Carlos’ Journey

San Juan de la Vega is centrally situated in the heart of Guanajuto, Mexico.

By automobile, San Juan de la Vega is 855 kilometers (km) from the southern tip of the U.S. border.

That is where Carlos was born and raised.

Given what you know about cities or towns, and states in the United States, what can you learn about Mexico from this text?

What does “heart” mean in this context?

From your conversions you learned in Math, convert 855 kilometers into miles.

At the age of 17, Carlos decided to

follow in his father’s footsteps and

journey to the United States.

There Carlos could make a better

income to help his family in Mexico.

What two different word forms of “journey” are

in the title and in the sentence above?

Carlos’ challenges did not begin at his home town or end at the border.

The trials were great, but Carlos made up his mind he was not turning

back on his decision to go to the U.S. His father and other relatives had

lived there and told him about the many prospects to become successful

in Florida where they had settled.

Find two noun synonyms in this passage and their one antonym.

Carlos must first earn and save a lot of money to pay for the bus ride hundreds

of miles to get close to the Mexico/United States border.

Then he had to arrange to have a “coyote” pick him up and get him over the

border. That took a lot of money—close to 2,000 U.S. dollars. That is 26,693.90

pesos (currency used in Mexico).

What is a “coyote” in this passage? What clues tell you a “coyote” is not an animal, like a desert fox?

Seventeen-year-old Carlos was dropped off with “a bunch

of other people” far from the border. They had to walk

two days and three nights in the hot desert sun and in the

cool desert nights to arrive at and get through to the

United States. It was June. Many dangers awaited his

group.

What dangers do you think may have confronted Carlos and his friends? List as many one-word

descriptions as you can with your table partner.

After that excursion, Carlos and his comrades had to cross a

river, the Rio Grand. That may be simple to many of us, but a

lot of people who do not live near the shores of Mexico or near

rivers or lakes do not know how to swim. The travelers had to

wade across the river where the water was up to their chests.

They had to carry their belongings up above their heads. The

river can be swift as a result of the spring and summer rains.

Often the river would sweep non-swimmers off their feet and

take them away down the river.

Go online to www.dictionary.com to discover synonyms for “excursion” and “comrades”.

Once safely over the border Carlos was rescued by family

members. His uncle and he had to drive another 343 miles, 5.5

hours, to near the city of Austin, Texas. Carlos stayed there a

couple of months where he worked on a dairy farm.

What takes place on a dairy farm?

When he earned enough money, Carlos traveled another 1,217

miles to Englewood, Florida, where his father had once lived

and made good pay for his hard work. Englewood was, and still

is, beautiful—right on the Gulf of Mexico. And Carlos was

assured of promising opportunities there.

What feelings do you get from the words “assured” and “promising”?

After several years, Carlos met, dated and married his wife, Rae ann. They have since had a baby, who they named Carlitos, “baby Carlos” for now. Carlitos’ name will transition to Carlos when he is older. Luna keeps watch over Carlitos.

Carlos is a good dad.

“Luna” is a Spanish word. Can you remember from Science and the word “lunar”, and predict

what “luna” means?

Immigrants and refugees do not leave tradition behind.

Pictured here are photos of Carlitos’ baptism and “una

celebracion” following.

What does “una celebracion” mean? The word in English is the same, spelled and pronounced similarly. Words like this are called “cognates”.

Can you describe the difference between“immigrant” and “refugee”? Discuss with your table partner.

Carlos still faces challenges until his application to

become a U.S. citizen becomes approved.

THE END

Millions of people around the world seek refuge from wars

and hardships to other free countries.

In groups, students will create a character map of Carlos’

attributes (character traits).

ENRICHMENT