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Journeys Jeff Doig, Sandstone 2009 Mission: The mission of the Minnesota Literacy Council is to share the power of learning through education, community building, and advocacy. Through this mission, MLC: • Helps adults become self-sufficient citizens through improved literacy. • Helps at-risk children and families gain literacy skills to increase school success. • Strengthens communities by raising literacy levels and encouraging volunteerism. • Raises awareness of literacy needs and services throughout the state. Acknowledgements: The Minnesota Literacy Council extends our heartfelt thanks to Wendy Skinner, Jamie Joslin, and Jamie Thomas who are unpaid interns that donated hundreds of hours of their time and their abundant creativity and talent to the planning, design, editing, and production of this book. Wendy Skinner also deserves a special thank you for taking the lead on many aspects of the project this year, including developing a teacher’s guide and lesson plans, and finding new ways to market the book. Special thanks also to MLC staff Cathy Grady, Guy Haglund and Allison Runchey for helping to make the book a success. Finally, we are deeply grateful for the generous donation of $500 from Todd and Mimi Burke through the Burke Family Fund in memory of Todd’s late mother. Contact Information: The Minnesota Literacy Council www.theMLC.org 651-645-2277 Hotline: 800-222-1990 756 Transfer Road Saint Paul, Minnesota 55114-1404 Submissions accepted year round. Go online to http://www.theMLC.org for Journeys Teaching & Learning Guide. © 2009 Minnesota Literacy Council, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. ii - Journeys 2009 IntroductionDear Reader, I am proud to present the Minnesota Literacy Council’s 20th annual journal of original writing and artwork by Minnesota adult literacy students. These students, who are enrolled in reading, English as a Second Language, GED, and basic skills classes across the state, have worked hard during the past year, with the help of their teachers and volunteer tutors, to be able to share their experiences with you through the written word. In the following pages you will find remarkable stories of steadfast hope, devastating loss, and incredible struggle, alongside poignant, candid, and sometimes funny gems of everyday life written by Minnesotans whose voices are rarely heard. Some are immigrants or refugees writing in their second or third language. Others are sharing their writing for the first time after years of frustration and anxiety due to their low literacy skills. All of them have shown amazing courage by making the choice to improve their lives through education and for sharing their thoughts and experiences in this book. We continue to produce Journeys year after year because we believe that it is important to our mission of sharing the power of learning. It provides a forum for the creative expression of Minnesota adult learners, a text of authentic learner stories for teachers to use in the classroom, and an acknowledgement of the tangible value and contributions of adult education to the larger Minnesota community. During the past two decades, Journeys has grown from a thin stack of pages held together with staples to a full-blown literary journal with 350 writing and drawing submissions artfully presented in this bound book. We could not have done it without the hard work of our three tireless interns, Wendy Skinner, Jamie Joslin, and Jamie Thomas, who donated hundreds of hours of their time to make this year’s book such a success. Thank you for supporting this important project by purchasing this book. I hope you enjoy your own journey through its pages. Sincerely, Eric Nesheim Executive Director Introduction - iii Richard Brown Sr., Minneapolis Table of Contents Introduction iii Important Experiences 1 My Life 15 Events, Holidays and Seasons 79 Pe ople 101 Places, Here and There 143 Memories 161 Problems, Choices and Decisions 183 Fiction 233 Hopes, Dreams and Future 241 Index 265 Table of Contents - v Pang Vang, Minneapolis Important Experiences A Funny Story from the tree and came back to my car. I had to change my clothes before going back to our Gustavo, Minneapolis camp. Before I changed my clothes I used my have lived in Minnesota for three years. My keys to open my car door. After I changed my first month was difficult. I had never heard clothes, I put my clothes inside the car, and I put my keys with my clothes. I had to clean English. I didn’t understand anything. I went to work with my uncle at a company and my my bow, but I didn’t know my car doors were boss asked me, “What is your name?” and I locked. At 10:00 p.m., I waited for our team to didn’t understand anything. I said, “I don’t come pick me up, but they didn’t know where know.” He said, “What? You don’t know your I was. I had a cell phone, but it didn’t work in name?” that area. At that time it was very dark and quiet. I just heard insect sounds, and I felt cold. I’ll never forget the wolf sound I heard My Best Friend near me. Its sound scared me. I had my hands, Houa Yang, Minneapolis my bow and arrows, but it didn’t help me. I still felt afraid of that sound. came to the USA in 2004, but I didn’t I prayed that somebody would pass in go hunting until October 2007 when I I this area. My dream came true. I saw an went bow hunting with my cousin’s team in American. When I saw him, I thought that Rochester. My brother got his ten point deer, God helped me and that was very lucky. which is huge. I was very excited when I saw He was hunting also. His name was Tom. I it. The next day I got one doe. We got five deer asked him to help me. He said, “No problem.” altogether. So he took me to my camp almost 17 miles In October 2008, I went to Rochester away. When I arrived at our camp, my fear again, but in a different area. Usually when we disappeared. I thanked Tom, and he said he go hunt, two people go together. My partner was happy to help me. Then he gave me his couldn’t go because he went to another area, cell phone number. He said he has 80 acres so I went alone. After 6:00 p.m., I got down Important Experiences - 1 of land in the North, if I am interested in hunting, he will welcome me. I will visit him The Sad Moment next year. I am very proud to have a best Anonymous, Saint Paul friend like Tom because he saved my life. I will never forget him ave you ever felt sad with something that Hyou don’t want to do, but it is necessary Houa Yang is originally from Th ailand. for you to do it? Let me tell you about the sad moment that I had in my life before. Good Things Come in Small In my Hmong culture, if you are born a Packages girl, you can’t live with your parents when Mayra Quiterio, Saint Paul you grow up. When you grow up, you have to marry and go to live with your husband. ello! My name is Mayra Quiterio. I’m For me, I knew that one day I would leave my Hfrom Ixmiquilpan, Hildago, Mexico. I family and would have a new family. Even was born on May 7, 1978. though I don’t want to leave my family, I When I came to the USA for the first have to. If you don’t marry when you are time, I thought, “This country is very big young, when you get old no one wants to and beautiful.” Before, I never, never thought marry you, so you won’t have a family. I would be in this country. But for When I met me it was very hard to leave my When the airplane fl ew up my husband, family, my friends, my job, my life in the blue sky, it made me we loved each and all. I felt very sad especially for feel even more sad. My tears other and were my mother and grandmother. They willing to are very strong and one day will couldn’t stop rolling down. spend our lives survive by themselves. together. Then When I arrived in Texas I we decided to saw my brother who I hadn’t seen for two get married. At that time, it was an emotional years. He’s 28 years old and he’s married and moment for me because I didn’t want to has one daughter. I lived one week with my leave my family and my friends. Not so long brother and his family before coming to Saint after I got married, it was time that I would Paul. They took me shopping at the mall and come to the United States. My family and my various stores. friends sent me to the Vientiane Airport. I When I went to the stores I found a problem embraced each one of them. When I left them, with the shoes. My feet are very small and it was hard for me to say, “Good Bye.” That I didn’t find shoes of my size, so I went to a time gave me a big feeling of emotion that shoe store for children to buy my shoes. My I’ve never had before in my life. I couldn’t husband and my brother were funny.

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