I am from...

I am from the Mp3

From Apple and Sony.

I am from the annoying

Honking cars

To the sight

Of the distant boats.

I am from the wannabe-trees

The plastic, the fake, the outcast of nature.

I am from the family fun night

To family argument night

I am from the not going to church

And playing basketball instead.

I am from “It’s not too late.”

To “there is nothing you can do.”

I am from the faith of God

To the proof of Science

I am from going to Protestant Church,

To Catholic with my mom’s relatives.

I’m from Ecuador,

Where the hot Caldo de Bolas

Are served.

To American,

Where the smell

of fresh made Corndogs

Fill the air.

From the soft ball skills

My grandfather has kept,

The time when we

(The whole family of my dad’s side)

Went to go watch his game,

Meeting people,

I might not remember.

I am from the boxes and small books,

Hidden in the closet,

The pictures which shows

What I once was,

With memories long forgotten,

And hard to remember.

Photos that find their way

To the heart of the tree,

Where they will be safely

Stowed away.

Pray For Japan

The devastating earthquake in Japan was fitful; nobody was expecting such earthquake with such magnitude. Japan is copious when it comes to people, and this has affected the lives of many people not only in Japan, but Worldwide. Other then this 9 magnitude earthquake, it was followed broadly half an hour after, an over 10 meter tsunami that wiped out many areas of Japan.

Many family members who have relatives or friends in Japan have been fastidious with the news and trying to desperately contact them. Most people who watched the news the date of the occurrence, felt a pang of pain for the footage they showed of the people affected, and all the houses being dragged by the tsunami.

The nuclear meltdowns in the nuclear facilities, is said to decelerate Japans economic growth. They also have had electrical shortage due to the fact that these nuclear facilities create most of the energy in Japan. This is why Nuclear Plants are crucial in Japan. The nuclear meltdowns have also caused a 10 mile radius of radiation, and it has been said that the wind may carry the radiation, up to the coast of California, United States. Japan is trying to grapple the situation of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdowns.

Many rescue and search parties have been deployed in the coasts of Japan and areas affected by the tsunami. Adept doctors have also been sent for the aid of the survivors. This natural disaster has claimed the lives of over 10,000 people. The nuclear meltdowns have caused the evacuation of over 200,000 people.

The Japanese government is trying to keep everything under control, and are taking care of the situation gingerly, and having to make quick decisions. Other countries of the world have also gone to Japans aid, and have volunteered to help Japan get back to its formal self.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The significance of The House on Mango Street is that this was the where her new house was located, in which the memoirist-Esperanza-with her mother father, two younger brothers, and sister moved into. Also this was the first house her family had owned, “The house on Mango Street is ours, and we don’t have to pay rent to anybody, or share the yard with the people downstairs, or be careful not to make too much noise, and there isn’t a landlord banging on the ceiling with a broom.” (3) This is where Esperanza spends most of her coming of age years. Mango Street is where she learns life lessons that will help her in the future, and it’s where she creates her ambition of being a free women.

The memoirist of the book is Esperanza, a young Mexican girl who moved into Mango Street. She had to face different coming of age issues such as being self conscious about herself and how she looks, Awareness of sexuality-as in she was noticing boys more, “All night the boy who is a man watches me dance. He watched me dance.” (48).She also had to face situations and problems that she didn’t have full understanding of in the moment, moment she wasn’t ready for and was too young to understand.

The story is set up in chronological order from the time she got onto Mango Street, and each story is set up in vignettes that talk about parts of her life, in which she learned life lessons and discovered who she was. They never specify her age, but the reader can give a good guess on what her age is, depending by the story. The farther into the book you go, the older she becomes and more the more knowledge she acquires, from people she meets along the way.
Esperanza came to find out about herself was that, she wanted to be a free woman, not one that was stuck indoors, but one that could go out when she wanted, she wanted to enjoy life. She also learned other life lessons, watching and experiencing different moments in Mango Street. Mango Street, the people, and her personal experience there have taught her much of the knowledge she has.

This book was interesting at many points to read, it shows you how a person from Mexico can have a hard time living in America, through the eyes of a young teenager growing up. It shows you how people stick to stereotypes and judge people before they know them. Every vignette keeps you thinking on how this is actually happening to people, many of her stories can be related to. It is a really good book; Sandra Cisneros kept the book real and intriguing to read.

two lines I loved were, “In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It mean sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing.” Pg.10 and, “Those who don't know any better come into our neighborhood scared. All brown all around, we are safe. But watch us drive into a neighborhood of another color and our knees go shakity-shake.” Pg. 28.