"We deshis, we gotta help each other. One hand helps the other." (71)
This sentence made me smile, because that is true. The way Uncle and Auntie take in Nadira and Aisha, without grumble; and the way Mr. Rashid tries to help Abba and Amma, even though Aisha doesn't seem to think so; even the way Tareq offers to help them with getting Abba out of prison. None of them needed to do that and they did. That really means something, although I don't know what. It seems to me that Aisha doesn't realize this system. All these people are family, or like family. They help one another, but don't ask for something in return. Even though you can't really tell from Nadira's narration, there are a lot of people who help in small ways. I flipped through what we've already read and you can see the small details. The officer at the border who talks to them and gives them advice. Ali-Uncle, who gives free cokes to Nadira. Mr. Friedlander, who helps Aisha get interviews to different colleges and universities. That's pretty awesome.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
DiaBlog #5
"Her eyes are glassy, far-off. I crouch down next to her. 'Aisha, what's wrong?' 'I'm scared,' she whispers. 'I'm scared for Abba.' " (66)
This part didn't really surprise me, but I was really glad that she finally broke down and told Nadira the truth. I thought that Nadira was kind of mean when she shouted at Aisha. This may seem kind of mean, but I'm glad Nadira feels guilty. Aisha was already scared enough and bullying Nadira was kind of an anchor to her old self. Now that that's gone, Aisha is breaking down. At leas, the way I see it. I think that the visit to Mr. Rashid really dampened her spirits. I felt really sorry for her.
In chapter 7, the first part, about generations, that really stuck with me. Nadira talks a lot about her ancestors and her homeland. I like the way that she puts little chapters in between the whole story, about Bangladesh and her family. That's kind of a little break from the things that are happening to their family now. She remembers all these stories about her ancestry; it helps me understand their predicament, why they left and why they are living in America. Those little chapters are very refreshing.
This part didn't really surprise me, but I was really glad that she finally broke down and told Nadira the truth. I thought that Nadira was kind of mean when she shouted at Aisha. This may seem kind of mean, but I'm glad Nadira feels guilty. Aisha was already scared enough and bullying Nadira was kind of an anchor to her old self. Now that that's gone, Aisha is breaking down. At leas, the way I see it. I think that the visit to Mr. Rashid really dampened her spirits. I felt really sorry for her.
In chapter 7, the first part, about generations, that really stuck with me. Nadira talks a lot about her ancestors and her homeland. I like the way that she puts little chapters in between the whole story, about Bangladesh and her family. That's kind of a little break from the things that are happening to their family now. She remembers all these stories about her ancestry; it helps me understand their predicament, why they left and why they are living in America. Those little chapters are very refreshing.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
DiaBlog #4
" 'There are two types of people in the world, Nadira,'Auntie tells me. 'Those that hear bad news and want to run away and those that dig their feet in and want to fight.' She laughs. 'Taslima, she was put on this earth to be a thorn in her father's side. Because she will always fight. Fight, fight, fight, even when it's time to run.' " (45-46)
I was very impressed by Auntie's wisdom and her quote belongs in a poem. It also made me respect Taslima, even though she is kind of a pain. Taslima is a stubborn girl and that's a good thing, especially with her parents and her background. I wasn't surprised that Auntie thought of Taslima liek that, because even though she gets worried and fights with Taslima a lot, Taslima is her daughter and she knows her better than anyone besides Taslima herself. I think that Auntie's logic is good, because that's what it always comes down to. Are you brave enough to fight against everyone, or are you not so brave and want to huddle in a corner and become invisible? I mean it's not like you can really stay in the middle; Staying there, but not saying anything. But I think that Auntie had a hidden meaning in it for Nadira. I think that she was trying to tell Nadira to not run away from the bad news taht she knows is there every day; and Nadira stands up to Aisha. I think that Auntie knew what was happening between Nadira and Aisha and was trying to help Nadira to make a decision.
I was very impressed by Auntie's wisdom and her quote belongs in a poem. It also made me respect Taslima, even though she is kind of a pain. Taslima is a stubborn girl and that's a good thing, especially with her parents and her background. I wasn't surprised that Auntie thought of Taslima liek that, because even though she gets worried and fights with Taslima a lot, Taslima is her daughter and she knows her better than anyone besides Taslima herself. I think that Auntie's logic is good, because that's what it always comes down to. Are you brave enough to fight against everyone, or are you not so brave and want to huddle in a corner and become invisible? I mean it's not like you can really stay in the middle; Staying there, but not saying anything. But I think that Auntie had a hidden meaning in it for Nadira. I think that she was trying to tell Nadira to not run away from the bad news taht she knows is there every day; and Nadira stands up to Aisha. I think that Auntie knew what was happening between Nadira and Aisha and was trying to help Nadira to make a decision.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
DiaBlog of Stuff
When I was reading the fifth chapter, I realized that Nadira uses tons of descriptions in her writing (or is it her thoughts? Hmm) and I found that very cool. The way she describes everything, but in a way that she doesn't make me annoyed with the continuing huge paragraphs about people. Nadira really has a gift of noticing things that people would never think of. I think that she's much more competent than Aisha, who I must say is a spoiled brat. I hope that Nadira will open her shell and prove that she's worth more than everybody thinks. Also I think that Taslima is a pretty bad influence on Aisha, because Aisha really makes it look like she has a multiple-personality disorder. Whenever she's near the adults, she acts like a perfect child and does all her homework. But when she is with Taslima, she acts as if Nadira is either a baby, or a child who needs a diet. Taslima is in college, but she isn't as smart as Nadira and she's a rebel, which I don't think her parents like. And the fact that she has a shada-chele, white guy, probably pushes them over the edge. I bet she runs away or does something that makes her parents throw her out. that would be interesting. Hehehe...
