“The Youngest Doll” By Rosario Ferre (Puerto Rico)

“The Youngest Doll” By Rosario Ferre (Puerto Rico)

I learned from the story that Puerto Rican people believe in ghosts and some creatures.  Puerto Rican people like to make dolls for their memories of their childhood and making dolls on their free time.  I learned from the story that the doctor just uses women for money and they treat women badly.  I think Puerto Rican people look at women with a low rank such as in the story, the doctor told his wife to go sit outside instead she sat with him in the house or stayed in the house.  Also, I learned from the book that if a person is with a doll all the time they might turn into a doll.

Once when I was still in Thailand and I was 10 years old, my grandma and I went to our farm and it was not so far away from our house.  When we got to the farm, my grandma forgot the lighter because we planned to go burn our farm so we can grow corn.  Then my grandma told me to come back home to get the lighter so we can burn the farm.  When I walked back home and there was a little river under the bridge.  I looked down to see if there were any fish and I saw a little girl sitting down under the bridge.  Her hair was very long and she was wearing some Hmong clothes.  I yelled and she didn’t look at me.  Then I started to feel a cold air blowing on me.  I started to run to the house and get the lighter.  I ran as fast as I could to go get the lighter and to go to the farm.  A few days later I became very sick.  My mom was scared and my grandma told a Hmong shaman to do some shaman stuff to me.  The shaman told me that I had seen a ghost and the ghost wanted to take me with her.  Then my mom decided to kill a pig for the ghost and told the shaman to tell the ghost to take the pig.  After a few days later, everything started to be normal again.  The scariest movie I saw was “The Unborn.”  I think it was scary because the baby that cannot be born and the ghost that has a broken leg and neck.

By: KENG T. YANG

“Border” by Thomas King (Canada)

"Border" By Thomas King (Canada)

After reading the story, I learned that before crossing a border from Canada or any other country a guard needs to verify what type of citizenship a person has before one is able to cross the border. Also, I learned that Native Americans like to be known as Native Americans, not just Americans. This is seen through the Native American family when they visited their daughter. The family started saying “Black Foot” referring “Native American”. In saying this, the family showed their citizenship to the guard.

I am apart of the Hmong, which is an Asian ethnic group from regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.  I am originally from Thailand. I came to the states five years ago, where I gained citizenship. Even though I moved to the United States and have grown accustomed to this culture, I still celebrate and am apart of the Hmong ethnic group.  All in all, I am proud to say that I am a Hmong American because I belong to both of these cultures, where I represent my past and present life.

By: KENG T. YANG

"No Dogs Bark" by Juan Rulfo (Mexico)

“No Dogs Bark” by Juan Rulfo

After finish reading the book “No Dogs Bark” I learned that the book is telling me that even though family is a hard thing and he/she had did something bad in their life, but you can’t leave them behind to die. You can teach them a lesson or a story about what they did to teach them to become a good person after everything he/she had done. I learn that hospitals in Mexico are not close because in the book it sounds like the father and the son traveling so far to go get medicine and help for the son.  So I think if people who do not live in downtown or in a big city, it will be a hard time for them to go get help and medicine if they don’t have any vehicle. Also, Mexico is a hot place and has a lot of mountains.

If I was a parent, I will take good care of my kids, teach them how to be good, teach them how to be respectful and make the right choice for their life.  I would help my kids as hard as I could to be a good father for them and support them.  If my children misbehave, I will teach them what they did wrong and what they did right so they could help themselves to make things right. I will not tell them what to do, but I will teach my children what to do and let them choose the right choice for their life. I think I will be similar to Igancio’s father because Igancio’s father didn’t leave his son Igancio behind in the woods alone and die there.

By: KENG T. YANG