Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen

The author learns to play the role of an American. He spends a lot of time in libraries, studying for his role. There, he watches movies and listens to music, though he is confused by the wider political issues presented in magazines. Figure skating is another fascinating subject; the routines of Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding help to introduce him to classical music. He also listens to pop and rap, hoping to understand white and black American culture. He collects idioms and mannerisms from television, while the Oprah Winfrey Show introduces him to a wealth of black American authors. Through the musical Ragtime, he learns about the history of black and white American music, as well as the influence of immigrants. He learns that white people—from Ireland, Germany, Italy, and other countries—could be immigrants too. He learns that, aside from Native Americans and some African American groups who were brought to the continent as slaves, every demographic in America is made up of immigrants.

After a month of living with Peter, the author returns to his grandparents’ house and makes an uneasy peace. He remembers watching The Joy Luck Club with his grandmother. She cried. The author realizes that he is not alone in missing his mother.