died. And that they want to leave their land to America. The girl was raped by the captain of the pirate boat repeatedly, and that her mom was not seen for long time. And that she and her sister are hated in their neighbor in America. Later, she found out from her Aunt Kahnh that her mother is dead. That she drowned right after she left on boat to America. So, it is a sad poem.

I want to know why the white peacock stands for their mother. Why not other animals? I wonder why they wanted to move to America. Is their old home not satisfactory? I wonder if the girls and mother is French. Because Ngoc Be said that her mother chatted in French with the nun. This makes me wonder what exactly their heritage is. Why did mother and children get separated on the boat? Why not stay together? I want to know how Aunt Kahnh found out the mother’s death.

I hated that the captain of the pirate boat raped Ngoc Be several times because that is horrible for anyone to experience it. I am glad that he got taken away by sailors. I felt bad for her because she had to suffer through it and was very happy that she got to shower and wash all the filth off her. I want to know how old is these girls? I know that Mai Chi is really young, but what about Ngoc Be? I wonder why their cousin is ashamed of them. What exactly did they do that made the cousin be ashamed about them? When Ngoc Be mentioned that Mai Chi resembles her father so much, does this mean they are half-sisters?

I looked up the word spangly, gilt and emblem because I do not know that means. Spangly mean clothes that is covered in beads or jewels. Gilt means something that is covered in thin gold. Emblem means something that is a symbol. Now that’s other vocabularies I have learned.

I felt odd that at beginning Ngoc Be had that dream about white peacock, and in the end Mai Chi says she dreamt about white peacock. I felt strange because they did not tell each other that they had that dream until Ngoc Be showed her painting to Mai Chi on white peacock, and now Mai Chi says she dreamed about it. It is odd because they had the same dream. That is amazing when people have same dream about same object.

In all, this poem was pretty good. It is long poem, which seems unusual to me because poems usually are short. It is depressing and good poem about Ngoc Be and Mai Chi’s experience from their old home to America. If I were not read this poem for a while, I would read it again because it is good.

"On the Rainy River" by Tim O'Brien, "The Setting Sun and the Rolling World" by Charles Mungoshi

      "On the Rainy River" is written by Tim O'Brien. This story was very easy to read, and you could speed through it without stuttering. It was that easy to read. I could feel the author’s pain in this story. I was amazed that he went through all of that and would write it down for everyone to read.
     I wondered why in the past once the people get a draft, they have to go to the war. I wonder why they have to force men to go to the wars when they do not want to join. Why not let them make their own decision if they want to risk their lives or not for their countries. Forcing them to go to the war violates their rights to choose what they want to do. America supposed to be a dream country for everyone but this seems not because of the forcing. It seems that the government of America is corrupted in that way. We actually are under their control, we aren’t really free like they said we are.
    I wonder what made the author to write his experience in the story. Is it because he wanted to lift some of his guilty burden off his shoulders by telling us what happened? I wonder how did the old man in the story knew what happened to Tim without asking? Is it because the old man has run into many young men who did not want to go to war? I want to know why the old man would help Tim to make decision by taking him to the edge of Canada water.
    When the old man said that he wondered why the heck Tim smells so much like pig, and that he wondered if Tim loved on eating pork or something, this made me laugh. Somehow that phrase was funny to me. Don’t ask me how.
    If I was in Tim’s shoes, I would have gone to the war because I would have no guts to escape from the draft. I would just give myself up and go battle the enemies. Tim impressed me with his guts, and that he was barely an adult. He was only 21 years old when that happened. I bet that I would cry and break down, then accept the fact that I am going to the war. Good thing that I am female, and if I was in his time I would be only housewife. Sadly, at the end he changed his mind on escaping, he decided to go to war because he couldn’t face the exile from his people. I agreed with his statement on him being coward because he gave into going to the war.
    Now, I know why the story is called “On the Rainy River.” How I figured it out? Because Tim and the old man is in the boat floating on the Rainy River. That is the river’s name, and the change of his mind occurred on this river. That’s why the title of the story is called “On the Rainy River.” I really felt his pain, and it was good story. Very detailed in not boring way, and gave me the insight to his feelings. Overall, I wouldn’t have what he done in the beginning, I would be the one who immediately give in and go to the war.








