San Diego Summary

Furthermore, in most cases, it may seem the United States has a system in which immigrants are not given the chance to form a bright future. In the novel, “Antonio soon found himself settling for jobs that were clearly beneath him. He stood under the baking sun at the on-ramp to the Santa Monica Freeway, selling oranges for two dollars a bag: a dollar fifty for the guy from the produce market, fifty cents for him,” (Tobar, 53). Many of the immigrants that live in the U.S. have little power that allows them to succeed. Some races have benefitted from it more than others. The Cubans, for instance, have had it much easier than most immigrants who have migrated to the United States; whereas, Antonio, a Guatemalan, had trouble finding a stable job that allowed him to sustain himself. In contrast to many other races, many Americans described Cubans as being visitors who represent, “all phases of life and professions, having an excellent level of education… More than half of their families with them, including children brought from Cuba to escape communist indoctrination in the schools,”

The documentary San Francisco 2.0 examines how San Francisco city officials have given tax breaks to the Silicon Valley tech industry to move to San Francisco. These new techs companies have brought in a lot of wealth to the city, but at a cost. The majority of the low-income natives are being evicted or having their rents raised so high that they can't afford them. The gentrification of the city has impacted low-income districts (for example, the mission district known for its Latin immigrants) that the residents and the culture are being displaced. I believe the documentary is important for the study of the issue of gentrification because San Fransisco was known for being-counter culture, caring for the arts and for civil progress. The housing

He begins by telling of peasant life in the native European land, how it began to crumble because of poverty after having obtained rock hard stability for centuries, then he follows their long, dangerous trek to America which very few could endure because ships were overcrowded and unsanitary. Handlin then gives the account of the few that lived to see land on the other side of the Atlantic, detailing their struggles with the transformation from home life of the village system, which included the hierarchy social structure, an economy relying on the land, and family-based homes contrasting to American industrial economy, multiple religions, communication, immense knowledge, democratic government, and freedom. The stress and pressure to completely change their lifestyle, traditions, morals, and standards all at once causes immigrants to feel helpless and

Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, shares his life-long journey as an undocumented immigrant in his text, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant.” As the title suggests, Vargas attempts to convey to his audience, who likely never has and never will experience anything similar to what he has, what it is like to live as an immigrant in the United States of America. Skillfully, Vargas details the perfect number of personal stories to reach the emotional side of his audience, which is anyone who is not an immigrant. Through the use of his personal accounts Vargas is able to effectively communicate that immigrants are humans too while simultaneously proving his credibility, as he has experience and a vast amount of knowledge

The formation of San Diego region involved numerous activities which varied from volcano activities, the formation of Gulf, uplifting and tilting among others. These activities happened in a long span of time creating three distinct geomorphic regions: the west of peninsular rangers, peninsular ranges region, and the Salton Trough region. The geomorphic division reflects the basic difference amid geographic parts containing Mesozoic metavolcanic, metasedimentary, and plutonic rock material. The development of these features resulted to the occurrence of the current San Diego state. The integration of different rocks, volcanic activities, and subduction processes resulted to the development of peninsular region and Salton Trough.

The San Diego Rescue Mission, 55-years-old, is an original and inspirational organization that involves itself with dealing with the homeless population. It partners with more than 100 local churches every year and the services it provides are numerous. These include:

The city has a mild year-round climate with an average of 201 days above 70 degrees. A sign of global warming is that the average surface temperature of the water has increased 3 degrees since 1950. San Diego lies on approximately 200 deep canyons and hills, creating small pockets of natural open space scattered throughout the city and giving it a mountainous geography. Due to this scattered open space, it causes a significant change in climate over short geographical distances. The San Diego River runs through the middle of San Diego while several reservoirs lie between and also separate the developed areas. The city also runs through two fault zones, the Rose Canyon and Point Loma faults, which are part of the San Andreas Fault system. It

Throughout life, every individual must face obstacles; some more difficult than others. In the story “The Trip” by Laila Lalami, poem “Exile” by Julia Alvarez, and article “Outlaw: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas, there is a main character who has to face many challenges because of the fact that they’re immigrants. In all three texts, it is evident that being an immigrant has many affects on their lives. However, this label and the obstacles that come with it didn’t stop each character from pushing forward.

