Daniel Lofy Immigrant Project Reflection

Literature Circle Books/Blogs

My experience with Hello America was an interesting choice of books to read because it showed what an immigrant had to go through coming to a new country and their experiences both positive and negative. Hello America was based upon the ideals of immigrants and how they handled their journey and their new life in a different country. I thought I choose a good book because it fit the topic and theme of immigration. This is what we were studying in class over the past several months. My choice was excellent! I learned how hard it is for immigrants to come to a new country with nothing except their families, sometimes they even came alone. Elli came with her mom and they had to adjust to their new home, culture, and way of life. It was not easy for her and her mom to adjust to a new country and new traditions.

Besides answering questions, writing blogs and making your own questions, I think it would be helpful if the group met to discuss each chapter. It would be easier if we met right after reading the chapter to discuss the theme, plot, setting and character issues. Another way to improve the process would be to discuss the questions as a group and also talk about each chapter efficiently. I like the fact that we each wrote about the chapter blog and got to see how the entire group was thinking, by the questions they asked. Sometimes I thought I didn’t have to write so much because each chapter shouldn’t be presented exactly the same way. You had to do the same thing over and over again. It would be more creative to do different assignments for each blog. Overall I did not have any problems writing my blog, except one time when my internet had a failure. I thought it was good that my group gave a variety of questions. It made me look at the book in a different view. It opened my eyes to the way others viewed the book by the questions they asked. It made me think more about the book and what Elli was feeling.

Art and Literature

I want to do the painting about the book cover, but I had to do the theme of the book because too many people in my group picked it. I could not choose the one I wanted so I did not like the outcome of my painting. My painting was on the theme of the book. My theme was about a new life, but my painting did not reflect that theme. I do not feel there was a connection between my art piece and Hello America because I just don’t think my painting turned out great. I have a hard time with art, because I am not that creative. I don’t feel it turned out as well as I would have liked it because I wish I would have put more detail into the art piece. It should of popped out more and be more vivid with color and outlined. I did not like to connect my experience with the book to the piece of art. I had a difficult time drawing my theme to the book. My theme was too hard for me to do a good job at. Next time I would prefer not to do this assignment, but if I had to, then I would try harder to put more time and effort into my work.

Interview Process with Participant and Gift

I thought the interview process went well because I knew the person. I knew her because she is one of my friend’s grandmothers. She came from the east part of Malaysia. The interview went smoothly because she wanted to be interviewed and was happy to tell her story to me. She spoke English at the age of thirteen and was clear to understand. I met with her three times, each time asking her questions about her life and experiences. I also emailed her and spoke with her on the phone. I feel that when you are learning about someone’s life it is important to meet with them face to face. You had to develop trust and mutual respect. I met her in the second grade when I was at my friend’s house. At that time I called her Popo, so did all of her grandson’s friends. Her really name is Tsai Ying Ying, but now most everyone calls her by her baptism name Helen. The face to face interview was the best way to get to know an immigrant and hear her story. The first interview was face to face and I learned her real name and it meant a singing bird. The second interview was the email and I just asked her more questions. I had email her daughter because Helen doesn’t know how to use a computer or have any technology skills. The daughter responded with answering all the questions and sent us many pictures of her mother and her in Malaysia. The third interview I found out that she loves The Walton Series based in the southern part of the US. I learned that she has always lived along the coast in Malaysia and now near the coast of the Pacific Ocean. At the fourth interview, she realized what I was putting together and she gave me more pictures about her past life including her wedding picture, pictures of her daughters when they were really young. I felt she was trusting me with her valuable possessions and had hope that I would complete an album for her. I learned from a now time, by interviewing an immigrant who gave to this country how difficult and different it is to be an immigrant. It made it easier for me to understand how Elli felt coming to America. An immigrant has to learn a new way of life, culture, language and society. When I showed her part of the album she was fearful that other students in my class might destroy it or damage her pictures. In my last interview I showed her the actual scrapbook and she was amazed and full of joy. The scrapbook is has 18 pages of her life starting with her life as a young women, her family life in Malaysia, her life now in San Diego California to her being coming a citizen of United States.

Overall Reflection

These three projects reflected what immigration is all about in detail. I learned a great deal about immigration through each project. Each project had a different way of presenting material with the common theme of immigration.