From Here: Chapter 22–Epilogue

by Luma Mufleh
In this memoir, the author recounts for her children how growing up in 1980s Jordan led to the founding of both a championship-winning soccer team and a nonprofit organization, Fugees Family, which provide athletic and academic opportunities for refugees and immigrants in the United States.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Prologue–Chapter 5, Chapters 6–14, Chapters 15–21, Chapter 22–Epilogue
40 words 11 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. tout
    show off
    While they touted their skills and strengths to potential employers and grad schools, I prayed my asylum application had properly conveyed just how scared and helpless I was.
  2. sterile
    deficient in originality or creativity
    There was a reason we were alone in the sterile room. In here, we weren’t supposed to be full, dynamic human beings. We were legal entities, and the business between us wasn’t about our families or our feelings or our favorite things; it was about the law.
  3. finagle
    achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods
    There would be an appeal, I thought. How I would get through it, or afford it, or finagle more time in America, I didn’t know.
  4. consequential
    having important effects or results
    Mostly, I wanted to ask her what it would take for her to leave her home, her family, everything that she loved. To make her understand this was not an impulsive, whimsical choice, but rather the most consequential decision of my life.
  5. deliberation
    (usually plural) discussion of all sides of a question
    He told me the longer it took, the less likely my application would be approved, like a jury deliberation.
  6. catatonic
    characterized by unresponsiveness or lack of movement
    On day thirty, wired and nearly catatonic with anxiety, I walked into the campus mail room, turned the key in the small rectangular slot, and saw it.
  7. precedence
    status established in order of importance or urgency
    There was no way I could explain to her how important family honor was in our culture, how it took precedence over everything—even members of the family itself.
  8. measly
    contemptibly small in amount
    Clearly, my parents were angry and determined to get me back to Jordan, regardless of whatever danger might wait for me there. And the only thing I had to protect me was my recently issued asylum decision, a measly piece of paper.
  9. extol
    praise, glorify, or honor
    She’d extolled the virtues of Krispy Kreme and grape soda and could recite a fact for every exit on the highway.
  10. reprieve
    an interruption in the intensity or amount of something
    Most of the people that strolled the town’s leafy sidewalks were second-home owners from Atlanta or Charlotte who drove up the mountain for a reprieve from their busy schedules.
  11. covert
    secret or hidden
    Worried what the locals might think about an Arab in their midst, Miss Sara baptized me “Liz.” Just an ordinary white girl making some money off the scores of summer tourists and autumn leaf-lookers who poured into town. I was hopeful—my skin is light and my accent non-existent; I think it gave Miss Sara a thrill to be a part of a covert operation.
  12. condescending
    characteristic of those who treat others with arrogance
    The one in blue had a permanent scowl. The one in pink had a condescending grin.
  13. till
    a strongbox for holding cash
    Miss Sara counted money from the till, and I slid into the booth next to Misty, who had been just as busy as me, waiting tables.
  14. revelation
    an enlightening or astonishing disclosure
    Immediately, a mixture of pride and relief washed over me. It was a revelation, the way that this money made me feel. I had had lots of money before, but this was mine. I had earned it.
  15. careen
    move sideways or in an unsteady way
    Fifteen minutes later, we were careening in circles around the parking lot of a strip mall, waiting for Krispy Kreme’s HOT NOW sign to blink on.
  16. tutelage
    teaching pupils individually
    For weeks, I had been getting up early, arriving at the diner around 4:30 a.m. to learn to make biscuits and gravy under the tutelage of Teen.
  17. seasoned
    rendered competent through trial and experience
    I was beginning to think of myself as seasoned staff, but here was yet another lesson to be learned about life in Highlands.
  18. bemused
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    Little John strode confidently over to the table next to the one I was setting and began straightening and smoothing out the fabric. Misty glanced at me with a bemused smile.
  19. regalia
    especially fine or decorative clothing
    How did a guy like Little John get the impression I would be impressed by KKK regalia?
  20. balmy
    mild and pleasant
    I decided to move to Atlanta for its balmy weather and proximity to Miss Sara.
