CoNfuSiOn

Enrique and Belky are seperated when their mother leaves. Belky stayed with Lourdes's mother and sister. Enrique has to stay with his father Luis.

how does lourdes get to America?
Lourdes enters the United states in a Tijuana sewage tunnel and then make her way to L.A.

I do not know yet whether he is a good role model or not. So far he has not been bad because at least he is taking care of Enrique.

Lourdes works in many different jobs while in America. She starts out in a factory which pays $14 for two hours. Then she moves into a Beverly Hills home as a babysitter where they pay her $125 a week.

Enrique feels bad and sad that his father does not want to stay with him. He feels like no one loves him.

Enrique's father, Luis blames Lourdes for promising him that she would come back for him.

Belky feels sad because everyone else has a mother and she doesnt.

He has to stay with his grandmother and he has to work at a young age.

Enrique spends his time with his grandmother and she wishes him a very happy birthday.

Lourdes unintentionally gets pregnate.

Lourdes has an irresponsable boyfriend who likes to get drunk

This was not the first time that she gets tricked for her money, it would probably be the fourth.

Enrique found out that his mother went on the trains because of his grandmother.

Smugglers are people who get paid to bring illegal immigrants into another country. The good side of getting one is that they can show you that way and they can bring you to the U.S safetly. The bad part is taht you dont know them and you do not know if you should trust them.

ThE bOy LeFt BeHiNd

The main characters of this story are Enrique a young boy, his sister Belky and their mother Lourdes.

I have not been in the position that Enrique has been but something similar, one night I felt that something bad had happened because it was really late and my dad was not home yet, so its not the same thing but close.

I do support Lourdes' decision. She took does decisions thinking of her children, wanting them to have better things than she ever had. I do not support the fact that she left them for a long time and that she had another family or daughter with another man. I think if she wanted to be with another man that would be fine but not to have children with him because she can barley take care of the ones she already has it would only make it harder for her to send money to her other children.

I do not think that she will come back because i think that she will send for her children when they are older.

I think that Enrique will rebel a little but mostly he will just miss her. He seems like a good child so i don't see why he would act bad.

48,000 Children enter the United States illegally each year.

Some of the reasons children travel to America is to find a loved one that has been there. Another reason might be that they want to get a job and get paid better. They might also want a better education.

The journey to America is very dangerous. They have to jump into moving trains. People get robbed, raped, beat up and sometimes even killed. Not only should they keep away from criminals but sometimes even the cops.

Some of the children that are willing to travel alone to the United States are seven years old.

Quickwrite

To me family loyalty is very important. They are a big part of you so why would you not be loyal to them. Being loyal also shows what type of person they are. I think that if I was away from my mom or dad I would probably leave looking for them. I would probably go with someone because I would be too scared to travel on my own. I think that what causes people to leave their children or children to leave their town is love. They love their family members and they need that comfort specially from a mother. I think that it is not easy to overcome fears but when it has to do with your family i think that you don't even think about it and you are more willing to do anything to be with them. To me courageous means being brave, a person who believes in something and follows their heart to do what is right. I think that half of the person we are is because of things outside of our control. An example is the place we leave, we can not control that and it is a big part of how we grow up to be like. A lot of people think that because of where they live they cant achieve things. To me that is not true, if you work hard you will eventually get maybe not all you want but you will get closer to your goal.

Prolouge Questions

The reason that the author Sonia Nazaro got the idea that she should take this voyage and write about it was from her cleaning lady, Maria del Carmen Ferrez.

In the 1980s many single mother went to places like Washington D.C. where they would work as private domestics. Now many people come here to work in with who ever gives him a job and they also come here to meet with their family members.

I think that the change in the profile of immigrants has changed a lot because they are taking over Americans jobs, but the thing is they would take those jobs anyways so I don't know why they are arguing about that.

Sonia would talk to a lot of people about the routes they had to take, what experiences they went thru, where she needed to get off. She also asked police to stay near her just in case she got into trouble. She went ahead and talk to some of the people that helped Enrique.

Sonia's safety nets were the officials and the letters which was from the Mexican Government, it helped her from getting in jail. I think that the safety nets were necessary because there are many dangers.

The maids son made his way to America through Guatemala and Mexico and in The Train of Death.

El Tren de la Muerte is a frieght train that immigrants jump on and of to get closer to the United States. They call it El Tren de la Muerte because many people die trying to get on them or trying to get off of them.

Welcome to Enrique's Journey

To me the book Enrique's Journey is very interesting. It shows how much what a family member does affects the whole family. A lot of people in the United States do not want those immigrants here, what they don't realize is the sacrifices those people do just to come here. They leave so many of their loved ones behind, their children have to suffer. I am understanding deeper how immigrants think and all the things they go thru. I already know that immigrants leave family members, children, husbands/ wives behind. They leave their lives, their way of living they leave themselves. They go thru a lot just to come here. They have to worry about how money, transportation, safety, food, shelter and most of all they worry about their lives and their loved ones lives. When my parents came into this country it was so much easier to cross the border than it is now. My parents and my uncles crossed the border illegally. They have shared with me their experiences and their troubles so I can understand all the things they went thru so that I could have a better education and a better life overall. I like this book, I think that this is a very important topic in today's society because of all the immigration laws and discrimination that is happening.

Rebellion Vocabulary

Quell: to suppress; put an end to; extinguish.

Book Sentence: She lulled them to sleep with advice on how to quell their hunger pangs.

My Sentence: The troops quelled the rebellion quickly.

Thwart: to oppose successfully; prevent from accomplishing a purpose

Book Sentence: Since the 1990’s, Mexico and the United States have tried to thwart them.

My Sentence: They thwarted her plans.

Dotes: To show excessive fondness or love

Book Sentence: Enrique clings to his daddy, how dotes on him.

My Sentence: Those parents dote on their only child.

Commiserates: To feel or express sympathy

Book Sentence: She commiserates with a friend whose mother has also left.

My Sentence: I feel commiserated over their failure.

Jostling: to bump, push, shove, brush against

Book Sentence: Jostling among mango and avocado vendors, he sells cups of diced fruit.

My sentence: The three families jostle each other in the small house.