Always Running Chapter 9 and 10 Project

Luis Rodriguez' Always Running Chapter 9 and 10 Blog.


   
     In the book Always Running by Luis Rodriguez, he told his story of gang life until he slowly came to realization to change his life when he reached maturity which described in Chapters 9 and 10.
     In Chapter 9, Rodriguez begin to get involved in school clubs. He was changing his life gradually by participating in school activities. Examples of these are when he became president of ToHMAS club,  he was the students council's Speaker of the House and columnist for the school newspaper. But trouble from his past keeps haunting him. Mr. Madison the principal called him in his office for disrupting the class and when he heard that one of Chicano teacher is getting fired. Through these it caused a school assembly for students' voices to be heard and understand what students want. Another example of good thing happened in this chapter is when he finally graduated in high school. Soon after, he was given an opportunity to paint murals at Loyola Marymount University with pay and was chosen as one of the honorary winners in literary then got paid $250.00, a trip to Berkely and from there, was given a college grant. Aside from these, in Chapter 9, he entered CAL State in LA. and had continue working. In this chapter is also when  he met Camila whom he fell in loved with. But then again,  at the stage of his transition as he reached his maturity and wants to change his life for the better, troubles keep coming. This is when he saw woman being harassed by the cops. He tried to help but he got arrested for assault then he went to jail again. Soon after, he was released.
          In chapter 10, the last chapter of the book, Luis stopped attending CAL State after his release from jail. He worked full time in paper factory. This chapter contains the moment with Chente, his mentor. Luis came to realized when Chente explained to him the comparison of Las Lomas to the globe. It quotes, " You see, Lomas is so tiny, nameless, it doesn't even warrant a dot.,"  Chente made Luis think.  Luis quoted, " I thought about the globe. Chente was right. A bigger world awaited me. But I also knew: Once you're in Las Lomas, you never get out - unless you're dead." Another qoute that made him realized to change, " I figured I could help homeboys become warriors of war worth fighting, convinced they would let go of intoxications-even heroin-if they had something more meaningful in their lives. if only..." He knew his mind is sensing that he is moving forward for good. The homeboys tried to kill him whom he once treated them as his brothers. He came back to Chente and told him that he is ready to leave. He said goodbye to his parents and gave him the blessings. He traveled with Chente then went back to Los Angeles. From there, he went back to work and helped community leaders and got married to Camila.  He began a new life. Luis has turned into his manhood and started to become matured. He concludes the chapter by describing the conditions of schools, places, people and homeboys from his past. He recollected a lot of memories when he came back to Los Angeles.  Examples of these are  the Bienvenidos Community Center was already shut down, there was only one left in his murals that he painted and the rest was whitewashed, Food Co-op had continue its operation but there's storefront added to it, the La Casa Community Center became hide out for drug addicts, the John Fabela Youth Center is no longer operating, the Moviento Bookstore was shut down after Al Pache Alvarez was found dead in Garvey Park, his homeboy Puppet was shot and then renew life by accepting Jesus Christ, Mrs Baez who used to chaired the club, is no longer doing it, PCP Sal Basuto continue his PCP usage, Mark Keppel High School continue in its crisis and  his house garage where he used to lived has been remodeled . And lastly, he encountered Chava  face to face who is blaming him. Chava wants revenge. Luis held him and quoted, " ....What can you get by getting me,? I'm the least of your enemy. It's time to let go, it's time to go on with your life." Chava left him in tears, and that's when Luis felt the final time of his crazy life left his body.
                   The book Always Running is about struggling young life story of Luis Rodriguez. He was involved in gang, drugs, violence, survival due to poverty, racism, peer pressure, manhood and how he challenged adolescent life as a Latino in American society. It is in Chapter 9 and 10 covers mostly the turning point of his life. It's in these two chapters concludes that Luis had moved forward, became matured, learned and realized that he will never go back to his old bad life..

