The Other Side: List 2

by Juan Pablo Villalobos
In this collection of essays translated by Rosalind Harvey, Juan Pablo Villalobos records the true stories of Latin American teens attempting to immigrate to the United States.

This list covers "He and I Got Along Really Well"–"To This Day."

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2
25 words 322 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. discriminate
    treat differently on the basis of race, sex, religion, etc.
    – It's better they don't know.
    – But they're not discriminating against us.
    – It's still better they don't know.
  2. dignity
    the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect
    But when other people hassled me, it affected me, because it hurt my dignity.
  3. solitary
    lacking companions or companionship
    I used to go to a beach on my own, where not many people go; it's a solitary kind of beach.
  4. journalism
    the profession of reporting or editing news stories
    – I want to study journalism.
  5. cartel
    a consortium formed to limit commercial competition
    Before we left, one of my friend's cousins had gone and the journey had taken him around two months, because he was in the city of Zetas, and the cartels were really powerful, and so the coyotes had to hide them in a house somewhere for a really long time.
  6. balaclava
    a tight knit cap that covers the entire head and neck
    We put our clothes back on, put everything on, but we'd taken less than five steps, not even two steps just to get into Guatemala, and already there was a Guatemalan waiting for us with a balaclava and a knife.
  7. terminal
    station where vehicles load or unload passengers or goods
    After that we got onto the bus that was going to take us to the main terminal in Guatemala and we were on it from about eleven o'clock to seven in the evening.
  8. communal
    for or by a group rather than individuals
    They're not exactly hotels; they're like houses with a communal dining room added on.
  9. rapid
    a part of a river where the current is very fast
    There were rapids in this river, and so they told us to all get in the back of the boat but then the bow rose up.
  10. indigenous
    originating where it is found
    They were indigenous people—only one them spoke Spanish.
  11. suffocate
    struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake
    I felt like I was suffocating; I'm scared of small spaces, I needed air.
  12. freight
    goods carried by a large vehicle
    On the third day, they came with a car for us and told us they were going to take us to Monterrey in a freight truck.
  13. bodega
    small shop selling groceries, especially in a Hispanic area
    And we carried on, arriving in the city of Reynosa in the morning, where there was another car waiting to take us to the bodega. That's what they called it: the bodega.
  14. thrash
    move or stir about violently
    She's gripping on tightly to the cabuya but she's sinking because she's thrashing around so much.
  15. stable
    firm and dependable; subject to little fluctuation
    "My dad's a musician, he plays guitar, but he doesn't have anything stable. Sometimes he gets paid for playing at a party, or in a bar, and we wait for him to get home so we can eat. Sometimes he doesn't come back. Or he does, but he doesn't bring anything. Sometimes we don't have anything to eat."
  16. clutch
    a number of birds or eggs hatched at the same time
    At my grandmother's house there was a mother duck that had just eighteen ducklings and a chick, because me and my brothers and sisters had done an experiment: We put a chicken's egg in with the rest of her clutch so she would incubate it, and the duck didn't notice.
  17. incubate
    keep (eggs) warm until ready to hatch
    At my grandmother's house there was a mother duck that had just eighteen ducklings and a chick, because me and my brothers and sisters had done an experiment: We put a chicken's egg in with the rest of her clutch so she would incubate it, and the duck didn't notice.
  18. luxury
    something that is an indulgence rather than a necessity
    Here in Guatemala you can't really have luxuries because people notice you've got nice things and they demand a payment from you.
  19. accountant
    someone who maintains and audits financial records
    The teachers say I've got something in my head that means I can understand numbers quickly. I'd like to be an accountant when I grow up.
  20. specialize
    devote oneself to a particular area of work
    If I do another two years then I'll be a nurse, or I can carry on to be a family doctor, or for a bit longer if I want to specialize.
  21. neurologist
    a medical specialist in the nervous system
    Every week I have an appointment with the neurologist who gives me medicine to control the pain in my head.
  22. toll
    a fee levied for the use of roads or bridges
    Some people tried to kidnap us in Mexico: they told us we had exactly one day to pay the toll...
  23. beggar
    an impoverished person who lives by asking for charity
    Oh God, but there was a woman working there who was so mean—she told me I was a useless beggar.
  24. pastor
    a person authorized to conduct religious worship
    I told them that I'm not afraid as before, because I'd started going to church and that I had spoken to a pastor, and she told me to forget everything that had happened to me.
  25. anemic
    relating to or having a deficiency of red blood cells
    My mom is in the hospital at the moment; she's anemic and she's been hospitalized for over two months.
Created on Tue Sep 24 09:23:38 EDT 2019 (updated Tue Sep 24 13:19:57 EDT 2019)

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