"After several such phone calls, we realized our votes simply negate each other"
My mom is an avid democrat, and her mother, my grandmother is a zealous republican. Every year around election day, there are bound to be a lot of arguments between the two over their diverging views. It makes visiting complicated and sometimes awkward, but despite that, they love to debate and talk politics.
At fifty-eight, my father found himself unemployed and with no prospects.
Firoozeh's father's situation is really similar to Sundara's family, a formerly successful family reduced to farming and picking fruit. Naro also used to be really successful and had a good job, but it took him a really long time to get a job even close to as good as his old one. Many immigrants, formerly thriving in their old country, have really awful jobs as they try to learn English and adjust to work customs.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Me and Bob Hope
"During the month of of December, people constantly wished us 'Merry Christmas' in that automatic way. If we said that we didn't celebrate Christmas, we received a cheery 'Happy Hanukkah.' Call us Scrooge, but we didn't celebrate that either."
One of my favorite parts of Children of the River is when Sundara admits that her mother put up Christmas decorations all year long, not knowing that it was Christmas. I realize the only similarity there is that they are talking about the same holiday, I really like it because it shows two immigrant family's attempt at assimilating in to America's biggest holiday.
"I love watching my children count down the days till December 25, a countdown that seems to get harder every time"
Christmas is sooo exciting, and everyone always counts down the hours and days until Christmas. Christmas is so fun and every year, even though you're supposedly more mature, the countdown gets harder and harder to bear.
One of my favorite parts of Children of the River is when Sundara admits that her mother put up Christmas decorations all year long, not knowing that it was Christmas. I realize the only similarity there is that they are talking about the same holiday, I really like it because it shows two immigrant family's attempt at assimilating in to America's biggest holiday.
"I love watching my children count down the days till December 25, a countdown that seems to get harder every time"
Christmas is sooo exciting, and everyone always counts down the hours and days until Christmas. Christmas is so fun and every year, even though you're supposedly more mature, the countdown gets harder and harder to bear.
Monday, January 31, 2011
It's All Relatives
"Not surprisingly, my native language, Persian, contains many more precise words for relatives"
Sundara's many different names for her family members always confused me. Calling Soka "younger aunt" seemed almost disrespectful to me, and Moni calling her "Little Sister" led to a lot of confusion for some people. In my world, all my aunts on my dad's side have the title "aunt", and the same goes for my uncles. However, on my mom's side, I just call them by their first names. I never purposly made that distinction, but it's there and helps make things less confusing, especially since neither families are very creative with names and I have 3 uncle Johns.
"I bent down and smelled a sweet pea for the first time in fifteen years. Suddenly, I was six years old again and running around chasing butterflies in my aunt's garden"
The same thing happened to me a while ago. While at camp, my roomate always sprayed our room with a certain perfume. It was really strong, but I didn't really think much of it. A few months later, I smelled the perfume again and was practically transported through time and space back to camp. This also reminds me of when Sundara saw the doll and was brought back to her time with baby on the boat, and felt similar emotions to the day. It's amazing how much smell and visual stays in our memories.
Sundara's many different names for her family members always confused me. Calling Soka "younger aunt" seemed almost disrespectful to me, and Moni calling her "Little Sister" led to a lot of confusion for some people. In my world, all my aunts on my dad's side have the title "aunt", and the same goes for my uncles. However, on my mom's side, I just call them by their first names. I never purposly made that distinction, but it's there and helps make things less confusing, especially since neither families are very creative with names and I have 3 uncle Johns.
"I bent down and smelled a sweet pea for the first time in fifteen years. Suddenly, I was six years old again and running around chasing butterflies in my aunt's garden"
The same thing happened to me a while ago. While at camp, my roomate always sprayed our room with a certain perfume. It was really strong, but I didn't really think much of it. A few months later, I smelled the perfume again and was practically transported through time and space back to camp. This also reminds me of when Sundara saw the doll and was brought back to her time with baby on the boat, and felt similar emotions to the day. It's amazing how much smell and visual stays in our memories.
