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In Phuc Tran’s book, Sigh, Gone, he discusses the difficulty of figuring out his identity as an immigrant in a mostly American neighborhood. From questioning his name to determining where he fits in the social structure of his high school, Tran has to navigate learning who he is with an additional barrier to the average teenager, having a whole other culture as a large part of his life. One way that Tran finds ways to carve out his place is to read, not just to improve his vocabulary, but so he can have the same cultural references as the typical white guy, using Clifton Fadiman’s The Lifetime Reading Plan as a guide. 

At one point in the story Phuc’s father beats him so badly on his butt and the back of his legs with a metal rod, that he can’t sit down in school the next day. His second grade teacher, after several prompts to sit, calls him to her desk and he breaks down to explain why he can’t sit. She decides to call his parents and asks to visit. During her visit, Phuc is forced to wait in his bedroom, terrified this interaction will cause him to be beaten again. When she leaves, his father explains that she told them about the incident and how parents in America can’t hit their children as much as parents in Vietnam, and to Phuc’s surprise, his father heeds her words. He reflects, “My father didn’t beat me that week. Nor the next week. And he didn’t beat me for the rest of that school year. It was a long reprieve for me, and I was thankful for it.” (Tran 67)

Based on this idea and the ideas from your book, what are examples you’re seeing of where Americans aren’t explaining things clearly to immigrants and it’s causing problems? Or where, after a brief explanation, simple things are resolved?

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Protobeing
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My two characters are now on the run because they got into some trouble back in their home country El Salvador. A gang MS-13, one of the most powerful gangs was searching for them because one of my characters Ernesto was accused of cutting down his uncle's tree and his uncle happens to be a huge part of the gang. His uncle being very furious sent the gang after him. As a result that the father of Ernesto and Raul sent them away. Ernesto was first but then Raul because they are identical twins and didn't want to get mistaken for each other. Now, fast forward to the present time the two brothers are trying to stay in the U.S. and they need the help of a lady Amy. They need her help because for a judge to allow them to stay in the States they must have a legal guardian present. They would also have to have their parents in El Salvador sign the paper and send it back to Oakland. " They'd also have to get paperwork, signed by their parents in El Salvador and sent back to Oakland, in which they agreed to relinquish their guardianship" (Markham 117). The discrepancy they are facing is getting their parents to sign the paper to allow them to stay in the U.S. This is a good example of how difficult it is to be an immigrant coming into the U.S. People all over the world face these issues every day. 

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Hi avoy24,

I think this is a great point! It sounds like you two characters are definitely facing an issue where they are stuck with a misunderstanding between what happened to them earlier and how they now want to stay in the U.S. Do these two characters have contact with their parents regularly or are they solely on their own to try and get legal citizenship in the U.S.?

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Protobeing
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They do have a way to contact the parents. They gave them a "burner" phone before they left and have been in contact with them regularly. 

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Protobeing
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Saeed had to run in from his home because of the war going on at home and his family got to leave sooner because they were not with his uncle so they when to Atlanta first then they moved up to Maine Saeed's sister had a better understanding of English because of Atlantas ability to have the necessary help that is needed. then Saeed got to leave his uncles after a year he went to Maine. So he did not get the opportunity  to have learned better English my book has a few similar issues.

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Protobeing
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My characters also had to flee their home but did not travel with their parents. But in my book, I have seen no clear language barriers. 

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Protobeing
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It seems your characters are facing some pretty clear issues with people not understanding their situation before fleeing their homes. I also see this in my book where he faces some discrimination when he and his family first move. 

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In the book Out of Nowhere Maria Padian talks about how all these kids are coming over from  Somalia and just getting thrown into the school system Tom is one of the smarter kids in his school but he has to help these kids from getting lost he met on a kid named Saeed who is very good with soccer.  One of his friends named mike had studied what they had to deal with during Ramadan without eating or drinking the daylight for a whole month.   They also had to deal with kids that could not understand English well. Where Abdi has to do homework for school and Tom(Cap) could not understand  Abdi with his different language So he ended up getting in trouble for doing it wrong.  "But are you supposed to come up with R-words in English or Somali? He shrugged. The assignment didn't make it clear (Padian 54). This is when Tom was helping out Abdi with his homework and they were not sure how to do it  with the different language. 

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Hi athibeault24,

I like how your response included multiple examples of misunderstanding between characters in your novel. I think it is interesting that homework was difficult between the two characters because of the language barrier. Were there other kids at the school who did not understand Ramadan or other traditions that immigrant students brought to the school? 

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Protobeing
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There were other kids who did not understand it at first but they got it after. And they also have brought the Traditions of wearing their Cultures closes and praying a lot in the hallways by facing Ramadan 

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From tdrouin24

Saeed is an immigrant from Somalia, and he came to America because his country was overrun by war. He meets Tom through soccer and eventually Donnie through Tom. Donnie gets Tom to do some things he really shouldn't be doing, so he ends up with a punishment of 100 hours of community service. Saeed stays away from these things. Tom meets a college girl at a class he is taking, and she helps him realize how to deal with the whole immigration situation. There is a time in the story when an American teacher makes a classroom rule that if any of the immigrant students "so much as say ‘Can I borrow your calculator?’ In their own language, they get detention.” (Padian 121) 

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Hi tdrouin24,

What is it that Donnie was doing? How did the rest of the class respond when the teacher said that to their immigrant students? I think your examples could be a bit more specific like your teacher example, but I did enjoy how you had multiple different scenarios from your novel about misunderstandings. 

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Protobeing
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Donnie and Tom got in trouble painting a rock in front of the school. The rest of the class was so surprised to the point where they barely talked in that classroom at all. 

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