    “The Setting Sun and the Rolling World” was written by Charles Mungoshi. This story was not making any sense to me, it was hard understanding what the characters were talking about. I felt that they should be less vague on what they were talking about. I think they should explain and elaborate more, and then I would understand it better.
    I want to know what these characters, Old Musoni and Nhamo were talking about? When I read the story, nothing came up in my mind on what they were referring to. Only thing came up on my mind is that Nhamo is leaving home for something. I wonder what about the Nhamo leaving home makes Old Musoni so attached to him, not wanting him to leave home? Is it because Nhamo is going on a dangerous journey? Or is he going to a place that he possibly will die? I get this impression from the story.
    When Old Musoni wished that the rain would come, this made me think that his land is full of drought, that the land is very, very dry. That it is not reliable to use to get food from. Also Nhamo mentioned that the land was overworked and nothing could grow from the land to Old Musoni, this proves my theory of the land. I wondered why didn’t Nhamo just go ahead tell his father what he said in his mind instead of just saying that he will be ok and that Old Musoni shouldn’t worry. Why don’t he be blunt? I am sure the truth is more better than covering up what he wants to say.
     Same thing with Old Musoni not saying what he said in his mind either to Nhamo. Old Musoni gave a good reason to not say what he said in his mind. He said that he was tired of this and that they have been going at this for two months, but Nhamo gave no good reason to cover up what he wanted to say.
     In all, the story wasn’t satisfying for me at all. I felt that I didn’t get much from the story, all I got was an impression. The impression was that Nhamo is leaving home for something and that it might be dangerous for him. That’s all I got from the story. I wish that I could catch Charles Mungoshi and ask him what he really meant in the story.

Quiz on the "English is Androcentric."

                After reading this amazing article called the “English is Androcentric,” I realized that it was so true on use of language. I started to analyze everything that is being written or said. I kept finding that we refer out writing and speaking references on males. The images above are related to the topics in my blog.

                What does the word ‘androcentric’ in the title means? It mean when people speak or write, they usually will focus on men, and doesn’t include women. Such as when you write you usually will refer to the unknown person as a ‘he’ instead of ‘she.’ The words ‘he’ and ‘men’ are used to explain everyone, and all of the gender races while there are females. Even though there are many terms to the women than men but these terms to the women is mostly belittling while the terms to men are more flattering.

                The English is built by men because in back then the men have the power while females don’t. The females were not educated so they had no saying in making of the English. The men say that anything using women terms is not important, while men terms are. A man called Mr. Wilson declared that it is abnormal if the women came before men. The Act of Parliament passed the law that ‘he’ is used to represent both sexes. Therefore, the English language was made by men because the people are under authority of men.

                Not only the women are underrepresented in English, the races beside white are underrepresented. This is called racial bias in the language. When you look up in dictionary on white and black, there are more damaging definitions on black instead of white. The word black usually describe something that is evil.

                Sadly, people don’t really notice the sexist and racial biases in the language. Only the time that people notice is when it applies or influences them. Before I have learned about sexist and racial biases, I did not notice this problem. I am thankful because this article is an eye-opener.

                There is a debate on thoughts and languages, how it affects out thinking skills. Such as some linguists and psychologists believe that thought is controlled by language while others thinks that language is controlled by thought, or both is totally separate or linked, or that the both is the same.

                Many people wonder if language could affect our thinking. The answer is yes, the language could affect our thinking somewhat. Every language has some basic concepts, this is called conceptual primes. Conceptual primes mean basic, important thoughts. For example, we have a basic concept on how the direction works by using up and down, or near and far.

