-
Tet --Year of the Cat
"Now I am ten , learning
to embroider circular stitches,
to calculate fractions into percentages,
to nurse my papaya tree to bear many fruits." (p. 2) -
Period: to
Ha's Journey
-
Leaving Home
Ha's family leaves Vietnam by ship as the Communists move in to take Saigon. "At noon today the Communists
crashed their tanks
through the gates
of the presidential palace
and planted on the roof
a flag with one huge star." (p. 69) -
Americans intercept the boat after over 3 weeks on the water.
-
Ha's mother chooses America for her family.
-
A sponsor from Alabama
"Our sponsor
looks just like
an American should. I love him
immediately
and imagine him
to be good-hearted and loud
and the owner of a horse." (p. 111) -
First Day of School in Alabama
"School! I wake up with
dragonflies
zipping through
my gut. I eat nothing. I take each step toward school evenly,
trying to hold my stomach
steady." (p. 139) -
Meet Miss Washington
"She has no children
but a dog named Lassie
and a garden that takes up
her backyard. She volunteers
to tutor us all. My time with her
will be right after school. I'm afraid to tell her
how much help I'll need." (p. 165) -
Most Relieved Day
Ha eats lunch alone in her classroom, and two classmates make friendly overtures. -
Pink Boy arranges fight with Ha.
"His right arm extends in a fist. When he's close enough
for me to see
the white arm hair,
I shift my upper body
to the left,
legs sturdy,
eyes on the blur
that flies past me." (p. 225) -
The family lets go of Ha's father.
"Each of us faces the altar,
holding a lit incense stick
between palms in prayer. Father's portrait
stares back. This is as old
as we'll ever know him." (p. 251) -
Tet--Year of the Dragon.
Fresh place, fresh country, fresh start. Ha's family celebrates, looking forward to the year ahead. "Our lives
will twist and twist,
intermingling the old and the new
until it doesn't matter
which is which." (p, 257)