  21. tedious
    so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
    In my mind, a phantom life played out in parties, dinners, and weddings I could imagine in vivid, tedious detail.
  22. stoic
    seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
    It was a mindset. A survival mechanism. I was strong, I was stoic. Bad things happened, and I got through them.
  23. disdainfully
    without respect
    An immigrant friend remembered how hard it had been for her family their first few years in America, marveling that I was doing it on my own. It’s not that hard, anyone can do it, I thought, disdainfully.
  24. commiserate
    feel or express sympathy or compassion
    Another friend complained that she couldn’t afford going to a concert, couldn’t figure out what she wanted to do for work. You have two legs and two arms, get a job. I didn’t want to commiserate with anyone. To hear about their feelings or share my own. I just wanted to get on with it.
  25. rhetoric
    loud and confused and empty talk
    Over the next few days, I watched anti-Muslim rhetoric seep into the national dialogue and into candlelight vigils.
  26. reformation
    improvement in the condition of institutions or practices
    I thought maybe the Muslim faith itself would undergo a reformation, a coming to terms with all the ways the religion had been manipulated to suit those in power.
  27. mediation
    a resolution of differences conducted by an impartial party
    When the man won custody in mediation—by agreeing not to report his ex-wife’s immigration status—I knew my time in law was finished.
  28. fritter
    spend frivolously and unwisely
    I continued waiting tables, kept frittering away my tips.
  29. culmination
    a concluding action
    In many ways the café took on a heavy symbolism: it was to be the culmination of my struggle to get to this new country as well as my contribution to it.
  30. coveted
    greatly desired
    I designed the menu to be a buffet of my life thus far: my favorite sandwich from Massachusetts (turkey, cheddar, and cranberry sauce), my favorite dressing from the Mountaineer (Miss Sara’s coveted sweet Vidalia onion), and cumin-flavored lentil soup like Taytay used to make.
  31. naive
    lacking information or instruction
    My mom couldn’t have purchased a ticket or left the country without his permission. I knew that. But I didn’t want to admit it, that she, too, was helpless in all of this. I was naïve in thinking that the lion could finally break free.
  32. balk
    refuse to proceed or comply
    “I’m coming back next month,” she said, standing in front of a half-packed suitcase. “With Baba and Inam.” It was a good strategy; had she said just my father was coming, I would have balked. But my baby sister? I would have endured a visit from Assad to see Inam.
  33. fathom
    come to understand
    It was strange to see how close she was with our parents, affectionate in a way I couldn’t fathom.
  34. vilify
    spread negative information about
    Had I vilified him so much that I’d forgotten what he was really like?
  35. catharsis
    purging of emotional tensions
    That’s when I realized that yelling at my father didn’t actually feel good. It wasn’t the catharsis I thought I wanted. And it certainly wasn’t the cure to the pain we all felt.
  36. bereavement
    state of sorrow over the death or departure of a loved one
    Without family, without even the soothing ceremonies of bereavement, I floundered. When my body began to work again, I felt driven from my apartment, like I needed to go find something. I drove to an Atlanta cemetery, searching for some monument of grief that I could pin my sadness on to.
  37. evoke
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    The sight evoked vivid memories of the pickup game at the mukhayam, the one my grandmother had insisted I join despite my hesitation and my fear.
  38. keen
    having or showing great excitement and interest
    I would walk over to those boys, and I would ask to join their game. They wouldn’t be too keen on the idea, except that the ball in my hands was so shiny and new, it was irresistible.
  39. superficial
    of little substance or significance
    Months and months later, it would become clear to me that those boys needed more than just soccer, and their families needed more than just extracurriculars. It would become clear to me that I needed more, too. Not just some superficial version of the American dream, but real, authentic connection to people who felt like home.
  40. marooned
    cut off or left behind
    Like almost everyone else, she could have ignored the uncomfortable knowledge that the refugee camp even existed, that thousands of forgotten people were marooned out in the desert.
Created on Wed Mar 20 17:14:34 EDT 2024 (updated Thu Mar 21 15:16:26 EDT 2024)

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