Friday, October 10, 2014
Blog #6
“Visits home became suffused with silent embarrassment: there seemed to be nothing to share”. When I read this sentence I immediately knew this would be the one to elaborate upon. When I was a kid every summer my family and I would go to visit my Boston relatives. I always felt very out of place whenever small talk and conversations would happen. It was probably because all my cousins were much older than me and I was the little kid of the group. I never was really never into sports heavily back then and usually that was talked about that most of all. When it came to conversations with the adults there was not usually much they could ask me about seeing as how the life of a sixth or seventh grader is not too complex or interesting. During this time in my life though, I began to realize the truth behind the fact that through being outgoing a person can make oneself more approachable and easy to talk to. A think a possible solution to the authors problem would have been to just keep trying to expanding his spanish at the same time as his english. Obviously it would not have been an easy task but it is certainly possible. If he did this his childhood would have been very different probably; for the better even I would choose to assume. I wonder if he regrets not continuing to study spanish because I know I would certainly regret never becoming outgoing around my relatives.
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We chose to write about different sentences, yet still had the same idea. I also said that it would be a good idea for him to continue his involvement with spanish culture as well as expanding his involvement in the english culture. He should not have removed himself from the spanish culture. Learning a new language doesn't mean you have to separate yourself from another. I mean unless your dealing with Israeli culture and palestinian culture. I agree that his childhood would have been different and maybe he would have enjoyed it more. I could never imagine learning how to write and ead in a different language. It is hard enough to do really well in my own first language. I do not think it is hard to do anything in my own language, I just think that it can be hard to write properly and well in english. I remember that when I was taking spanish and learning how to write and read in spanish it was not easy. To me it seemed like it made sense, but then when the teacher would read my writing back to me it rarely ever made sense. I feel the author Rodriguez's pain. I give him a lot of credit for doing it. I think any student who moves to a different country and has to learn another language is very respectable. I don't think I would be able to move to a different country and learn everything over again.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting to see the perspective of the youngest child when visiting family. Being the oldest, I too have found it difficult to connect with family who is younger and has very different interests from those of my own. During family reunions, I used to keep to myself most of the time because it was difficult to find common ground with the younger kids and sometimes more difficult to fit in with the adults. Circumstances have changed since then, as the younger kids in my family have definitely matured over the years and I can now speak with the parents in my family about current events and other topics. Being an outsider in a group can definitely be a struggle at times, but there can always be a solution when approached with the right attitude.
ReplyDeleteThis was very insightful. I think it is actually great that you could relate to the author in this way. You pointing this line out made me realize how true it is that speaking to even my own family has always been kind of a struggle. There is no language barrier but my normal life and the life i live with them are very different. I often find myself in an awkward silence, either after they a cliche question like I am or how school is. I think since you have your own perspective and can relate to what the author went through, your advice is pretty sufficient. I think any situation has a solution and as we grow, we realize what that barrier is. In this context, I found it interesting that you made connection between yourself being young and a bit naive but as you matured you realized how you needed to differentiate yourself from your communication skills then versus now.
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