in class writing 11/20

Most of the characters in Say you’re One of Them do not have free will. In “Fatting for Gabon” the children didn’t know they were sold into slavery. They were tricked by their uncle they thought they were being adopted by their godparents who were good people and were helping their parents who had AIDS and were going to give them a better life and a better education. When they did find out they didn’t have a choice they were being forced into slavery. In Ex-mas feast a twelve year old girl was prostituting in order to help feed her family and send her bother to school. Her parents knew and couldn’t do anything about it because they were serving on their daughters in come. Even in “Our Parents’ Bedroom” the father was forced to kill his wife just because she wasn’t Hutu, leaving his own children with nothing not even a home or anyone to care from them.These stories are not based on free will. These children lived in really bad conditions, parents, uncles, and people from the government knew and no one cared how these children lived or the things they had to go though in order to survive.

practice exit exam

Rachel Harris learned the value of friendship, when faced with a serious medical problem. Rachel was divorced, her nineteen year old daughter was away at collage, and finds out she need spinal-cord surgery. Receiving this type of news would have been hard on anyone but on top of this Rachel drove home to an empty house where she had no husband or daughter to comfort her she was alone and scared. Anyone of us would have wanted to go home after receiving such bad news and cried on the shoulder of our loved ones. We would have wanted someone there to tell us the words we all want to hear in a time like this “Everything is going to be okay.” Rachel like all of us thinks of family as only blood relatives and didn’t realized she was part of an informal family. She had friends who were willing to interrupt their own lives to help her and do whatever was necessary in this time of need. She also realized the type of friends she had who were there not only material but emotionally .This experience helped her to know the difference of living alone and being alone.

Just like Rachel I too have had an experience that showed me who my true friends are. My husband and I went to México on vacation three years ago. On one of the nights in México my husband woke up with a pain in his stomach it was so bad I had to take him to the emergency room. When the doctor finally examines him he told us he had to take his appendix out. We had no medical insurance and didn’t know how we would get the money for this surgery. I didn’t show any fear in front of my husband I told him I would take care of everything and for him just to focus on feeling better. I started calling our families and close friends many of them heard what I had to say but didn’t help. Others didn’t even bother picking my phone call. I wanted to panic and scream I felt as the whole world had closed the door on us. Then one day a co-worker calls me and says I heard what happen to your husband I got a bones at work and wanted to give it to you. I couldn’t believe it the person I expected the least to help us out was her. She even told me I could take as long as I need to pay her back. The amount was enough to pay the surgery, medical expenses and buy our plane tickets back home.  When we finally arrived home she went to visit and help us by running errands and bringing groceries too. This whole experience changed the way we see blood relatives and family this co-worker didn’t need to interrupt her own life to help us. We are till this day forever grateful with her.

Rachel felt lonely, she felt like no one would be there for her because she was divorced and her daughter was away at collage. She had so many friends helping her get through this hard time in her life. Just like Rachel I learned how family is not blood, family are the people who are there for you when you need them the most. Just like Rachel I think that then the time comes to give or receive such help, let us do so with both graciousness and a generosity of spirit.

response #4

President Obama was asked a question on immigration which was, what do you plan on doing with immigrants with out a green card and are currently living here as productive members of our society. Coming from a family who were immigrants and my community who are illegal immigrants this question is very important to me. President Obama's plan is if we are going to go after people who are here illegally we should do it smartly and go after the criminals, gang bangers, and people hurting our community and deport them. Not the students or people who are here just because their trying to figure out how to feed there families. Students and children who were brought here by their parents at a young age and who think of this land as their country, and understand them self as Americans and every way but having papers. We should make sure we give them the path way to citizenship. In my church we have a platform which is called Regional Alliance of Students and Professionals we just had a conference this weekend in Washington D.C. When the topic comes up of immigration you should see how many hands come up of students who are stuck in their education. These are not students who are  criminals or gang bangers. They are students who are trying to get a education. Students who fished high school and were offered a scholarship and had to turn it down because of their immigration status. If they would have papers these would be citizens contributing to our community becoming doctors, lawyers, and arctics. This is why this topic is vary dear to my heart and I agree with Presidents Obama's plan on immigration.

