Looking back on all the little side notes I wrote down while reading "Aria", I asked a lot of questions, all having to do with the same thing though. I don't understand why after they began to speak two languages, it seperated them so much. I understand that. They were obviously not comfortable with the english language but I don't understand why they can't use both. Especially since Rodriguez talks about how comfortable he got with the his english, why not use both. It was clear that the father never found his comfort level with the language. And when Rodriguez tells that part about his dad trying to say grace at dinner, but stumbles over the words and everyone giggles and that was the last time he attempted to say it, really made me feel for this man. I cannot imagine moving somewhere where my language was not the language of choice. I would be lost. Even going into my tutoring program, trying to conversate with a little boy who's first language was clearly not english, was very frustrating. It was hard not to shut down and just end our conversation. And that is exactly what he talks about in his piece. The conversations between the parents and children became silent. They would get frustrated trying to explain themselves or repeat themselves over and over so they would just end it. At that point I couldn't understand why though. The kids were comfortable enough with their new language, why couldn't they now use both? It shouldn't be forgotten about who it is they are. I feel as though he felt a piece of who he is was taken away, but don't understand why. My mom's side of the family is very Italian. Any holiday that we would all be together or we would have sunday morning breakfast a lot with the whole family, the older adults, like my great grandmother and great aunts, would strickly talk Italian. They would use english here and there when talking to us or saying something they wanted everyone to understand though. My sisters and I would always sit around picking up words here and there out of their conversations. My mom always apoligizes to us that we never learned it. It is a big part of who we are and where we came from. But we also used both languages. There is no reason to forget about your's just because you are learning another. His family totally shut their's off. Maybe to help them learn it better is the only reason I can think of. Unless me guessing he is older now and back when he was a kid he was look at much differently for being able to speak a "different" language is right. But how can the parents let that happen. The nuns came in and talked to them and the parents what to do what is best for their children. Well pretending to be someone else is not best. His poor father went from being a happy, "alive" as Rodriguez explained, to "shy". I don't think he was shy though I think he was just uncomfortable. But it is sad that it changed who he was. I think Rodriguez agrues that...