In her book, Labor and Legality: An Ethnography of a Mexican Immigrant Network, Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz describes the lives of ten busboys, she referrs to as the Lions, living and working in the Chicago area. Gomberg-Muñoz provides an insight into the lives of these undocumented Mexican workers. They share their stories of crossing the border, the affects of their absence on family back in Mexico, and the daily struggles of living in a country without the benefits of citizenship. The Lions, as well as other undocumented Mexicans, have to face Americans stereotypes every day. Probably the biggest stereotype the Lions contend with is the belief that all Mexicans are hard workers.

Ronald Takaki’s chapter in his sweeping 1989 text, Strangers from a Different Shore, “Dollar a Day, Dime a Dance: The Forgotten Filipinos”, outlines the experiences of primarily male Filipino immigrants to the U.S in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The author did a good job showing what the Filipino went through. Like many immigrants before them, they came seeking work and a better livelihood. They faced backbreaking work, low wages, and at time, extreme racism. However, in many ways the Filipino immigrant experiences were extremely different from other ethnic groups, the Chinese and Japanese immigrants.

San Francisco today is not the same place it was hundreds of years ago. This is obvious in terms of the city’s modernization, but a change that is equally as important, is the huge amount of diversity in cultures. Chances are, if you were to ask a student at Skyline College if their parents were born in the United States, many of them would answer no. Every immigrant has their own story of how they ended up in San Francisco, but the most important are the stories of the very first groups. Most first generation Filipino Americans hear about the stories of how their families ended up in the United States, but never the stories of how the very first Filipinos got here. Why did the first group of Filipinos leave all that they had in the the

Chapter ten begins in the California area, with the gentle Californian Indians. During this time there lived a Modoc by the name of Kintpuash, who later was given the nickname Captain Jack. The settlers and soldiers living in the area did not like the Indians and issued a treaty for the Modocs to move farther up north and receive food and supplies. The Modocs agreed to the treaty and moved up north, but when they did not get along with the neighboring Indians, they requested their homeland back. They tried to negotiate with the soldiers but that resulted in increased tensions which later turned into a fight. The soldiers fought and chased the Modocs but had trouble finding them and eventually gave up. After some time, the Modocs came back to

Every immigrant has a personal story, pains and joys, fears and victories, and Junot Díaz portrays much of his own story of immigrant life in “Drown”, a collection of 10 short stories. In each of his stories Diaz uses a first-person narrator who is observing others to speak on issues in the Hispanic community. Each story is related, but is a separate picture, each with its own title. The novel does not follow a traditional story arc but rather each story captures a moment in time. Diaz tells of the barrios of the Dominican Republic and the struggling urban communities of New Jersey.

He started out applying for a job as a dish washer but was not satisfied after 3 months because he was living in the same conditions he had been living in Cuba. He could barely pay the rent for his small apartment and bring food home every night for him and his wife. One night, he was walking home when he saw a guy on the street all beat up

America’s Part 1 begins with Allos catching sight of what he thinks to be his oldest brother Leon, who fought in a “strange war in Europe”(p4), walking slowly towards their home. He had never met Leon - he only knew him from the picture in his house. This unfamiliar sparks little Allos’ interest in America, a strange and almost exotic land that offers promise and success; far more than what he has in the Philippines. Allos was born into an impoverished farming family in the rural area of Luzon. Although Allos doesn’t mind the rigorous work, he recognizes that he would remain in the same social class that he was born to. Even at a young age, Allos realizes that the whole system is shady and expresses it, “There were no usury laws and we the peasants were the victims of large corporation and absentee landlords. … it was merely a bait tossed by politicians…”(p23). Because of this, Allos decided he would work in other areas to save enough money so that he could then move to America. Part 2