Governor Romney was asked this question. As a collage student all I hear from students and professors is I will have little chance in finding a job when get out of school. What can you tell me to convince me and my parents that I  will have a job when I graduate. Romney's plane is to make it easier for students to afford collage and he says that here in Massachusetts there was a exam a student had to pass in order to graduate and if you scored high the government paid your tuition for four years to a collage of your choice. He also has a five point plan to make the economy grow again so I went to his web sit and read on this plan. He wants to provide students with better skills and better public schools, higher education, so when they graduate they will have real- world job opportunities. Being from a house hold where my husband and I both study and have to pay two tuitions. We both would like to have it easier when it comes to loans, books and when we graduate have these real-world job opportunities. So if Governor Mitt Romney plan works this will benefit my hushed and I in our further.

We should be so lucky to live in a country where we pick our president. Where our voices are heard, and we don't live in fear of our kids further being horrible. Such as the countries we've been studying. Where kids are being sold to slavery or where a husband has to kill his wife in order to save the life of his children. In other countries such as these there is no presidential debate.

thesis

Even thought these stories take place in war-torn africa, both "My Parent's Bedroom"and "Fattening for Gabon"feature moments of hope and beauty, such as Monique's father killing his wife in order to save the life of his children and other Titsi people. Saving the life of his children when I read the end of the story. It gives me hope that the children served the genocide."My bother is playing with the glow of the crucifix, babbling Maman's name." Another example is Kotchikpa's bravery to escape from the smugglers who wanted his sister and him as salves. At the end of the story I was left with the hope that the children escaped from the smugglers." I ran and I ran though I knew I would never out run my sister's wailing." Another example is Kotchikpa's gratitude for the things other children do not have. "The teacher like us now." I said. "We share our books with our friends." Kotchikpa was a boy very grateful even with his uncle though he didn't know his uncle was selling him and his sister to be slaves. Monique's Father, Kotchikpa bravery, and his gratitude show us moments of hope and beauty. 

in class writing 10/23

The U.S government is less corrupt than other countries. In every country there’s people that try to fine loop holes and braves’ to get there way and we can’t stop it. The U.S government has done a great job in providing its citizens with a safe environment. In other countries such as Mexico the president bought his votes from the people he offered them money, grocery gift cards, and TV’s for their vote. We also see police men who stop people who ran a red light or crashed into a car for drunk driving and if they have enough money they can pay their way out of a ticket or jail. Here in the U.S we still don’t see that or hear about that because our government protect us and the checks and balances keep each party from getting too much power. In an ideal government people like to have a voice because not every person has the same life style or can pay the same tax amount.   

writing responce

Monique's father didn't have a choice when he killed his wife. The story clearly shows the reader how much he loved her and didn't want to kill her. Maman tells us in the story she knew her husband was going to kill her and both of them had decided on this. Right before Papa kills her Maman says" My husband you promised me."  Monique's father killed his wife to save his children. If he didn't the Hutus would have killed all of them. "If we kill your wife for you," the wizard says, "we must kill you. And your children too." Monique's father didn't have a way out he even pleaded so someone else could kill Maman "My people" he mumbles,"let another do it. Please." If any person would be put in that situation I don't consider it wrong because your not doing it willingly but forced for the life of your children.

     I know that killing another person is wrong. There are certain circumstances when it's less wrong. In this short story the Hutus wanted all the Tutsi dead with no exceptions or consideration in family. Monique's father had no other choose and was force to kill his wife in order to save the life of his children. This is when the "killing is wrong" rule is bent.

In class writing

Artists should be able to write about other people' s situations, culture, race from there point of view. As artists they should have that freedom because they entertain us. We wouldn't tell an artists who paints a mural and another who  paints  fruit his wrong if thats what they were inspired to paint than they should paint it. I think its the same with writers Uwem Akpan writes his book from a point of view from children but his not a child the book is so well written that we don't realize his an adult writing these stories.