A day in the 1st Annual UGNAYAN Conference

This was my first time experience taking steps in USD campus. It's different environment. What a day, so why not. To tell the truth, i didn't sleep at all the night prior, i was drunk, tired and went sober. No one ever noticed, good thing. All it takes was a cup of hot coffee.I was okay. I was committed, i knew i will go, the moment i said i will and signed the sheet, then i must go. That's how i am. It's like a promise. This was extra knowledge to gain by going to this event.  This is part of my English 114 class trip.
The conference is entitled FUSO DEBUT (transition from the old to the new). Isang Pagitan,  Dalawang Henerasyon (one gap, two generations). What was good about this successful conference was that there were different stages of school levels attended. There were group of middle high, high school students, college students on campus who held the conference, community members, educators and professors, role models in Filipino communities and others. I have my Bayan classmates who are not Filipinos that came like Marcel, Carlo, Patricia, and Chloe. It was nice to know that they got involved  and were able to connect  what we're studying in our Eng 114 class and for them to get to know that Filipinos has been a part of American History This conference is significant which could help all Filipino American with different generations to outreach and spread how we could preserve our cultural values and identity as a Filipino American. The word UGNAYAN they used simply means to connect or building a bridge the gap between the old and the new generations so that the young Filipinos would know what Filipino American would meant for them.
 It was good to witness the opening speech of  Ms. Arlie Ricasa. She had a very intellectual and  encouraging speech. She shared a lot of her experiences and stories in relation to Filipino Heritage while she's growing up. Mr Felix Tuyay who once did a very entertaining presentation in our Eng114 class about Filipino American History and Immigration was there too and Mr Sal Flor who conducted a workshop in the conference.
The event is worth it. The Filipino food served for lunch was very good. I thought i was going to be sleepy and feel bored, like i mentioned earlier i didn't get  to sleep the night before. i was surprised, it made me stay up. The trip was educational not just because it's part of our Eng 114 topic, for me it was a journey not just a day to spent  a time but i learned more about family values, cultural values appreciation,  and was able to witness how  younger Filipino American  generation can fill the gap  by coming all together in one community. I do hope that there will have more events like these and see more Filipino educators emphasize the significance of Filipino Americans how it's been part of the history of Americans, also be able to introduce more Filipino History subjects as part of College and University curriculum.

COMFORT WOMEN ..the sex slavery WORLD WAR II

Over seventy decades had passed, estimates of the comfort women during World War II ranges from 80,000. And still some serving comfort women who was forced to serve their fragile body as early as age 11, treated as bad and sustained permanent damage to their mind and health seek for unfinished justice. 

The term "comfort women" as stated in Wikipedia was a euphenism use to describe women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese during World War II. Young women from countries under Japanese Imperial control were abducted from their homes. In many cases, women were also used with promise of work in factories or restaurants. Once recruited and abducted, the women are incarcerated  in comfort stations. Other women were rounded at gunpoint and being raped before even being brought to comfort stations.

Lola Precilla Bartonico was one of the comfort women. She was abducted by the Japanese Imperial Army in 1943 in Tamburaga, Burauen , Leyte.  A Filipina. She kept this pain all her life for 50 years just like other comfort women. She is surviving without getting any kind of formal apology or any financial award compensations from the brutality happened to her past. No one takes full responsibility of what happened to her. My parents are part of World War II. My father was Army who was part of Death March in Bataan and my mother was First Aide for the Philippine soldier. That's how they met in the soldier camp where my mother used to volunteer as a first aide. I remembered when my parents once told me about this comfort women during World War II but i would just ignore and  tell them how come i'ts not even stated and we didn't cover that topic in my Philippine history classes ever. So as i was reading the Lola's House: Women Living With War, an excerpt by M. Evelina Galang, this is the time  that i recalled what my parents were telling me about comfort women. Those Filipina comfort women had kept their silence and hide their trauma to themselves and yet the pain remained in their lives. They never voice it out. It's like when i child got molested and will kept carrying the damaged  through their life.It takes one woman to voice it out and it became part of the Philippine history now. It's hard to understand but its a permanent nightmare to them. The one that really hurts most is that how can it be compensated. Even a formal apology will not change any bit at all for all this years like what happened to Lola Precilla. She kept her own history to herself. 

Professor Tuyay's Presentation

It was a  very impressive and such a brilliant lecture i have experienced with Professor Tuyay today. He filled his presentation with all kinds of visual aids and Filipino American  theme posters.  I appreciate his spontaneous presentation that covers almost 3 Chapters of our Filipino American Psychology book. I felt relaxed. Professor Tuyay
should be consider as one of a role model and an instrument in promoting Filipino American history. Thank you so much for inviting him to our class. I salute him.

YOU KNOW YOU'RE FILIPINO WHEN.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbElQWs6-cY&feature=related
Click the link

This short video got my attention because of what the girl describes about how Filipinos are. Whoever going to watch this will have a smile and can laugh about it because it's true.
The girl describe some Filipino cultural values in this video. I can recognize one of them as the "kapwa" which is the feeling of togetherness when a Filipino meet another Filipino, they will get so excited and start feeling connected already to each other instantly. Another one is the " pakikisama" which means Filipino Americans will gather other family members to accommodate just to host a party and watch Manny Paquiao fight and individual will cancel other schedule just to attend the family function. There's also so much to say about various family and household practices in the common Filipino American household that she mentioned in the video which are true. These are the furniture that you can often see in the Filipino house like the piano, last supper frame, rice cookers..and the funny thing she said, "A meal is not a meal without a rice." The dishwasher is often use as a storage. The Filipino famous gestures of raising an eyebrows meaning yes, the pointing of lips and the hand signal of a square to get the bill in the restaurant. The letter "P" to replace all the words in the English letter starting with an "F".
These are just some of the things you'll know that one is a Filipino. I don't care what other may say about Filipino are and what we are noted for, all i can comment about it is that....I am proud to be a Filipino.

