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But he was no economic refugee, no immigrant
fleeing a war. My father ran away from home because
he was afraid of facing his father after his firstyear
grades at the university proved he’d spent more
time fooling around than studying. He left behind
a house in Mexico City that was neither poor nor
rich, but thought itself better than both. A boy who
would get off a bus when he saw a girl he knew
board if he didn’t have the money to pay her fare.
That was the world my father left behind.
I imagine my father in his fanfarrón clothes, because
that’s what he was, a fanfarrón. That’s what my
mother thought the moment she turned around to
the voice that was asking her to dance. A big showoff,
she’d say years later. Nothing but a big show-off.
But she never said why she married him. My father
in his shark-blue suits with the starched handkerchief
in the breast pocket, his felt fedora, his tweed
topcoat with the big shoulders, and heavy British
wing tips with the pin-hole design on the heel and
toe. Clothes that cost a lot. Expensive. That’s what
my father’s things said. Calidad. Quality.
My father must’ve found the U.S. Mexicans very
strange, so foreign from what he knew at home in
Mexico City where the servant served watermelon
on a plate with silverware and a cloth napkin, or
mangos with their own special prongs. Not like this,
eating with your legs wide open in the yard, or in
the kitchen hunkered over newspapers. Come, come
and eat. No, never like this. […]
Glossary:
hobo – włóczęga
felt fedora – rodzaj eleganckiego męskiego kapelusza
wing tips – rodzaj męskich pantofli
pinto beans – rodzaj fasoli popularnej w Meksyku
Testing questions:
1. The woman does not want to marry a man of
Hispanic origins
a) because she disapproves of her Mexican father.
b) because she feels they are not masculine.
c) because of her mother’s prejudices.
d) because of no apparent reasons.
2. Her mother was an unwanted daughter-in-law
a) because she was an American citizen.
b) because she was not well educated.
c) on account of her white skin.
d) on account of her poverty.
3. In her grandfather’s house
a) the cutlery was laid on the table.
b) there was not enough crockery.
c) table manners were stiff.
d) the table was bare.
4. Her grandfather was
a) unpredictable.
b) bountiful.
c) greedy.
d) frugal.
5. Her father
a) came to the US in search of a job.
b) had escaped his father’s wrath.
c) came from a respected family.
d) had squandered his money.
6. The reason why her parents got married is that
a) her mother felt attracted to his gentle manners.
b) her mother liked his eye-catching clothes.
c) her father had a velvety voice.
d) her father was well-off.
Vocabulary work:
1. Find vocabulary related to tableware.
2. Match phrasal verbs with their definitions:
put up with sth behave in a silly way
fool around try to impress others
show off leave a bus
get off
tolerate/endure
3. Match the words to form expressions:
shell
handkerchief
plant
meat
flee
clams
economic hedges
pay
sheepishly
slice
a watermelon
starched
refugee
shrug
a war
chop
your fare
Questions to discuss:
1. Why do you think Mexicans living in Mexico do
not respect Mexicans living in the USA?
2. Why do you think there are so many differences
between the people of the same nationality living
in different countries?
Key:
Testing questions: 1C, 2A, 3D, 4B, 5B, 6B.
Vocabulary work: 1. fold a cloth napkin, set the silverware,
tablecloth, knives, forks, spoons, a jar, a barrel,
a sack, wash the dishes, chipped dishes, cracked dishes,
clear off the table, serve watermelons, serve mangos
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