America, land of the free
"Price Club has samples, rows and rows of endless samples"
I think that it's safe to say that everybody is guilty of going to Sam's Club, BJ's or something like that and absolutely stuffed themselves on free samples. I mean, they're giving them away, why not take the oppertunity of free food? I always think fondly of the day that Becca and I discovered that if you say you're sixteen, they will give you anything you want. Before, you had to have a parent or older brother or sister with you. Being 16, or at least faking it, allowed a freedom we had never known. We walked down the row, putting on sunglasses, switching around our scarves, trying to look slightly different every time we grabbed one of the cookies (our favorites). What I'm trying to say it, my name is Emma Kane, and I am a samples addict.
"Retirement usually brings out men's true passions..."
I was really reminded of grandmother, from Children of the River in this. She's retired, but she never seemed to spend any time enjoying herself. It's really sad that she spends a lot of her days moping around the house rather than at least trying to learn the culture. That shows a lot about grandmother's character, she is very sensitive and emotional and misses her home life maybe even more than she lets on.
I think that it's safe to say that everybody is guilty of going to Sam's Club, BJ's or something like that and absolutely stuffed themselves on free samples. I mean, they're giving them away, why not take the oppertunity of free food? I always think fondly of the day that Becca and I discovered that if you say you're sixteen, they will give you anything you want. Before, you had to have a parent or older brother or sister with you. Being 16, or at least faking it, allowed a freedom we had never known. We walked down the row, putting on sunglasses, switching around our scarves, trying to look slightly different every time we grabbed one of the cookies (our favorites). What I'm trying to say it, my name is Emma Kane, and I am a samples addict.
"Retirement usually brings out men's true passions..."
I was really reminded of grandmother, from Children of the River in this. She's retired, but she never seemed to spend any time enjoying herself. It's really sad that she spends a lot of her days moping around the house rather than at least trying to learn the culture. That shows a lot about grandmother's character, she is very sensitive and emotional and misses her home life maybe even more than she lets on.
The "F" Word
"But none of us thought our name would be such an obstacle"
This quote is really similar to Soka's plight of being called Mrs. Tep when that was not, in fact, her name. She was really upset about the mispronounciation and let the whole world know. I also thought of Mackenzie's botched pronounciation of Chamroeun...calling him Shamoo. American's need to learn to prounce!
"I felt like those characters in soap operas who have an evil twin"
I really like this quote, not only because it's funny and relatable, but because it reminds me a lot of Sundara's whole situation. She was leading a double life, for the most part. At home, she was a good Khmer girl and at school she was attempting to being the best American she can be. When the two worlds collided, in her kitchen when Jonathan asked for a ride, it was clear how bad everything was. I think this is true for anyone who has told the truth to one person, and a little white lie to the other and being stuck in the same room with them. Everything is fine until the conversation inevitably turns to said subject. Two worlds colliding is never good
This quote is really similar to Soka's plight of being called Mrs. Tep when that was not, in fact, her name. She was really upset about the mispronounciation and let the whole world know. I also thought of Mackenzie's botched pronounciation of Chamroeun...calling him Shamoo. American's need to learn to prounce!
"I felt like those characters in soap operas who have an evil twin"
I really like this quote, not only because it's funny and relatable, but because it reminds me a lot of Sundara's whole situation. She was leading a double life, for the most part. At home, she was a good Khmer girl and at school she was attempting to being the best American she can be. When the two worlds collided, in her kitchen when Jonathan asked for a ride, it was clear how bad everything was. I think this is true for anyone who has told the truth to one person, and a little white lie to the other and being stuck in the same room with them. Everything is fine until the conversation inevitably turns to said subject. Two worlds colliding is never good
Bernice
"Overnight, Iranians living in America became, to say the least, very unpopular"
I think that this is really sad, but it always seems to happen. My uncle Youness, who has, unknown to him, became a pretty big topic in this blog, got a lot of dirty looks and had trouble getting a job after 9/11, simply because his name and looks make him seem Middle Eastern. When my cousin sent out the invitations to her wedding, a lot of people didn't attend when they found out there would be an Imam running parts of the ceremony. It's crazy how long it takes to build trust and spread love, and how quickly trust can be broken and hate circulated.
