The story begins with the narrator deciding to pursue her journey to the United States, despite an overwhelming wave of sadness. A woman takes care of the narrator along the journey and she meets two other girls to travel with, although one is unable to cross the river for lack of payment. She is then transported to the coolers, of which she speaks of the horrific conditions. She is then moved to the dog house, and later to a home where she waits for 17 days before finally arriving in New York. She said New York feels like a vacation until she realizes how hard it is to navigate without speaking English.
Pre-reading:
- Sometimes we must leave a place and we don’t have time to say goodbye to people we love. Where are you right now? Look around the room. Imagine that this would be your last time in this place. What would you say to the place and the people?
- Sometimes we are very upset and want to cry, but we cannot because of where we are. Have you ever had to hold back tears? Some people bite their lips. What did you do to stop yourself from crying? Share with a classmate.
Post-reading:
- There are good people in the world. We cannot always know in advance when we will meet a good person. Along the way in this story, a good person took care of the writer. If you were the writer, what would you say to this good woman?
- Have you had a positive experience with a good person who helped you just because they were good? Where were you? Who was this person, how did you meet him or her? How did this person help you? What would you say to this person today?
- Write a letter to someone who helped you. If you don’t know their name, you can begin with “Dear Friend”……
- Have you ever helped someone you did not know? Where did you meet this stranger? What did you do to help him or her? Why did you help this person? Share this experience with a friend.