                There are many linguists believe in thought and language being interdependent. Both of it can be separate but most of the time language assists the thought. This helps us to understand the language correctly. We usually think to ourselves to help our thoughts and explain it to people clearly.

                The speakers manipulate people by using oratory or rhetoric methods. There are many ways to convince the audience, the terms that speakers uses to attract the audience makes the speakers seem more valid. These methods speakers uses are: repetition of words, metaphor, simile, very emotive language, and rhetorical questions. There are more methods other than these listed above.

                People may ask what does euphemism means. Euphemism is when people use words or expressions to talk about horrible subjects without actually talking about it. For example, the word ‘RIP’ is horrible so people use other words that don’t sound horrible to replace the word ‘RIP.’ The replacement of ‘RIP’ is ‘the old woman passed away,’ this is the euphemism.

The "Dawn", wrote by Tim Wynne-Jones

The story called the “Dawn” is written by Tim Wynne-Jones. This story was cute but heartbreaking at the same time. It was cute from beginning then at the end of the story was sad. This story revolves around a boy named Barnsey, but his real name is Matthew. He met a girl named Dawn, that’s why the story is called the “Dawn.”

                I want to know what kind of store that Barnsey’s parents own. I wonder why he is so against someone weird. There is nothing wrong with people being weird, it’s not people’s fault that they are weird. I am weird girl, and I love being one. I wonder why the mother kept buying Barnsey a lot of junks even though she is strict with food at the most of time. It seems that the mother was worried about Barnsey going on the trip without her. Why would the mother let her son go alone on the trip at age of thirteen? If it was up to me, I wouldn’t let my kid go until they are at least 15 years old. It’s dangerous to let young teenagers wander alone in this unsafe world.

When Dawn looked at the ingredient of the chips, and saying that it was full of chemical, it made me think that she is from area that eats healthy food. Why would Barnsey’s mother send him away to grandma without letting him know that she is divorcing his dad? If my mom did that to me, I will be totally devastated and might hate my mom for it. I thought it was wonderful of Dawn writing a note and put in her cd then hid it in Barnsey’s backpack.

                I found two things that I could relate in this story. First one is that when I was seventeen years old, I went on train trip alone through nine states. I went on trip to go to Youth Leadership Camp, YLC. The only way to go was on train, and my parents did not want me to fly because it cost more than train trip. I remember that it was wonderful experience of going through many states and learning how to get by on my own in two days.

                The second one is that Dawn is a vegetarian, and I could relate to it because I am a vegetarian. I have been a vegetarian for almost three years. When the date of December 16^th arrives, then it will be three year anniversary of being a vegetarian. I only eat seafood, nothing else. I never really liked eating meat in my entire life because I hated the texture, taste, and look of the meat. They feel gross when I eat them, and I keep finding tendons, bones, vein, and unidentifiable things in the meat. I just find it gross eating meat, that’s why I am a vegetarian.

                The story was okay, there was something that I could relate to. I liked the part where Dawn put the note in the cd. I liked it when Dawn speaks with her British accent. Her accent makes the story sounds interesting, and livelier.

"Bad Influence," by Judith Ortiz Cofer

       

        The story inside the “Leaving Home” I read is called the “Bad Influence,” and it was written by Judith Ortiz Cofer. I thought this story was hilarious. There were many phrases that made me laugh. I think this story was the best one so far from the book. I was so into this story that I have read through fast from page 63 to 90! The length of this story was just right for me, it is not too short or too long.

I wondered why it was so bad if Rita hung out with guys. Is it in their culture that girls have to go with a guys that her parents chosen for her? I wanted to know what exactly is wrong with Ramon the rooster. Papa says that the rooster can’t tell the difference between day and night. Is Ramon is not normal functionally rooster? Or he is just like that?

