In the Country We Love: Introduction-Chapter 3

by Diane Guerrero, Michelle Burford
In this memoir that led to an appointment as a Presidential Ambassador for Citizenship and Naturalization, the actor recounts how the undocumented status and deportation of her Colombian parents and older brother affected her upbringing in Boston.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Introduction–Chapter 3, Chapters 4–6, Chapters 7–10, Chapters 11–15, Chapter 16–Afterword
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. permeate
    spread or diffuse through
    With every ring of my family’s doorbell, with every police car passing on the street, a horrifying possibility hung in the air: My parents might one day be sent back to Colombia. That fear permeated every part of my childhood.
  2. customs
    the government agency that oversees and collects duties on imported goods
    There are more than eleven million undocumented immigrants in America, and every day an average of seventeen children are placed in state care after their parents are detained and deported, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
  3. bureaucratic
    of or relating to unnecessary procedures and red tape
    Those numbers don’t take into account the scores of others who, like me, simply fell through the bureaucratic cracks. After my parents were snatched away, no government official checked up on me.
  4. ordeal
    a severe or trying experience
    A dream for moving onward and upward rather than backward. What you’ll read in these pages is ultimately about that hope—the same desire that once led my family to this nation. That hope is the only thing that has sustained me through this frightening ordeal.
  5. humanities
    studies intended to provide general knowledge and skills
    Right on time but a bit out of breath, I rounded the corner into humanities class.
  6. rendition
    a performance of a musical composition or a dramatic role
    He’d apparently overheard my rendition of the mermaid’s musical plea.
  7. waft
    be driven or carried along, as by the air
    At five, the smell of Mami’s rice and beans, fried plantains, and sancocho, a Colombian soup, wafted through our halls, rising to mix with the sound of our beloved salsa music faves from El Gran Combo, Grupo Niche, Frankie Ruiz.
  8. conjure
    summon into action or bring into existence
    Mami had her signature dishes and Papi was always conjuring up something interesting, sometimes adding an American, Chinese, Italian, or Dominican twist.
  9. ruckus
    the act of making a noisy disturbance
    Between my nightly performances and Los Hermanos Lebron blaring from our radio, rarely was there a quiet moment. Did the ruckus annoy the people on our street?
  10. blighted
    affected by something that prevents growth or prosperity
    We moved a lot, but all within the small radius of Boston’s neighborhoods, some more blighted than others.
  11. makeshift
    done or made using whatever is available
    Eric usually had his own space, and until I was five, I slept with my parents. As I got older, Mami carved out a makeshift bedroom for me, mattress and all.
  12. sheer
    so thin as to transmit light
    She hung lacy sheer curtains that she’d purchased on sale from Marshalls or Macy’s.
  13. spruce
    make neat, smart, or trim
    She spruced up our bathroom with a blue, fluffy toilet seat cover and matching floor mat.
  14. aesthetic
    a philosophical theory as to what is beautiful
    Mami’s desire for good aesthetics extended to her own appearance. She took pride in how she looked, valuing cleanliness as much as she did an honest day’s work.
  15. barrio
    a Spanish-speaking quarter in a town or city
    But whenever all four of us got together, we were like the barrio rat pack; and we did not sit still.
  16. tenement
    a run-down apartment house barely meeting minimal standards
    In the silence before daybreak, mothers rise to collect their children’s colorful garments from the clotheslines strung between tenement windows.
  17. resilience
    the ability to recover readily from adversity or change
    As impoverished as many Colombians are—nearly a third of residents live below the poverty line—they’ve maintained a spirit of resilience. There’s an optimism that things can and will improve.
  18. abound
    exist in large quantities
    Jobs are scarce. The economy is dysfunctional. Government corruption abounds.
  19. careen
    move at high speed and in an uncontrolled way
    Four years later, Papi’s widowed mother and sister were on a bus when the bus’s brakes failed. The bus careened off the road and burst into flames.
  20. poised
    in full control of your faculties
    My mother was the best dancer in the room, and to this day, she is a very poised and elegant dancer.
  21. distraught
    deeply agitated especially from emotion
    Those tragedies shook Mami to the core of her being. On many mornings, she was almost too distraught to crawl out of bed; her love for Eric and my father is what kept her going.
  22. fervently
    with strong emotion or zeal
    America wasn’t initially the dreamland my parents thought it would be; as fervently as they tried, they couldn’t land even the lowliest of jobs.
  23. rile
    disturb, especially by minor irritations
    He stayed out past his curfew, and when he did come home, he refused to say where he’d been. It takes a lot to rile up my father. My brother’s behavior did the trick.
  24. sustain
    undergo, as of injuries and illnesses
    He was also still reeling from the blows he’d sustained when he was Eric’s age; I don’t think you ever quite get over such devastation.
  25. credenza
    a flat-topped piece of furniture for storage
    The screaming escalated until Mami, her face covered in tears, grabbed a box of buttons on a credenza.
  26. menial
    relating to unskilled work, especially domestic work
    During that time, the community would do for them what they’d once done for my parents: Hook them up with menial labor.
  27. lament
    express grief verbally
    Nearly every week, Mami and Papi strategized about how to get their papers. Lamented that they didn’t yet have them.
  28. hoodwink
    conceal one's true motives from
    As it turned out, the woman was a notary public, not the lawyer she’d claimed to be. By the time my mother heard that from several others who’d been hoodwinked, the con artist had left town.
  29. amnesty
    a warrant granting release from punishment for an offense
    His Immigration Reform and Control Act gave foreigners who’d illegally entered the country before 1982 an opportunity to apply for amnesty.
  30. relentless
    never-ceasing
    Amid relentless pushing and coaxing from my mother, Papi at last mustered the courage to step out of the shadows.
  31. meander
    move or cause to move in a winding or curving course
    Beneath fluorescent lights, we meandered down the corridor, scanning each door in search of the suite number.
  32. placard
    a sign posted in a public place
    The attorney’s name was engraved in all-capital gold letters across the door’s placard.
  33. predicament
    an unpleasant or difficult situation
    “I can set up a monthly payment plan. I’ve assisted many people in your predicament.”
  34. sufficient
    of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement
    They recognized I was striving to be a good girl, that I took my courses seriously. So given everything going on in our house, my average grades had to be sufficient.
  35. slew
    a large number or amount or extent
    As tough as my middle school was, it did have one major thing going for it—a slew of extracurricular activities. You name it, I was involved. In fifth grade, I joined the basketball team and chorus. In sixth, I became a cheerleader.
  36. riffraff
    common or disreputable people
    Deep down, I somehow knew I was better than my environment, that I was capable of rising above the riffraff.
  37. regale
    occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion
    “You’re a shining star!” she’d proclaim each time I regaled her and my dad with a new song.
  38. delicate
    exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing
    She looked like a living doll. Rosy cheeks. Delicate lips. A bald head. She was the most beautiful baby I’d ever seen.
  39. despondent
    without or almost without hope
    Their marriage became so rocky that Gloria and the baby went to live with her parents in Hyde Park.
    At that point, my brother went from despondent to broken. He stopped working. He barricaded himself in his room.
  40. promenade
    a public area set aside as a pedestrian walk
    Once there, we’d hit the promenade and wander toward the Paragon Carousel.
Created on Thu Sep 05 09:28:38 EDT 2024 (updated Thu Sep 05 11:02:09 EDT 2024)

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