If Immaculee IIibagiza would agree because the most important thing is getting the word out about Rwanda genocied.I think it would hurt her to read these stories like "My Parents Bedroom"and remember everything she went though but she would agree the writer is doing a great job in writing about the Rewanda genocide.

in class writing 9/18

I don’t think that the doctor and the husband experienced the same emotion because the doctor cut the woman in half but she was already died he just saved her from her body getting crush and never being found again, i think that the doctor was nerves of what the others or people would think of his dection but the husband killed his wife his hands were shaking and his wife told him to do not to be a coward she was talking to him than he made the diction to kill her for his children to live. so the husbend was nerves, pressure and guilty but he had to do it to save his children. 

Homework #2

Sights: darkness just a candle to light the room, rays of sun coming in though
The holes from walls and windows.

Sounds: shouts and screaming from Monique when the Hutu is trying to rape her.

Smells: fathers hands smell of raw eggs

Tastes: saliva is salted with blood

Textures: paps hands are very dirty the gutters around his nails are swollen with black mud, Helens foot is dangling on strings, Maman's blood is thick like red shampoo.

The death of Maman the blood thick like red shampoo. Maman didn't like her daughters appearance because she looked like her even though Maman is described as a very beautiful Tutsi woman, but Maman doesn't treat Jean like Monique when Maman sprays Jean with the bottle of Amour Bruxelles and Monique begs her to put some on her and she refuses even Monique says Maman's love for me is different when she looks at me she becomes sad. Maman knew life was going to treat Jean different than Monique because Jean looked Hutu and Monique looks Tutsi. Maman  believed  that one day Monique would die just like her and it would be her fault because Monique got her appearance from her, but Maman says Monique would understand when she grows up.

writing sample

Reading this article and remembering all the brave men and woman who put there life in danger for the victims of the 9/11 attacks just shows the selfless act they did for their country. I agree with the decision they made as a team because they all agreed to it. If this had been one of my family members I would have wanted to beery there body and given them a proper good bye. This woman was someone’s wife, mother, and grandmother because the article says she was an older woman and had pictures of her grandchildren. I think that the family of this woman was grateful that these men took her out of the mammoth block of concrete and steel so she could be identified instead of being buried underneath all of the gravel when the buildings came down and never known what happen to her.

My mom had a best friend she knew her since they were little they grew up together in Mexico and when my mom moved to the U.S they still kept in touch every year they came to visit us or we would go to Mexico she had a little boy he was 3 years old and we would call her aunt and the little boy would call us cousins we would treated each other as family. One year she came to visit us in Houston and they would come driving from Mexico to Houston and on the way they had an accident they crashed and passed away my mom’s friend and her husband the only one to survive was the little boy. My mom and dad rushed to the hospital to see the little boy. After the burial they sat down with the family to see what was going to happen with the little boy who was going to take care of him. And both sides of the family said that they couldn’t afford to take in a child because in Mexico education is not free so kids work at a young age. My mom and dad decided to adopt him bring him to live with us knowing that they had 5 kids of their own and my dad was unemployed at the time but they made the diction to keep him because they knew that even if my dad was unemployed they could give him a better life in the U.S then his family in Mexico. He is a part of our family and I believe for my mom it’s a way of keeping her friendship alive thought her son.

So in conclusion I believe life throws us difficult situations where we are forced to make dictions that we never thought we would have to face and sacrificed something for someone else. But as the men in 9/11 did I would have done the same thing for that woman just like my mom did for the little boy who is now my little brother.

Homework #1

Wide spread violence, war and genocide happen because of power and the indifference from the other country's leaders. The Hutu blamed the entire Tutsi population for it's countries  problems Tutsi was only 14% of Rwanda's population and when the plane carrying President Habyarimana was shoot down it was just the right excuses for the Hutu to slater the Tutsi population.
Why would they kill them? Why rape the woman and kill the children too? The Hutu wanted power and by showing the people what they were capable of doing everyone feared them even there own race because if they opposed in the killings of the Tutsi they were killed too. If the international leaders would have stepped in maybe this wouldn't have gone so far,but they didn't because of fear that there country would do the same and as leaders lose there power.    

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