My Reflection about THE LEARNING.....why women?

I'm feel sad about the women working as a teacher at Baltimore. I feel sorry for them. They have captured my feeling being as a mother leaving their families far away only because just to earn more than 20 times they are earning in their own country for the reason of the bad economy in the Philippines. They also have to miss all the important occasions, the precious times to be with their own children while they are growing and as a mother without their presence. As a mother, it's so painful and hurting.They don't have a choice.These women has to struggle. I ask myself why?   They were given the better opportunities to grab the job outside the country, so whose going to take the mother role for their children?  In that film, I admire Dorotea for sharing her thoughts and feelings of her braveness. The other teachers who left with her are helpless too. I can feel the passion and pain that surrounds them. When they took the job, they face challenges in their life, the culture shock, the students are different, especially in  Dorotea's class where students are so disrespectful and defiant. I can see how brave she accepted and face the turmoil in her class. She said she accepted this job then why will she give up! i didn't see tears on her, i saw braveness and strength on her, but at the end.....she broke out. There's the pain! she cried i know she would...she is a woman.  The other teacher whose husband in the jail, ..gosh she couldn't do nothing! but what she said is  to move on..very positive woman!!!. There's another teacher that's all she think important is to send money to support her siblings for school in the Philippines instead of his own father doing that role. Her father kept on asking for money!!!!!  As i was watching the video, it captured my mind the questions why women? why women has to suffer?, why women has to take this role? why women has to be the brave one? ....Isn't it that it should be the role of a men to provide and make a living for his own family? I salute all this women for their courage, strength and never gave up!! ..why women?

Okay, This one i'm gonna try my best!!!!

Hello everyone!! my Bayan class. This is Lillian Sobejana. I would like to tell you guys that i am having a hard time writing but im gonna try my best. The topic that we've been learning, Identity is so interesting for me. I am Filipina but that i don't have lots of friends.Does it tell how am i if i have just few friends? Most of my life since i became a mother, i have focus on doing things to my children. You may say that there are lots of Filipino community here in San Diego that i can get together, go party with, go out with and hang out with but i seldom do that. My social life been restricted not because i choose to but maybe i am used to it just hanging out with my children and stay in the house. When i go out, i only have maybe one or two friends to hang out with but mostly the second generation Filipino American or sometimes, i just go out by myself.  I guess its my nature, being a loner.  I only have few friends but that is not a big issue for me because i am happy of my situation like that. But so much to say about me and my boring social life, i want to share how i felt when i read the Chapter 1 from the book Filipino American Psychology by Kevin L.Nadal. I remember when i was 5 years old in the Philippines, my father would always tell me that i was lucky because I was the only reason why my Grandfather  (Lolo) came back home from United States after 30 years as a farmer was because i was born. So as i was growing up, my Lolo would always speak English to me and i was confused why he was speaking different language. I don't understand him. It was when i read the part in the book about the third wave of Filipino immigrants were the laborers search of opportunities. I remember my Lolo, he was one of those Filipino immigrants. Then I felt more connected when i read the part of the Immigration Act 1965 which led to the final wave of Filipino immigrants. I remember when i was 6 or 7 years old, my oldest brother has to live to United States after he became an engineer. My mother followed to United States then she became naturalized very quick because she was a first aid World War 11 veteran. I was left alone in the Philippines with my father. I stayed and lived there until i was 20 years old then i decided to follow my family here in California. I had my culture shock life everyone experienced when they first come to United States. I have to stay with my oldest sister family who was a Registered nurse here in San Diego. I grew up in the Philippines so it was very difficult for me when i migrated here because everything i do here is different. I became confused with my identity. The lifestyle is different, the people, the community and so on. I saw a lot of  Filipino that i never seen in my own country talking different dialects. Filipinos from all different parts of the Philippines. Im hearing all kinds of dialects that i never heard before. I told myself, who are okay and who are bad. They have different traits wherever region they came from. Most of them segregate which ever region they came from and talk bad amongst each other. I guess this is what i experienced and  told myself that it will be hard for me to have lots of Filipino friends. They will confuse my identity more so i prefer not to have lots of friends. I believe that my identity will always be me. I am aware of my own identity. As long as i consider and keep my own belief, run my life how i wanna be, own choice and what i want to be. That will be my happiness.