Bianca Duarte's Blog

      One part of the novel that didn’t strike me at first, but struck me after rereading was when Isma was being interrogated before her flight. The situation that caught my eye was when the interrogator stated,” This isn’t yours… It’s too nice for someone like you”(Shamsie 3). When Isma was being questioned, she responded and was forced to explain that she was the manager of the dry cleaning shop. The interrogator is surprised that Isma went from the manager of a dry cleaning store to a PhD in sociology. Another situation that sparked my interest was when the male interrogator was pushing Isma to state if she considers herself British. She quickly responds,” I am British”(Shamsie 5). After Isma confidently responded, she was interrogated for two more hours. In order for Isma to pass the interrogation, she was forced to confine her answers to match the ideal answers from the interrogator. Isma’s interrogation symbolizes how people of color, especially Muslims are questioned ten times

       Out of all of the restaurants I have been to in the United States, I would say my favorite restaurant is Jardines in San Juan, California. The food is absolutely delightful and the ambiance is very tranquil. My favorite thing about this restaurant is not the food, but the outdoor seating. There are multiple tables located outdoors, and during the beginning of the pandemic, my family chose this restaurant because outdoor seating was required and indoor seating was prohibited. From that point on, this became our go-to spot. Another reason why I love this beautiful and peaceful restaurant is that I can bring my German Shepherd and he can enjoy being with his family. The food is also very delicious, and the menu has a variety of plates. The menu includes all types of Mexican food, but you can order a plate of enchiladas with rice and beans or an a la carte taco of your choice. At Jardines, there is also a woman that sells beautiful hand embroidered masks. I actually bought a lovely

       My experience with annotating has been very helpful and it has definitely been a learning process, but I now feel like I am able to annotate the important details that are relevant to the work as a whole rather than simply annotating each and every small detail. The microlectures on annotating and close reading were also very beneficial because I was able to get a grasp of what Professor Burnham was looking for in terms of annotating. Like we spoke in the class discussion, I do believe that there is no such thing as too much annotation, but it is good to narrow down what is being underlined, highlighted, and even read over twice. I appreciate annotating because instead of breezing over the readings, I am pushed to analyze each and every line in order to find significance and themes within the text. One thing that I dislike about annotating in the novel is that I must write smaller and there is limited space, but I can solve that by adding sticky notes to my in-text citations. Wh