I Was Their American Dream: Chapters 1–4

by Malaka Gharib
In this graphic memoir, Malaka Gharib recounts growing up in America while navigating her Filipino and Egyptian heritage.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–8
20 words 539 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. spunky
    showing courage
    Min Min
    Malaka's spunky half-sister with a mind of her own
  2. matriarch
    a female head of a family or tribe
    Tita Pinky
    Malaka's maternal aunt and the matriarch of the family
  3. martial
    of or relating to the armed forces
    People wanted President Ferdinand Marcos—who had declared martial law in 1972—OUT.
  4. toil
    work hard
    Why would I want to come to the United States? To toil away?
  5. visa
    an endorsement that allows the bearer to enter a country
    Get visa!
  6. consistency
    the degree of density, firmness, or viscosity of a substance
    Monggo was my most-hated food as a kid. It's a Filipino dish of stewed mung beans, with a gray color and a consistency of sludge. I actually like it now!
  7. trinity
    three people or things considered as a unit
    Garlic, onions, tomato—the trinity of Filipino cooking.
  8. devout
    deeply religious
    My mom was a devout Catholic.
  9. rosary
    a series of prayers counted using a string of beads
    Even though it was the middle of the night, we prayed the rosary at the spot where Mom saw her.
  10. hallow
    render holy by means of religious rites
    Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...
  11. humility
    a lack of arrogance or false pride
    I loved that Mohammed was just a messenger of God. To me he was a symbol of humility and selflessness.
  12. pomp
    ceremonial elegance and splendor
    I loved the pomp and circumstance of Catholicism.
  13. circumstance
    formal ceremony about important occasions
    I loved the pomp and circumstance of Catholicism.
  14. sophistication
    the quality or character of being intellectually worldly
    Sophistication in the form of Anthropologie sweaters and Dean & Deluca coffee.
  15. falafel
    fried croquette of mashed chickpeas and spices
    Falafel Surprise
    (Inside, there's a little chunk of Spam, ha-ha-ha)
  16. ethnicity
    an affiliation resulting from racial or cultural ties
    Everyone in high school hung out with people based on clubs, sports, ethnicity.
  17. ambiguous
    open to two or more interpretations
    In contrast, I was ethnically ambiguous.
  18. motley
    consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
    So I hung out with anyone who would have me...a motley crew of punk kids.
  19. dabble
    work with in an amateurish manner
    We dabbled in graffiti.
  20. unique
    radically distinctive and without equal
    In the end, I got the label I'd been searching for.
    Most Unique.
Created on Tue Jan 14 09:45:12 EST 2020 (updated Tue Jan 14 09:47:26 EST 2020)

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