chapters 7/8 3/10/09

"I inch a little closer to Aisha. None of this is ours anymore, we realize, and for the rest of the ride we say nothing."

I think that this quote represents good and bad things. It is good that Nadira now WANTS to move closer to Aisha. It seems like they are better now friends and they want to around each other more often. It is bad because from this quote it seems like Nadira wants to give up fighting. "None of this is ours anymore" I think means something like we don't belong here anymore. She should have more faith in herself. Just because the lawyer couldn't/didn't help them, doesn't mean that they should give up all together. 

chapter 9 3/9

"If you're going to fight an enemy, you have to understand their argument. You can't just demand. That's not how you're going to win... You have to make a good case"- page 76

i agree with this quote. in any situation when you are fighting, you should fallow what this quote is saying. when i read this quote, i thought about in my life when i will be in debates. this is good advice for me. 

i thought that this was great advice to give nadira and aisha too. they shouldn't just ask for help, they should argue. if they want to help their family, they should explain in their letter why the government's argument is weaker then theirs. they should use hard and strong language, not just "please help my family. it would be so nice if you could help :)". maybe more like "if you don't help my family i would be devastated forever. my heart for be broken for the rest of my life".

comparison of wetback and AMNQ

"Wetback" is a movie about two men crossing the border to go work in Canada to make money for their families. They crossed the border illegally. This movie is like AMNQ. In AMNQ the family is trying to go live in Canada to make a better life for themselves and to make more money.  The two main characters in the movie "Wetback" were named Nayo and Milton. Nayo hides his true feelings, is kind of quiet, and thinks that everything is going to be OK in the end. Milton express' his feelings and is scared about the journey ahead. I think the Milton is like Nadira. Nadira always seems very nervous and says her true feelings out loud. I think that Aisha is like Nayo. Aisha and Nayo both never think of the negatives and always think that everything is going to be great all the time. 

chapter 6 - 3/5

"Ever since I woke up and Uncle said those bad things and then later at school I tried to cheat on my test and said even worse things to Aisha - it's like we brought it on ourselves, all this misfortune, like dark cold water pulling us down" - page 54

I think that this quote is really sad. I think Nadira is feeling like everything in her life is going wrong (well more like everything that day especially went wrong) The "dark cold water" part is a great metaphor for this situation. It's like Nadira wants to get on the safe, dry land but she can't. She's stuck in the black water, struggling for air. 

chapter 5

"Either they speak like I'm a little baby who can't understand the stupidest thing, or they gaze at me with the weight and sadness of the world behind their eyes, making me feel so confused I wish they'd just shut up." - page 36

I think that Nadira is trying to say from this quote that she dislikes the way adults talk to her. In conversations with adults, she wants people to comfort her (like a child) but she wants to know what is going on (like an adult). I think that the adults don't know how to talk to Nadira in the right way. Maybe Nadira doesn't want to be treated like the baby sister but she is too lacking in confidence to speak up for herself. 

julianna's blog

i totally agree with what julianna had to say about the word "home". i think that the family feels like they will never find a home where they feel happy and safe now because they didn't get asylum in Canada. i think that their "home" in the US wasn't a true home because they didn't fell safe there. i like the description in this quote of how the chances of the family getting a home is being crushed. 

chapters 3 and 4 quote

"My family lived in a part of the world where there was no difference between land and sea." - page 20

This quote makes me so sad. Nadira's  family in India lived so poorly. It is so heart breaking that some people live in mansions in America and others live like this in India. This is a similar situation to AAHM because in both situations there lived a family in poor, non-flood proof house, and they both wanted to live in the US instead of their home country.