Mah works at sweatshop sewing for long hours, and then she goes home and prepares some hard meals for her family. Leon Leila’s stepfather is a commercial seaman who ships out for months, he is not very happy with his job even thought when he has too many problems at home his job helps him get away for awhile. As many families Leon and Mah came to this country seeking the American dream, but they had to face many conflicts throughout their lives. There was Ona the middle child who was so attached to Leon but fell in love with a Peruvian boy named Osvavaldo which Leon didn’t approve of, and for this and so many other reasons she committed suicide. Nina the youngest sister lives in New York she likes to explore new surroundings and meet new people she’s like Leon in a way because to avoid her family problems she lives far away. Leila the oldest sister just thinks about her parents and their wellbeing and just resides in Chinatown.
Leila was always helping out Leon and Mah making sure they were doing ok, she helped by translating for them because they hardly spoke English. This reminds me a lot about my own family experience because I also helped my mom out by translating what she didn’t understand, reading the mail for her, going to school meetings to translate, it was very frustrating for me. I feel that Leila is also frustrated because she has to look out for her parents and make sure they do things how they are suppose to be done here, translating for them making sure her stepfather gets his