I agreed with Rita’s statement on how could the sick girl be so sad when she has a wonderful view of the beach? Maybe the girl was abused by her mother’s boyfriend? Since Rita’s grandma says that she felt the evil aura from the girl’s mother’s boyfriend. This is what I would assume about the girl. Also there might be evidence of abuse because the grandma says that she saw bruise on girl’s arm.

I wonder what does it feels like sensing evil spirits, souls, and things related to it. It’d be horrible to be aware of evil spirits, souls, and other things all the time. For sure, I would rather to be normal human being with only 4 senses.

I thought it was wonderful of Rita being friends with the sick girl. The sick girl’s name is Angela, and she is an anorexic. It was wonderful of Papa to help with Angela, getting her mother to throw out the boyfriend out of the house. Ever since that, Angela have been gaining little bit of weight and looks better. This further confirms that Angela was abused.

Ever since the book is really hilarious, and truly enjoyable to read I would like to know if the author wrote more stories. I went online to see if she wrote more books, and it turns out that she does. I’d like to check out some of her books someday. It’s the best one so far in the “Leaving Home.”

The Circuit, wrote by Francisco Jiménez

Francisco Jiménez wrote the story called “The Circuit”. The story was kind of heartbreaking but it is a good story though. It is also pretty short but it is enjoyable reading material. It’s something that you would continue reading after first page of the story.

            I looked at the Spanish words and to see if I know any of it because I took Spanish class for one semester in my senior year. But unfortunately, I do not know what any of these words means. These words are: ‘Ya esora’, ‘Carcanchita’, ‘listo’, ‘mi olla’, ‘es todo’,’tienen que tener cuidado’, ‘vámonos’, quince’, and ‘carne con chile’.

So I decided to look it up on Spanish to English translation, and the translation may not always be right but you get the idea what it means. ‘Ya esora’ is not translatable, but from what I see, it seems to mean ready or time to go. ‘Carcanchita’ is an affectionate nickname being given to a car. ‘Listo’ means ready, ‘mi olla’ means ‘my pot.’ ‘Es todo’ means ‘that’s all’ in English. ’Tienen que tener cuidado’ means ‘we have to be careful.’ ‘Vámonos’ means ‘let’s go’ and ‘quince’ means ‘fifteen.’ Lastly, ‘carne con chile’ means ‘chili with meat.’

            I am glad that I decided to look it up because it made the story clearer because I now know what these words mean. I want to know why not the boy in the story goes to school right way instead of waiting for the grape season to be over? Why not let his older brother take over the grape picking and let his little brother to go to school? I wonder what happens if they boy did not hide from the school bus? Will his parents get in trouble for it?

            Why would they move to Fresno? Is the economy better there? Why would the boy’s father think that the previous owner of the car is a good man based on the blue necktie? Why would the boy’s mother proud of the old pot and get even more prouder when it get more banged up? That sounds crazy. If it was I, I would have threw it away. I wonder where did the boy’s mother learn English? Is it her native language before she learned Spanish? Why did the author leave the ending like that?

            I thought it was horrible of the man to give the family a run-down garage as a home. It is barely holding itself up and is infested with termites. It talks about drinking too much water could make you sick. I know pretty well about this because I have experienced it when I drank too much after basketball game, I felt horrible because too much water in one drink. Also you could die from drinking too much, it is called water poisoning.

            Also it talked about how the boy was very sore after working all day in the field. That he was sore for a while then finally got used to workload. I could relate to him because I workout everyday in the Field House building. I get sore every time I up the weight, but when I get used to it, then I am not sore anymore. So I totally understand how the boy feels.

            I thought it was wonderful that the boy finally could go to school as a sixth grade student because the grape season is over. The grape season is over in the first week of November. But I felt bad about Roberto not able to go to school because he still has to work in cotton season, which is not over until February. It was sad that the boy was so overwhelmed in the class because he knows only basic English. I thought the teacher was very nice to help him with English and this made the boy excited to go back to school because he knows that he is going to learn something new.

