christopher delossantos

story:

It's Up to Me:

When I was six, I lived in Mandaluyong City, Manila. One day my dad called me from America to tell me something very important.

"Hello," my dad said.

"Hey, Dad, how's it going?" I asked him.

"Fine, everything is fine," he blurted.

"So, why did you call?" I questioned.

"I have to tell you something. You are coming to America," he told me.

"Really? I'm finally going to see my parents!" I said excitedly.

Until then, I had only seen my dad in pictures.

My dad has white hair and he is not very tall. He has dark brown eyes. He is chubby, not slim, and he looks a little bit dirty because he is a mechanic. He is the oldest of the ten children in his family. From our phone conversations, I knew that he liked to watch Filipino news and, every Saturday, he liked to go jogging. Sometimes, he would call me on his days off. He has a really deep voice—sometimes he sounds like a man whose voice is changing.

The day I got to America, my dad was so excited to see me he got to the airport an hour before my flight landed. I couldn't blame him for being excited; he hadn't seen me for almost six years. I had lived in the Philippines since I was about a year old.

A few months after I came to America, I enrolled at Longfellow Elementary. Every day, at lunchtime in the yard at Longfellow, I get to see my friends. Every day, I hear the clock ticking, the ticking signaling that lunch is almost over. Then I notice it is 1:30 in the afternoon. The sun shines in my eyes. The rail on the playground gets really hot, and when I touch it, it almost feels like I've been stung by a bee. Sometimes, while I stand outside, I can smell the lunch loaf from the previous day's lunch.

I can still remember my first few days on the playground. I remember being worried that if I spoke to people in English, I would get laughed at, but if I spoke to people in Tagolog, my classmates would not be able to understand me. When I got settled in my class, everybody asked me the same things over and over again. When I didn't understand what people were asking me, I would just smile and nod my head.

Most people were nice, but some kids beat me up just because they knew that I would not be able to explain to the teacher what had happened. So, to protect myself, I went to the library and checked out books to help me learn to speak English. I read and read every day until I could speak perfectly. I showed everyone that I could learn to speak English. I even made a few friends along the way.

Even after I had learned English, though, I chose to speak both languages. In public, with other people, I speak English. When I'm with my family, I speak Tagalog so that I won't forget it. I know I made the right choice because, in the end, I learned a new language and kept my old friends. Mostly what I learned is that you should never give up.

Answer the following:

Multiple choice:
chose the correct answer based from the story:

ex. question:

1. The new language that the boy learned was?____

a. Tagalog
b. Latin
c. English
d. Spanish

answer:letter "c"

1. After the boy lived in America, Where did he lived first?____

a. Makati
b. San Jose
c. Naga City
d. Mandaluyong City

2. His Dad call for what?____

a. He has a cancer
b. He want's to congratulate his son
c. He want to tell his son that he is going to America
d. to greet him a Happy Birthday

3. His father is a____.

a. mechanic
b. doctor
b. lawyer
c. seaman

4. His father got so exited, because____.

a. He diffident seen his son for 4 years.
b. He diffident seen his son for 6 years.
c. He diffident seen his son for 10 years.
d. He diffident seen his son for 12 years.

5. The boy always went to the Library to____.

a. Talk with his classmates.
b. Research for his assignments.
c. checked out books to help him learn to speak English.
d. unwind


True of False

direction:
write T on the black if the statement is True and write F if the statement is False.

ex. ____1.The story is all about the boy and his pet.

answer: "F"

____1. The boy choose to speak both English and Tagalog Language.

____2. The father of the boy is a OFW in America.

____3. The boy find unexcited when his father call.

____4. His Father is the youngest in their Family.

____5. The boy came for America.


Essay Test:

1. If you where the boy in the story, would you like to go to America and leave your own county for study? why,and why not?

2. What do you think is the most reason why some Filipino wants to find job outside the Philippines?

3. What is your personal reflection about the story "It's Up to Me"