"Being French in America is like having your hand stamped with one of those passes that allows you to get into everything"
I think that this quote better pertains to Sundara's experience. Although it was harder for her than Francois, it was a lot easier than Firoozeh's second experience in America. When people learned that she was a Cambodian, people felt sorry for her and were really nice to her. They were really intrigued by her, but weren't mean to her. I think that she is more pitied than anything else, though.
I think that this is really sad, but it always seems to happen. My uncle Youness, who has, unknown to him, became a pretty big topic in this blog, got a lot of dirty looks and had trouble getting a job after 9/11, simply because his name and looks make him seem Middle Eastern. When my cousin sent out the invitations to her wedding, a lot of people didn't attend when they found out there would be an Imam running parts of the ceremony. It's crazy how long it takes to build trust and spread love, and how quickly trust can be broken and hate circulated.
"Being French in America is like having your hand stamped with one of those passes that allows you to get into everything"
I think that this quote better pertains to Sundara's experience. Although it was harder for her than Francois, it was a lot easier than Firoozeh's second experience in America. When people learned that she was a Cambodian, people felt sorry for her and were really nice to her. They were really intrigued by her, but weren't mean to her. I think that she is more pitied than anything else, though.
Save Me, Mickey
"I knew what was coming. 'Is that boy from your country?"
While I can't say I've had an experience like this, I have been on vacations, and had someone ask where I'm from. When I say 'Maine', a lot of times, they say 'Oh really, I have a friend, Paul, who lives in New Hampshire, do you know them?" Although, yes, New England is pretty small, it's not small enough to know every single resident on a first name basis. I think when things like that happen, they might just be trying to make conversation, but either way, it's pretty funny to think of.
"I had been elevated from child-who-can't-learn-to-swim to child genius"
When I was younger, I went to the supermarket with my grandmother and my two cousins. My little cousin, Bailey, got lost and I remember looking frantically for her. When she was found, she was treated like world's best child. Everyone was so happy she was found, they forgot that she broke the hold-hands-with-your-cousins-at-all-times rule and got ice cream as a reward.
While I can't say I've had an experience like this, I have been on vacations, and had someone ask where I'm from. When I say 'Maine', a lot of times, they say 'Oh really, I have a friend, Paul, who lives in New Hampshire, do you know them?" Although, yes, New England is pretty small, it's not small enough to know every single resident on a first name basis. I think when things like that happen, they might just be trying to make conversation, but either way, it's pretty funny to think of.
"I had been elevated from child-who-can't-learn-to-swim to child genius"
When I was younger, I went to the supermarket with my grandmother and my two cousins. My little cousin, Bailey, got lost and I remember looking frantically for her. When she was found, she was treated like world's best child. Everyone was so happy she was found, they forgot that she broke the hold-hands-with-your-cousins-at-all-times rule and got ice cream as a reward.
Swoosh-Swoosh
"Marriage, in my culture, has nothing to do with romance. It's a matter of logic"
Obviously, Soka, Naro, and the majority of the Cambodian characters in "Children of the River" agree with Firoozeh's family. I think it's a pretty common issue for immigrants, a huge difference in our cultures. I've read a lot of books where that is the problem, two people fall in love but-OH, NO- one of them is already arranged to be married. Two of those books were Once Upon a Curse and Knight in Shining Armor, which are romance novels which both have happy endings.
"Since Iranian flavors are quite different from the flavors found in American convenience foods, most of the purchases ended up in the trash can "
In Sundara's, family, the kids like the food, but the adults aren't very big fans at all. The flavors in America are just not the same as the flavors in different countries. Another memorable scene was when Soka made her turkey. The Cambodians all complained about how flavorless turkey is, but they made it anyway. A Knight in Shining Armor also included food tasting experiences, but rather than across borders, it was across decades. The 16th century guy loved the taste of ice cream and brownies, but hated the taste of present-day tea. Taste buds might be the slowest to assimilate!
