2. Group G--msvaren26

In my book, Jende gets to move to the U.S. even if he doesn't have any papers, second gets to move his family over and gets married to his girlfriend, and finally gets a good job being a driver for a very wealthy man and his family. Despite living in New York, Jende regularly sends money back home to support his family, which is a common practice in many African cultures where family bonds and responsibilities are highly valued. ¨Every month, Jende sent money to his parents in Cameroon, no matter how tight things were¨”(Imbolo Pg 45).

This is similar to how Americans feel about their heritage. In some situations, American standards are hard to live up to, but in other ways they aren't. Just getting part of the inherent racism of some communities is the hardest part. But sharing your culture with people is the easy part.

In my book out of nowhere by Maria Padian, its about Tom Bouchard is a smart, popular kid on the soccer team for a prep school in Maine who fits in, Who meets Ishmael who is a refugee who has moved to the area and struggles to fit in."you gotta wonder who the genius was that came up with the plan to put a bunch of Africans in Maine , the coldest, whitest state in America." PADIAN 8, I thought this was funny and true and relates to Ishmaels situation. 

I think some Americans have the standard that immigrant should be and act just like them if they want to live there but don't understand they're probably doing the best they can to fit in and are just trying to make a better life for themselves

In my book out of nowhere by Maria Padian shows the challenges immigrants face like racism and differences in their culture and how they struggle to fit in. My book shows the privileges and the difficult part of handling the expectations of america.

There are american standards that can be impossible to live up for immigrants especially because it goes against their own views. In out of nowhere Saaed and other Somali immigrants struggle with this because they are pressured to be more american at the same time stick with their own views.

A quote that shows the challenges is “its not that they don't want to fit in, its that fitting in means giving up so much of who they are.” this shows how immigrants feel bad for not adapting to american ways at the same time also feeling bad for loosing their connections to their culture.

In Out of Nowhere, Maria Padian tells the story of Tom Bouchard, a high school senior living in a small town in Maine. Tom’s life is relatively quiet and revolves around playing soccer for his school team. However, this changes with the arrival of several Somali refugees, particularly one named Saeed. Tom becomes curious about him, and he admires his soccer skills. Although Saeed doesn't speak much English, Tom, as captain of the team, offers to help him. Over time, they become close friends. However, things take a turn when Tom and his friend Donnie are caught sneaking into another high school to paint over their rival's rock. Tom is sentenced to 100 hours of community service and must repaint the rock. Meanwhile, as more immigrant groups arrive at school, communication becomes difficult due to language barriers. This leads to segregation based on culture, religion, and language. However, Tom is a very social person and is always trying to talk with immigrants and understand their situation. Another place he does this besides school is the volunteering place for his community hours, where he helps a little Somali kid to get his school work done. There he also meets Myla, a girl in College who loves volunteering and helping immigrants. Tom starts having feelings for her, and takes her out for dinner a couple of times, even though he already has a girlfriend, Cherisse. Tom is learning a lot about Somali people and their tradition. There’s one in particular that he is a little concerned about: Ramadan. This is because he made a bet with the Maquoit school for their next soccer game. Back then, Tom didn’t know it was scheduled during Ramadan, which means their best players won’t be at their maximum condition.

Some American standards are very hard to live up to, but over time, immigrants might be able to achieve them. An example of this could be the language. Saeed's sisters speak much better English than he does: "'English is hard for him,' she said. 'But not for you,' I pointed out. 'I am good at school,' she said." (Padian 174). On the other hand, some standards are completely impossible to live up to, perhaps because they go against one's religion, or maybe it's just something you're born with.

In my book, Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian one major expectation that some immigrants can not live up to is the cultural expectation some put on them. ¨Their late, stupid, because they can't afford their own stuff, so they share with others.¨ (Padian 83)

In my book Girl In Translation by Jean Kwok there is a lot of standards that Kim can not live up to one of them is the academic standards in america, " I had to study harder than anyone else in class to keep up with the other students. I studied so hard I could hardly breathe" ( Kwok 68) this qoutes reflects the pressure Kim feels to preform well dispite not knowing English very well and have very little time to do school work. 

In "The Only Road,"  a young boy named Jamie in Guatemala, sees his cousin Miguel murdered by a violent gang called the Alphas, who want him and his cousin Ángela to join them. They realize that their village isn't safe anymore. they decide to flee to the U.S. to find safety with Jaime's older brother, trying to escape the Alphas.

"A man in a truck stopped and offered us a ride. He didn’t ask any questions, just gave us a ride." 

Chapter 12

On their journey through Mexico, Jamie and Ángela receive help from friendly strangers who offer food, shelter, or advice, giving them hope as they head to the U.S. When they arrive, Jamie's brother provides them with a safe place to live and offering a chance at a better life.