Read Letters from Apizaco Kim Kudym 9781521138458 Books
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“Letters from Apizaco†is the memoir of a boy-crazy seventeen-year old living in Mexico as a high school exchange student in 1976 as told through her letters home, journal entries and correspondence after returning to the U.S. It is the story of the kindness, sincerity and warmth of the Mexican people, especially Felipe and Evelia Gonzalez, so proud of their country, wanting to show it off to their new foreign daughter, Kim. Not everyone in Apizaco welcomed the presence of an American in their city. From an all-white community, north of Boston during the era of school desegregation, Kim would become the only white girl, often reminded of such by passersby staring and yelling out “Güera!†from their Volkswagon windows. She would discover that derogatory language referencing homosexuals and people of color were used on both sides of the border. After a brief adjustment period battling Moctezuma’s revenge, a sense of alienation and homesickness, Kim did not want the adventure of a lifetime to end and leave the Gonzalez family nor her inseparable friends, Norma and Felipe. She kept her crush on Felipe a secret from Norma, completely infatuated with him after hearing him sing and play guitar in the neighborhood chapel. A hopeless love triangle emerged once Felipe revealed his true feelings for Norma over a shared bottle of Mezcal. Apizaco is a small industrial city in the state of Tlaxcala, roughly one hundred miles southeast of Mexico City. At an altitude of 8,070 feet, it was founded for its location on the railroad between the capital and the Atlantic coast. The rooftop of a retired steam engine, La Maquinita, placed as a monument to steam locomotion at the entrance to the city, became one of many after school hangouts for Kim and her new Mexican friends and classmates. Unfortunately, attending high school in Mexico turned out to be a torture to be endured. Three years of Spanish instruction were hardly enough for an intelligent sounding conversation, much less academic success. Bored and lost, Kim copied meaningless notes off the board in Mexican History, Art History, Chemistry, Biology, Philosophy, Physics and Ethics, while entertaining herself, daydreaming, carving pro-USA slogans on her desk and passing notes to Norma and host sister, Mayu. Although a graduate in the top ten percent of her class at Triton Regional High School, Kim became a failure and behavior problem at El Instituto Fray Pedro de Gante. A lesson of compassion and empathy towards our non-English speaking immigrant children in the U.S can be learned from “Letters from Apizaco.â€
Read Letters from Apizaco Kim Kudym 9781521138458 Books
"Kim's well-organized teenage account of her experience in Apizaco, Mexico was candid, insightful and side-splittingly funny at times. Her journal entries help me recognize again how tricky it is to navigate adolescence - no matter where you live. I felt a little sad as I came to the end of the book, realizing that all relationships change as we grow older and distance separates us."
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Letters from Apizaco Kim Kudym 9781521138458 Books Reviews :
Letters from Apizaco Kim Kudym 9781521138458 Books Reviews
- Ms Kudym presents the story of her stay with a Mexican family exactly as it happened, and it is a charming view into the mind and thoughts of an energetic young woman.
The exceptional warmth and kindness of her host family and school friends is evident and makes me wonder if American hosts measure up. Kim's personality bursts from the pages, makes you laugh and makes you want to meet her at this period in her life. Highly recommend this memoir! - Reading Letters from Apizaco afforded me a delightful view into 3 months of the life of a 17 year-old white girl from Rowley, MA in 1976. Kim's letters to her family from Mexico are honest and funny, the words of a homesick kid who loves and misses them,but often expresses her feelings in the smart-alecky style of a teenager finding her voice and knowing it's safe to crack wise with those who love her.
The hotshot Spanish student in her high school, Kim is given the opportunity to go as an exchange student to a high school in Apizaco, Mexico. All classes are conducted, of course, in Spanish, and Kim finds herself thrust into the position of being unable to understand much of what is being said, a humbling experience.
The Gonzalez family welcome Kim warmly into their home and family life; it's clear through her letters and journal entries that Kim feels safe and comfortable with them. The family's acceptance, the close friendships with kids in the town, and learning that proficiency in a second language, particularly in an academic setting, is difficult and takes a very long time to acquire, all no doubt contributed to Kim's effectiveness as a teacher of young immigrant kids struggling to perform in school in a language (English) which they are trying to learn. Perhaps the experience even led her to choose that professional path.
Although 17 year-old Kim writes with a very adult grasp of the English language, the events, concerns and ideas she writes about are pure adolescent-cute boys, riding bikes, climbing La Maquinita, physical horseplay with her pals, longing for the opportunity to smack her little brothers around, dreaming about her dog Kimmy, getting into trouble with teachers at school, writing, singing and taping songs with her friends.
I was charmed by Letters from Apizaco, having once been a 17 year-old white girl myself. - This book brought me back to my exchange stay in Dijon, France, when I was in college. Even though Kim Kudym is younger, and in Mexico, many of her observations and experiences were similar. Funny, honest and beguiling, Kim's account of making friends, navigating family life and growing fond of her host country makes entertaining reading. For anyone who's considering living in a host country, or hosting an exchange student themselves, this book offers helpful insights into why foreign exchange programs are so important, probably even more so today considering the current isolationist policies that seem to be sweeping the globe. We can all learn so much from other countries while working to become fluent in their language, and Kim's letters back and forth from Mexico remind us that although the process is sometimes difficult and can prove challenging, it produces awareness, knowledge and memories that last a lifetime.
- If you've ever been a boy crazy teenage girl and kept a journal and had a steamy high school romance, you'll be able to relate. Even if you're a guy, you'll enjoy this book. One of the funniest I've ever read! Nostalgic, especially the serenading Kim in the streets of Mexico with her guitar singing, 'As Tears Go By!', to sweet, as when Kim was bored with her host family so she wanders outside only to be greeted by her 10 year old fans who enjoy stroking her long blonde hair. But the story was also heartfelt and not only did I enjoy the Napoleon Dynamite like humor, the message of making life lasting friends or at the very least, life lasting memories so important. Such a good job and a fun read with great pictures, I highly recommend this book!
- Kim's well-organized teenage account of her experience in Apizaco, Mexico was candid, insightful and side-splittingly funny at times. Her journal entries help me recognize again how tricky it is to navigate adolescence - no matter where you live. I felt a little sad as I came to the end of the book, realizing that all relationships change as we grow older and distance separates us.
- I really enjoyed this book. Very honest and funny.
- Did you have a diary as a teen? Did you have a pen pal as a youngster? I did. Kim sounds a lot like me. Maybe that's why I enjoyed her book so much.
- Reading this little tome, Letters from Apizaco, brought me right back to my own teenage years when life was at once a constant adventure of hormones and hijinks, passions and panic, bewilderment and great expectation. What a wonderful read Ms. Kudym has brought us in this unvarnished and raw romp through heady adolescent days (daze?). Thank you, "Keem," for your remarkable humor and insight! I am incredibly eager to see what next you have in store!!
