Moving

In Jasmine there is a lot of talk about immigration, being a foreigner, and moving around. I have been moving around the world since I was 5 and know how difficult and challenging it can be to enter a new town, community, and culture. Of course some places are easier than others to adjust to but there are many places that you always feel like an outsider and know matter how had you try, you can't fit in. In Jasmine one of the characters is talking about the Mexican Immigrants in America and says "I don't think they're bad people, you know. It's just that there's too many of them" (27). The character says herself that she doesn't think that the Mexicans are bad people and there is nothing wrong with them being around, but basically at some point enough is enough. It reminds me of when I used to live in Japan. There are a lot of US military bases through out Japan and most of the Japanese people are very friendly to the Americans because as the character from my book said were not bad people. I had a lot of Japanese friends though and they pretty much told me the same thing, that there is nothing wrong with the military soldiers that are living through out Japan and there very nice people but sometimes it seems like they are taking over certain parts of the city. I obviously don't know how things were before the military bases were made and how life used to be for the indigenous people, but I can imagine that things may have changed drastically since America gained control over certain parts of the country.
The main character of the book says "The border's like Swiss cheese and all the mice are squirming through the holes" (28). This brings me back to the earlier quote that so many people are trying to get to America that it seems like America naturally is the Swiss Cheese and everyone who is trying to come in either illegally or legally are the little mice and are just trying to find the spot of the "cheese" that is right for them. Through out my years of traveling I have always wondered the two different views between the commoners in a city and the tourists. Not really having a place to call home I don't exactly know what it is like to be a commoner but I know much about being a tourist. I liked these two passages from the book because it seemed to give a little perspective from the commoner and it's nice to be able to see a different side for a change.