            I was very disappointed with the end of the story because the boy was so excited that he goes to that school and that he is going to learn music. Which is corridos, it is frequently used in Mexico by everyone. He was so excited that he wanted to tell the good news to his parents but he was let down in the end. Why? When he arrived back home, what he gets is that everything is packed again, this means that he is moving again. I thought it was horrible for him because he only got a taste of middle school for one day.

            I learned a lot from this book, mostly on Spanish words and terms. Also learning the name of chili and music that Mexicans eat and uses. I gained little more knowledge of Spanish words, I am planning to take Spanish as my class next semester and this is a good way to start learning some Spanish. I am glad that I was hooked at first page of the story and kept reading to the end.

"Rules of the Game," by Amy Tan

             

            The story called the “Rules of the Game,” is the one I am blogging today. The story was written by Amy Tan, and the story is really long. It has tons of details, information, and descriptions. Once you read this story, you will be kind of overwhelmed by everything.

            There are several things I do not know, things such as: Prawns, sanddabs, so I looked them up on the website. Prawns are similar to shrimps, and sanddabs are the fish that lays bottom of the ocean, their eyes are on one side. They lay on their side, waiting for any prey for them to eat. They blend themselves with sand. If you want to check out on what they look like, go to below of this blog to see the links to pictures.

This story is very detailed and long. Personally, I think the story is too detailed that it lost me halfway into the story. Especially the part where the author described the chess strategies and its rules.

When the girl, Meimei, say she’s seven in America but 8 in Chinese, this made me wonder how it works. Like, if I am 18 in America, then that mean I am 19 in Chinese? The story also mentioned that Vincent, Meimei’s brother, has deaf ears. Does that mean he always ignores people?

Why would the mother name her daughter as, Meimei, Waverly Place Jong? I think that is silly to name her daughter after Waverly Place. I could understand if she named her daughter only Waverly Jong.

I want to know why Meimei’s mom is very explicated in details. Such as saying that the girl was hit by the cab and “was smashed flat.” (Tan, 1997, p. 39) She also told her daughter that Chinese do torture people. Why tell this to 7-8 years old girl? Are Chinese very open-minded people?

When the mother and daughter mentioned about Chinese torture, that made me think of my conversation with my friend. We were talking about Chinese torture, and it was of dripping water on the bind person’s forehead all day, all night, driving the person crazy. This is a psychological torture, well it seemed to me that it is psychological. This torture is called Chinese Water Torture. It is said that after a while, this could cause people having mental retardation. Also, there are picture listed below of torture equipment.

I thought it was wonderful that a young girl loves to play chess. This shows that even a young child could play very well if the game is in their interest area. I thought it was hilarious that Meimei used many excuses to get out of something or get her ways. Such as getting her brothers move out of the bedroom, or not eating all of her supper. This really is normal behavior of young kids.

Seeing that Meimei’s language is very good while her mother doesn’t. I think that Meimei’s mother was born and raised in Chinese. Then she moved to Chinatown in San Francisco, while Meimei was born and raised in Chinatown. It also makes me think that Meimei goes to American’s school.

I can kind of relate to Meimei on her mother showing her off. My mom does that most of the time with the people and me. Sometimes this bothers me because I do not want my mom to make people mad at me. Sometime I tell my mom to shout up. Yes, I actually do say shut up to my mom.

I thought the end of this story was very strange. I wonder why Meimei imagined her opponent as her mother? I never could imagine my mom as my opponent even if I was mad at her.

This story was not bad, it just was too detailed for me and my eyes. I kept reading on the same lines over and over. But this story made me want to learn more about Chinese’s ages to American’s ages. That’s one positive thing about this story.

Prawn picture:

http://rankexploits.com/musings/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/prawn.jpg

Sanddabs picture:

http://www.eatsforone.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/citharichthys_sordidus.jpg

Chinese torture picture:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Chinesische_Wasserfolter_-_Gedenkstätte_Berlin-Hohenschönhausen.jpg