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
DiaBlog #3
I'm so, so, so sorry that this is late! :(
"I remember when I was little, crouching in a corner of the playground and hearing a group of girls chant: Ask me no questions. Tell me no lies." (29)
This one sentence really popped out at me because it reminded me of when I was little and we had rhymes that we sung. I never thought about what they actually meant, like:
Ring around the roses,
Pocket full of posies.
Ashes, ashes,
We all fall down.
This was one of the rhymes that my friends loved to sing, but I looked it up online after reading that sentence. Apparently it was talking about the Black Plague. I wonder if all those little rhymes you hear kids singing have hidden meanings. Nadira seems to be a very deep person, as she thinks about things that I don't think even adults think about sometimes. Her descriptions in this chapter were very long and I wonder if she captures this all and stores it in her memory. And she seems to trust her teachers a little, even though she's afraid that they'll find out that she's illegal. There was one part I found confusing. Aisha gets an interview with Barnard and even asks her about financial aid. Why did Aisha lie? I know that they did not have that much money, it says so in the chapter, so wouldn't it be better to ask for financial aid. She's certainly smart enough for a scholarship. Aisha's too mysterious for me.
"I remember when I was little, crouching in a corner of the playground and hearing a group of girls chant: Ask me no questions. Tell me no lies." (29)
This one sentence really popped out at me because it reminded me of when I was little and we had rhymes that we sung. I never thought about what they actually meant, like:
Ring around the roses,
Pocket full of posies.
Ashes, ashes,
We all fall down.
This was one of the rhymes that my friends loved to sing, but I looked it up online after reading that sentence. Apparently it was talking about the Black Plague. I wonder if all those little rhymes you hear kids singing have hidden meanings. Nadira seems to be a very deep person, as she thinks about things that I don't think even adults think about sometimes. Her descriptions in this chapter were very long and I wonder if she captures this all and stores it in her memory. And she seems to trust her teachers a little, even though she's afraid that they'll find out that she's illegal. There was one part I found confusing. Aisha gets an interview with Barnard and even asks her about financial aid. Why did Aisha lie? I know that they did not have that much money, it says so in the chapter, so wouldn't it be better to ask for financial aid. She's certainly smart enough for a scholarship. Aisha's too mysterious for me.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Falcon's awesome blog
I really liked Falcon's blog because what she said was true. I liked how she voiced her opinions on the British dividing a country that doesn't need dividing. Her opinions were everywhere and they included facts, which was really good. Nice job, Sophia!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
DiaBlog #2: Chapters 3 & 4
"...this is a land where the earth melts into the sea and back again; where poeple sing the same songs and eat the same white fleshed hilsa fish, wherever they live." (19)
This sentence really told me a lot about Nadira. Even though she doesn't remember Bangladesh as much as her parents, she is so proud to be from there. The sentence was clear and graphic; I saw Bangladesh from her descriptions. Nadira is a descriptive person. In the two chapters we read, there were tons of tiny descriptions that showed the environment that she was in. Little details about the countryside and about her family. I could visualize the situations that she was in, like the greasy Providence mall, or the story about the drought in Bangladesh.
In the fourth chapter, Nadira talks about how Aisha does much to fit in and I thought that that was pretty interesting. Aisha, it seems, always tries to fit in. In the first two chapters, Nadira makes it sound like Aisha always is perfect, says the perfect things, and gets perfect grades. But I actually like the sound of the Aisha in this chapter because it makes her more like a human being, than a robot or a 'perfect' Barbie doll. Aisha tries so hard to become exactly like the American kids though, that it makes me wonder whether she's doing it to fit in, or to not seems like she's from another place. She does act like a mean older sister, which is normal. Nadira says in chapter 4, that Aisha is embarrassed by Nadira because she is fat and she's not perfect like Aisha. I think that Aisha likes to be in charge and have everything in her life be perfect, which means that she excludes Nadira. These two chapters showed me two things; that Nadira is very observant and probably sharper than her sister and that Aisha isn't the perfect daughter the first chapters claim her to be.
This sentence really told me a lot about Nadira. Even though she doesn't remember Bangladesh as much as her parents, she is so proud to be from there. The sentence was clear and graphic; I saw Bangladesh from her descriptions. Nadira is a descriptive person. In the two chapters we read, there were tons of tiny descriptions that showed the environment that she was in. Little details about the countryside and about her family. I could visualize the situations that she was in, like the greasy Providence mall, or the story about the drought in Bangladesh.
In the fourth chapter, Nadira talks about how Aisha does much to fit in and I thought that that was pretty interesting. Aisha, it seems, always tries to fit in. In the first two chapters, Nadira makes it sound like Aisha always is perfect, says the perfect things, and gets perfect grades. But I actually like the sound of the Aisha in this chapter because it makes her more like a human being, than a robot or a 'perfect' Barbie doll. Aisha tries so hard to become exactly like the American kids though, that it makes me wonder whether she's doing it to fit in, or to not seems like she's from another place. She does act like a mean older sister, which is normal. Nadira says in chapter 4, that Aisha is embarrassed by Nadira because she is fat and she's not perfect like Aisha. I think that Aisha likes to be in charge and have everything in her life be perfect, which means that she excludes Nadira. These two chapters showed me two things; that Nadira is very observant and probably sharper than her sister and that Aisha isn't the perfect daughter the first chapters claim her to be.
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