post 3

Quote 1: page 187 said by Valentino
"In front of me, I saw nothing but boys, some of them bathing in the water. Behind me, there was nothing but darkness and a path."

Significance: This has to do with the questions because when you are traveling, you never know what you are going to run into. Good things, or Bad things. This one ended up being a river to bathe in, and this one ended up being his long lost friend, William K.

Character Judgement: I think that after Valentino found his friend, he would be so happy because he had made that 6 week journey with people that he didn't know, and he thought that he lost William K, but then he found him.

Question 1: If you just found one of your best friends after about six weeks thinking that they were dead, how would you react? what would you do?

Quote 2: page 208 said by Valentino:
"The food I had eaten gave me strength, as had the secret of the round-bellied man, and yet i was relatively certain that I was dying."

Significance: I think that it is so sad that even though he ate, Valentino, and all the other boys are so weak from running, walking, and hiding all day everyday for the past month and a half ish.

Personal connection: I think that I would defiantly not make it after all those days with so little food, and sometimes no food for up to a week. I feel bad for Valentino, because if I were him, I think I would feel like I was dying too

Question 2: How would you feel if you were in Valentino's position after eating, and feeling like you are dying?

post 2

Quote 1: page 91 said by Valentino's mom
"Okay. Stay here. I have to see what's happening to her. I won't go far. Okay? If i can't see anything I'll come right back. You stay. Be completely silent, okay?"

Signifigance: This quote has to do with the questions because it shows how hard Valentino and his mom, and every other Sudanese person from their village had. The army came, and burned the houses, chopped people's heads off and shot them. This quote is showing when Valentino and his mom were escaping from the army, and hid at his aunts house, and something happened to the aunt and the mom was going to see what happened.

Character judgement: I think that Valentino's mom is a verry caring mother, and cares about the saftey of her child, and family members more then she cares about herself. I think she is a very great mother, and a great person.

Question 1: If you were in Valentino's position, would you have waited for your mom to get back, or would you have left like he did?

Qoute 2: page 107 said by Valentino
I woke in the morning and shook the rocks from my head and got up and walked and ran and when I heard a sound or saw a figure in the distance, I crawled

Signifigance: This quote has to do with the questions on Ms. Abbassi's blog becasue it is showing more hard times, and just day to day things that Valentino has to deal with. He has almost no food and water, and has to hide every time he sees someone.

Character Judgement: I think that Valentino is a nice person that has had one of the hardest lifes in the world. From escaping from armies, to makeing a new life in america and getting robbed. After all that Valentino has lived through, I think he should be happy that he is still alive.

Questin 2: If you were in Valentino's position, would you have stayed with the big group of people or gone alone? why?

field trip reflection

Jewish Museum
The purpose of this museum is to learn about the Jewish culture. some things i learned are that 9,000 Jews fought for the Union in the Civil War, and 3,000 fought for the confederacy. in the 1880s, millions of Yiddish speaking Jews came from Russia, Romania, and Australia. They were fleeing religious freedom. in the 1930s, there was a crisis for the Jews with Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party. I learned that Judaism has taken a big part in America today.

Children Immigrant Museum
Picture: Family from Cambodia (Chicago 2001)
Description: Mom and dad holding twin baby girls in white fluffy dresses, with a sad little girl wearing a gingham dress. This strikes me because every one looks sad except for the dad is just happy that he is in a new safe place, but the rest of the family misses thier country, I chose this becasue it made me think about what its like to come to a new country.

Quote: " America has everything we need: thechnology, goods. At least on eperson from every nation lives here. People immigrate to America because they know its a land of freedom and a better life, I see America as a land of oppertunities."
-Tamara Frank, Poland from Between Cultures
I chose this quote becasue it made me think about how great America is, and that we do have everything that any one would ever need.

Personal Essay: Paul Tram - The Preuss School UCSD
This essay is about a man telling the story of his mothers life. this essay shows me how hard it is to be an immigrant in a new country, and especially if your family is struggling with money or any thing else.

What is the What post 1

Quote 1: Valentino says this (but it is not in quotations), page 29 (i don't know what page for Alex) paragraph 2

Quote: When I first came to this country, I would tell silent stories. I would tell them to people who had wronged me. If someone cut in front of me in line, ignored me, bumped me or pushed me, I would glare at them, staring, silently hissing a story to them. You do not understand, I would tell them. You would not add to my suffering if you knew what I have seen.

Significance: This relates to number 5 (on Ms. Abbassis blog) number 5 says "What hardships do the characters endure as they make a new life?" No one respects Valentino because he is black. He is from Sudan, and all of the white people are not nice to him, and this is what he thinks every time someone is mean to him. Slowly through out the book, he is telling bits and pieces of him traveling to America, and getting out of Sudan.

Personal Connection: My personal connection to Valentino is that I think it is sad for him. even though he is in a new country, and he has a new home with his friend, he is still sad because he misses his family, and his home town, where he doesn't get made fun of because he is black.

Question: Do you think that Valentino will move away because people will probably keep robbing him because he is black (not African-American)?

Quote 2: Valentino (he is like the only one who has talked in this book) page 31 paragraph 3

Quote: The lion was a simple black silhouette, broad shoulders, its think legs outstretched, its mouth open. It jumped from the grass, knocked a boy from its feet. I could not see this part, my vision obscured by the line of boys in front of me. I heard a brief wail. Then I saw the lion clearly again as it trotted to the other side of the path, the boy neatly in its jaws.

Significance: This quote relates to number 2 (on Ms. Abbassis blog) number 2 says "What was the journey like coming to America?" This shows how hard it was to walk through the desert at night for all the boys who were coming to America. It was dangerous but they still had to keep walking, and they couldn't wait for anyone if they stopped. There were a lot of wild animals at night and during the day, and less then half of the boys died from the animals.

Character Judgement: I think Valentino is a great man with a lot of stories to tell from his past. from walking so many miles through the desert, to getting robbed and beat up in his own house. I think that Valentino is a well brought up man, that will do great in America.

Question 2: Do you think that Valentino will ever forget the horrible times of traveling to America?

Lindsay Miedema

My Oppinion on Immigrants

My definition of an immigrant is a person that comes to a country from another country to make a better life for themselves and their family. I think being an immigrant doesn’t mean anything about being illegal in the United States, I think that immigrants should be able to make money here in America, so they and their families can be happy.

My connection to immigrants is not very big. I don’t think that I know any immigrants, but my mom’s grandparents came from Italy to the United states when my grandpa was just a boy. But I never met them so I don’t really count that as a connection to immigrants.

I think that a lot of immigrants come to the United States to make a living for themselves, and make a lot of money to send to their parents or brothers or sisters so they can come to America and make a living for themselves too. Also I just think that great things happen in the United States, and it is a great place to be. I think that immigrants come to the United States so they can get out of their own countries and live a better, happier life.

If there were not immigrants in San Diego or America, then there would probably be half the population then there already is. If you look on the streets, you see people of all different ethnicities, and from all different countries. You never see only American or white people, there all different people in the world that come to America.