Leslie Rodriguez
Summer Assignment
Firoozeh doesn’t make a greater effort to try to get her parents to learn English because she eventually becomes their translator. Both of her parents rely on her in order to communicate with Americans out in public. Firoozeh shows that she takes a form of pride in that when she starts to receive compliments on her ability to speak two languages at such a young age. In the end Firoozeh didn't have to try to teach her parents the English language because many more Iranians came to America. This meant that her parents didn't struggle anymore now that they had people from their own culture and community in America. I can relate to Firoozeh's struggle of having to go out in public with parents that are not English speakers. For instance, whenever my mother, who moved to the US from El Salvador 24 years ago, and I are out shopping and a clerk approaches us, her automatic reaction is screaming out “No thank you!” I remember walking out of the Disney Store with my mother last week with a birthday present for my two year old cousin. A young clerk was standing at the exit with a big smile. As we walked passed him he said, “Have a nice day.” My mother’s direct response was a big, fat “No!” I looked at him with embarrassment especially after he asked me what her problem was without knowing that she was my mom. Despite the embarrassment I go through whenever we take a trip to the mall, I still enjoy going out with my mom. Both Firoozeh and I had to deal with the discomfort that came with the lack of English knowledge that our parents had. Even so, we both are grateful for everything our parents have done for us.
Firoozeh’s interaction with her relatives does not compare to my involvement with my extended family. While Firoozeh’s relatives ,such as her uncle stay over at her house for months, I only see my uncle up to three times a year at most. Similarly, I usually only see my extended family on special occasions such as the holidays. In Firoozeh’s culture being close to your relatives is one of the most crucial things there is. In American society some families are so occupied with work and school that they are not close to one another. Their own personal lives take up all of their time which ends up putting family at the bottom of their schedule.
Firoozeh’s engagement with François affected her relationship with her parents in a positive rather than negative way. Despite the fact that her parents and older family members had arranged marriages, her family accepted the fact that she was marrying François by choice. Her mother had always hoped that Firoozeh would let her parents pick an Iranian husband for her. Her mother wanted her to marry the “perfect” Iranian man. Even so, she was still happy that her daughter had found a husband. She was not familiar with dating and how marriages worked in America. Even though both of her parents were looking forward to an arranged marriage, they were pleased with François as long as he made Firoozeh happy. Over time, mixed marriages have become more accepted in my community. A lot of people disagree about the fact that different genders, religions, and races are allowed to get married. Even so, people are free to marry whoever they feel attracted to.
Being able to vote may make someone feel connected to their community or country because by voting, people get the notion that their voice matters. I remember the first time my grandfather got to vote as a naturalized citizen, he came home with the proudest smile across his face. He told me that he finally felt like he was part of this country. One simple vote can make a huge difference for everyone. By voting a person is showing what they think is the best choice for their community. Furthermore, the political rights of an Iranian citizen compares to the political rights of an American citizen when it comes to education, especially for males. For instance, Iranian men get a higher chance of having an education just like in America many men have better jobs than women. They become stay at home mothers or housewives while the men go out and work throughout the day. On the other hand, women in both Iran and America still have a chance of getting full educations.
The promise of education in America changed Kazem’s life forever because he and his family created a whole new life. Firoozeh learned and adapted a lot to the American culture. Kazem continued to work hard as an engineer as Firoozeh started school and ended up graduating. She grew up in the United States and even created a family of her own. Immigrants from different countries and American citizens seem to have the same educational opportunities. Even though immigrants have a more difficult time when they first start school, they still get the same privileges. Both citizens and immigrants get the chance to learn, grow, and graduate from the same schools.
Firoozeh’s experience of violence during the Shah’s visit with President Carter in 1977 affected her because she went to go experience a lively event and returned home traumatized. Firoozeh had even gathered up Iranian flags to share with her class that she ended up losing in the midst of the chaos. She had finally gotten a glimpse of racism and terrorism that many people have to go through in our country everyday. Firoozeh was left in shock because she saw a whole new version of the “kind people” in America. Even though she found out that not everyone in America is as nice as she believed, she was still able to go back home to the community that welcomed her and her family with open arms.
Firoozeh's use of humor to describe her experiences in America helps me understand the more confusing aspects of American culture because I get to see it from a different point of view. For instance, before Firoozeh started the second grade she had never experienced people looking at her as if she were something that nobody has seen before. She was able to explain the embarrassment she had to go through on her first day of school in a manner that made me feel what she was going through. Similarly, I found the fact that she described America as a place with “kind people” and “clean bathrooms” humorous because it was the opposite of how I would describe America if I had just moved here. My description would loud people and busy streets. The most memorable moment in Firoozeh’s humorous journey was when she went to summer camp. She didn't shower the whole week she was there because there was no door on the bathroom and she feared somebody might walk in on her. When she had to be a ghost in a play and was covered with powder, it stuck to her body and became clumpy because of the grease on her body that accumulated after not showering. I remembered this scene because as a result of her culture in which she couldn't risk exposing her body, she had to go through the embarrassment of becoming a clumpy ghost. If she told her story in a more serious point of view it would have been more harder for me to understand because it wouldn't have grabbed my attention and want me to keep on reading.
The television enlightened Firoozeh and her family about the American culture. It played a big role on her daily life. The television connected her and her family to American traditions because by watching television shows they learned some english words from game shows and how American relationships work. Kazem even made it on a television show where he played bowling to try to win money. Her family also spent Christmas watching holiday specials the whole time. They learned how different their culture was compared to American culture.
Americans are a violent group of people. There have been many political and racial disagreements thanks to the president, Donald Trump. Almost everyday the president of the U.S. is blamed or put to shame by American citizens. North Korea continuously attacks Trump and his country with insults and threats. This seems to send fear to citizens all over the country. Moreover, in the past five days I have heard the most impacting and shocking news yet. Two people died in a helicopter crash, one man arrested in a shooting, and over a dozen injured in a protest. Many people come to this country for freedom but from what I have realized from watching the news, this is no place for peace.