Field Trip Reflection

From Haven to Home: The purpose of this exhibit was to show other what life was like for a Jewish person who came to live in America. From this museum I learn many things, such as many important people in America that were Jewish. People such as Hank Greenberg, Albert Einstein, and Ruth Handle, all these people helped contribute to America's Society. We also learned about Jewish people's rights in American from 1790-1823. We learned that each state was free to discriminate Jewish people as they wished and that back then Massachusetts was the state that most discriminated Jewish people. In Maryland and Massachusetts, the government made everyone who was elected into office take an oath on a Christian Bible, and this made the Jewish people not want to be in office, which was what Maryland and Massachusetts wanted. This was the same until 1825 where Maryland passed what was known as "The Jew Bill" which allowed Jews not have to take an oath on the Christian Bible. I also learned that how the Jewish people affected the Civil War and that about 9,000 American Jews fought in the Civil War for the Union, while about 3,000 fought for the Confederacy. I also learned that Judah Benjamin became the first Secretary of State for the Confederacy, but soon fled to England to escape false accusation that he plotted President Lincoln's assassination.

Between Cultures: I chose a picture of a mother and a daughter that were from Thailand and came to America in 1998. This photo was taken at the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. In this picture the little girl is laying in her mother lap. I liked this picture because I think that it shows what most immigrants feel when they first come to America, fear and happiness. In this picture the mother shows the happiness because she is smiling down at her daughter. The daughter, shows the fear because she looks scared because she in a new place which she is not familiar. So I think that most immigrants feel happiness because they are in a new, better place. I also think that they feel fear because they are in a place which has a different culture then their own. I chose the quote "America has everything we need: technology, goods. At least one person from every nation lives here. People immigrate to America because they know it's a land of freedom and a better life. I see America as the land of opportunities" from Tamara Frank from Poland. I really liked this quote because I think that this is what our founding father intended for this country. They intended this country to be the land of the free and the land of opportunities. So I think that this person really understands that America is really a great place to live. I chose the personal essay called The Untold Story of a Chinese-American. In this essay the person tells the life of his father who immigrated to America from Vietnam. In this essay it tells the story of how he got to America and the many hardships he had to go through in order to get to America. I liked this essay because i think that it shows that being an immigrate was very hard, but in the end it is great to be in America.

LC Meeting #1

Quote: "The words that both my father and I wanted to exchange we never did. These letters were not approved, in his case by him, in my case by my uncle. No matter what the reason, we have always been equally paralyzed by the fear of breaking each other's heart. This is why I could never ask the question Bob did. I also could never tell my father that I'd learned from the doctor that he was dying. Even when they mattered less, there were things he and I were too afraid to say." Page 24, Edwidge Danticat said this quote.

Significance: I have learned a lot more about both Edwidge and her father from this quote. I have learned that they are both too afraid to say what must be said, because they both don't want to make the anyone sad. I also think that because Edwidge and her father were separated for a part of Edwidge's childhood, they don't want to say anything to each other that could make them angry, mad or sad because they want to enjoy the time they have together.

Character Judgment: I think that Edwidge Danticat should tell her father what the doctor told her, which was that her father was dying. I understand that she didn't want to add to her father's pain, but I think that her father has a right to know what the doctor says.

Question: Do you think that it was wrong for Edwidge Danticat not to tell her father, mother or other siblings about her father dying?

Quote 2: "For the family readings, I recited my father's letter in a monotone, honoring what I interpreted as a secret between us, that the impersonal style of his letters was due as much to his lack of faith in words and their ability to accurately reproduce his emotion as to his caution with Bob's and my feelings, avoiding too-happy news that might add to the anguish of separation, too-sad news that might worry us, and any hint of judgment or disapproval for my aunt and uncle which they could have interpreted as suggestion that they were mistreating us. The dispassionate letter were his way of avoiding a minefield, one he could have set off from a distance without being able to comfort the victims." Page 23, Edwidge Danticat said this quote.

Significance: I think that was one of the hardships that Edwidge's father and mother had to face when he left his family back in Haiti, while they left to America. I think that it must have been very hard to write to your family that you left in another country and having to tell them what was going on, while knowing that if you say something too happy or sad, it might hurt your families feelings.

Character Judgment: I feel bad for Edwidge's father and mother because they probably miss their children so badly and they want to tell them how they really feel, but they just can't find the words to tell them. I also think that they shouldn't have left their children behind, and that they should have waited until they had enough money to take everyone to America.

Question 2: Do you think Edwidge's father and mother did the right thing by leaving their children in Haiti while they went to America?

Immigration

Rachel Chatfield

The definition of an immigrant is someone who moved to another country to live in. Such as if someone from France moved here to America to live, they would be an immigrant. From my mothers side of my family, my great-grandparents immigrated from Russia and Sweden. While from my fathers side of the family my great-great grandparents immigrated from Germany and my great-great-great grandparents immigrated from England and Austria. Like myself, most people I know are not immigrants, but have parents or grandparents or great grandparents who have immigrated from other countries.

I believe that so many immigrants come to the United States because they could want to make a better life for themselves in the land of the free, where each man is created equal. Where people are not judged by their race or religion. Some people come to America to get a better education, for themselves or their children, while some people come to American to get away from wars that are going on in their home country. Some people immigrate to America to get away from their countries racial or religious discrimination so that they can live their lives the way that they want to. I also think that people come to America in order to get more jobs so that they can help their families live better lives.

I think that because many immigrants have come to America we have learned a lot more about their cultures and their stories. We have learned more about their countries and why they have chosen to immigrate to America. Plus without different immigrates coming to America, a lot of our population would be gone, because most of us are grandchildren or great-grandchildren to an immigrate.