Blog #6- Character Sketch

Character: Lily

Perspective: 3^rd person

She is a strong and brave girl. She is not afraid of taking risks because she had saved Rosaleen from being killed by those white men. She had also escaped from the mistreatment of her own father, T. Ray by running away from her house. She is a type of person who will do anything to save her loved ones, such as Rosaleen and her mom. She is headed to Tiburon with Rosaleen in search of anything that is left of her mom’s trace, so that she could find out what kind of person she really was despite of what T. Ray said about her.

Perspective: 1^st person

I am a strong and brave girl. I am not afraid of taking risks because I had saved Rosaleen from being killed by those white men. I had also escaped from the mistreatment of my own father, T. Ray, by running away from my house. I am a type of person who will do anything to save my loved ones, such as Rosaleen and my mom. I am headed to Tiburon with Rosaleen in search of anything that is left of my mom’s trace, so that I could find out what kind of person she really was, despite of what T. Ray said about her.

Blog #5- Billy the Kid

Michael Ondaatje's multi-genre book, The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, was very confusing at first. I did not understand what was going on, nor did I understand who was speaking each page to page. Instead of getting into the book, I was actually starting to get a little frustrated because of the way the book was written. I have never read a multi-genre book before, so it seemed harder than it was. However, as I read further into the book, I understood how the “system” worked.

There are many qualities that I really liked from the book, regardless of the confusion that I had in the beginning. What made a huge impression on me was the images of Billy that were included in the first and last pages of the book, which I thought was out of the ordinary. The first picture was blank, which made the readers wonder how he looked like. It was like solving a mystery and I, as a reader, did not know who the culprit was. After finishing the book, there was a picture of Billy in the last page and he was wearing a cowboy outfit, just like any other typical kid. Who ever thought that a boy that looks innocent would be known as a murderer?

Blog #4- Alexandria House (Visit #2)

The second time I went to the Alxandria House was yesterday. I found the house very easily because the place looks familiar to me now. I was paired up with a different group this time. My students were these two ladies. I started the conversation by asking, "How was your day?" Then they asked me to repeat it for them and also to write it down on their notebook. Then they wrote it in Spanish on the bottom. I asked how old are they and they asked me back. They did not understand me some times when I asked them a question, so to the best of my ability, I translated in Spanish. My Spanish is not great, but it is somewhat getting there. I took Spanish for three years in high school, so I have some knowledge left in my memory :) They were teaching me Spanish on words I did not know and I was teaching them English. They were very kind and they were treating me with respect, which I appreciated very much. After the lesson was over, they thanked me so many times that I thanked them for giving thanks to me. They told Gretchen that I am a good teacher and they were complimenting me. Those words had made my day! I can't wait until next Tuesday!

Blog #3- Alexandria House (Visit #1)

I went to the Alexandria House for the first time, on last Tuesday. I got lost on my way because I have never been in that neighborhood before and the worst part was that I could not see anything because it was dark. I was getting scared and because of my fear, I could not concentrate on where I was going to. I had to take the bus over there, and I could not see the signs on the street well, so I missed my stop and had to walk all the way back. From there, I did not know where to go. However, thanks to Ms. Sturgeon and people at the House, they helped me get there safe and sound. That was quite an experience :)

So, when I entered I felt warmth in the house, as if the atmosphere was welcoming me. I was happy to be there and I felt like I had found a treasure, I was that much happy. The first thing I saw was the people and some of my classmates. After that, we were separated into groups, or individuals. I started teaching my student the basics. Like, "Hi, how are you" so on and so forth. I felt very motivated when I saw them willing to learn English regardless of their age and situation that they were in. They taught me an important lesson--- there is no such thing as too late, as long as I put my mind to it, it is possible. I am looking forward to next Tuesday and meet them again :D