Vocabulary
This word means to think or talk about past experiences.
What is reminisce?
Why did the Toro family leave Panamá in the first place?
What is the U.S. invasion / violence and destruction in Panamá?
This major theme asks how a person’s identity is shaped by past and present locations.
What is cultural identity / belonging?
Where do the Toros currently live in the United States?
What is Delaware?
Who is the narrator of the excerpt?
Who is Mayor?
To remove someone’s doubt by stating something confidently.
What is assure?
What prevented the family from going to tía Gloria’s wedding?
What is they couldn’t afford to take off work / travel?
The author repeats the word “American” many times. What is this technique called?
What is an “Again and Again” Notice & Note signpost?
In what year did the U.S. invasion of Panamá occur?
What is 1989?
Which family member most desperately wants to return to Panamá?
Who is Celia (the mother)?
To cause serious damage or destruction to something.
What is ravage?
What rude comment caused the family to cancel the high-school reunion trip?
What is the classmate calling them “gringo royalty”?
What does Celia’s constant desire to return to Panamá show?
What is homesickness / longing for one’s homeland?
What does the Bridge of the Americas represent for Celia?
What is a memory of home / a connection to Panamá?
Which family member most desperately wants to return to Panamá?
Who is his older brother?
Behavior full of exaggerated emotions.
What is melodrama?
What major event finally stopped their planned birthday trip?
What is the September 11 attacks?
What central struggle do the Toros face that relates to identity?
What is feeling caught between two cultures (Panamanian and American)?
Which neighborhood in Panamá was heavily damaged during the invasion?
What is El Chorrillo?
What job did the father work his way up to in the U.S.?
What is a line cook?
To come together for a purpose, especially a meeting or gathering.
What is convene?
What did the father do instead of going to Panamá that Christmas?
What is take the family to Cape Henlopen beach?
The ending suggests that one home isn’t every home. What theme does this connect to?
What is that place shapes identity, but identity can shift or exist in two places at once?
What everyday place did the family gather in to react to 9/11?
What is the apartment balcony / building hallway?
Why is the father afraid to take time off from work?
What is he fears being replaced / job insecurity?