Obviously, Soka, Naro, and the majority of the Cambodian characters in "Children of the River" agree with Firoozeh's family. I think it's a pretty common issue for immigrants, a huge difference in our cultures. I've read a lot of books where that is the problem, two people fall in love but-OH, NO- one of them is already arranged to be married. Two of those books were Once Upon a Curse and Knight in Shining Armor, which are romance novels which both have happy endings.
"Since Iranian flavors are quite different from the flavors found in American convenience foods, most of the purchases ended up in the trash can "
In Sundara's, family, the kids like the food, but the adults aren't very big fans at all. The flavors in America are just not the same as the flavors in different countries. Another memorable scene was when Soka made her turkey. The Cambodians all complained about how flavorless turkey is, but they made it anyway. A Knight in Shining Armor also included food tasting experiences, but rather than across borders, it was across decades. The 16th century guy loved the taste of ice cream and brownies, but hated the taste of present-day tea. Taste buds might be the slowest to assimilate!
Hot Dogs and Wild Geese
"My mother's approach to learning English consisted of daily lessons with Monty Hall and Bob Barker"
This quote reminds me a lot of Ravi. His addiction to TV is such a central point of his character, and maybe it was his attempt at becoming more American, and expanding his English vocabulary. Another person this quote embodies is my uncle Youness. He is from Morocco and married my cousin Sarah (I realize he's not my uncle, but he's so much older than me that it sounds weird to call him cousin). He constantly is watching American television trying to learn English, while my cousin Sarah watches Arabic movies trying to learn Arabic, because now they speak French and German to each other.
"'W' and 'th' gave her the most difficultly. As if God was playing a linguistic joke on us, we lived in 'Vee-tee-er'..."
I always thought it was a little ironic that the one sound Sundara had a lot of trouble with was "th", and OF COURSE, her boyfriend's name had a "th" in it. It's not as though names with the "th" sound are that common! I felt that way about Elmer Fudd's speech impediment that made his chase of a "wabbit" funny.
This quote reminds me a lot of Ravi. His addiction to TV is such a central point of his character, and maybe it was his attempt at becoming more American, and expanding his English vocabulary. Another person this quote embodies is my uncle Youness. He is from Morocco and married my cousin Sarah (I realize he's not my uncle, but he's so much older than me that it sounds weird to call him cousin). He constantly is watching American television trying to learn English, while my cousin Sarah watches Arabic movies trying to learn Arabic, because now they speak French and German to each other.
"'W' and 'th' gave her the most difficultly. As if God was playing a linguistic joke on us, we lived in 'Vee-tee-er'..."
I always thought it was a little ironic that the one sound Sundara had a lot of trouble with was "th", and OF COURSE, her boyfriend's name had a "th" in it. It's not as though names with the "th" sound are that common! I felt that way about Elmer Fudd's speech impediment that made his chase of a "wabbit" funny.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Leffingwell Elementary School
"He decided that it would be a good idea for my mother to attend school with me..."
This reminds me a lot of Sundara's first encounter with school. She didn't understand the rules of school, and what is acceptable to say. Firoozeh's family didn't understand that having a parent at school would make her experience even more difficult. This also reminds me of how a lot of parents do wish they could go to school with their kids and make sure they are okay.
"The bathrooms were clean and the people were very, very kind"
I love this quote because it shows how easy it is to make people happy, just make them comfortable and be nice to them. To me, this contradicts Sundara's experience, her family is constantly putting down America and making it seem awful.
This reminds me a lot of Sundara's first encounter with school. She didn't understand the rules of school, and what is acceptable to say. Firoozeh's family didn't understand that having a parent at school would make her experience even more difficult. This also reminds me of how a lot of parents do wish they could go to school with their kids and make sure they are okay.
"The bathrooms were clean and the people were very, very kind"
I love this quote because it shows how easy it is to make people happy, just make them comfortable and be nice to them. To me, this contradicts Sundara's experience, her family is constantly putting down America and making it seem awful.
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