Girl in Translation

Ma and Kim scrub the radiator in their apartment but no matter what they do, it refuses to work. They also discover that they're the only ones living in their trash-filled building. Later, Ma asks Aunt Paula about the heat, and Paula assures them that she's already asked Mr. N., the landlord, for permission to fix it. Kim's days spent at home are freezing cold. Their thin blanket from Hong Kong is nowhere near warm enough, so she and Ma sleep under coats and clothes to stay warm.

One afternoon, Kim peels back the garbage bag covering the broken kitchen window and looks out the back of her building. She can see into the neighboring apartment in Mr. Al's building. Inside, Kim can make out a sleeping black woman cradling a baby. The woman wears only a housedress, which tells Kim that they have heat. Kim longs for the better times she and Ma had in Hong Kong.

When Kim gets to the factory the next afternoon, she sees Matt dragging a cart piled high with skirts. She helps him push the cart to the hemming station and learns that she made a mistake: today is Thanksgiving, all the schools are closed, and her absence all morning makes it obvious that she's skipping school. Matt assures her that Ma doesn't know, but he says she'll need to think of an excuse as to why she didn't come earlier. He suggests she say she didn't know, went to school, and then returned home to work on a project. He also says he regularly skips school and never does his homework. Kim feels as though she has to pay Matt back but has only tissues in her pocket. He tells her to forget about it.

Kim finds Ma and admits outright that there was no school, but she spent the day at home working on a project on current events. She hesitates a moment too long as she explains that she came at her usual time because she never takes the trains at any other time of day. Ma is quiet and then tells Kim to be careful with Matt and the other children, as spending time with them will make her grow up to be like them. Ma says that it's too late to do anything with her own life, but she's done everything she can to give Kim a better life. She reminds Kim of her intelligence and apologizes for bringing her to the U.S. Kim promises to get them out of this situation.

Kim vows to go back to school on Monday, as she can't bear the thought of Ma cutting threads as an old lady. She thinks of Aunt Paula saying that Nelson will be a great lawyer someday. Though Kim has no idea what lawyers do, she does know they make lots of money, and she reasons that if Nelson can do it, so can she. Kim spends the weekend worrying about her return to school, but her first day back is surprisingly uneventful. Kim had the foresight to forge a letter from Ma explaining her absence, and Mr. Bogart accepts it without question.

Mr. Bogart hands out a test. It takes Kim a few minutes to realize that they're simple math problems in word form. She already knows how to solve them. However, she makes a mistake and, not wanting to look like a cheater again, she decides to ask Mr. Bogart himself for an eraser. She enunciates as she asks him for a “rubber,” which sends a titter through the class. Kim has no idea why everyone laughed and returns to her seat, burning with shame. Annette whispers to Kim that it's called an “eraser” in the U.S., and she pushes one to her.

Kim does well on her test, though her method of solving the problems is slightly different and so Mr. Bogart takes off points. After the eraser incident, Kim and Annette become friends. Annette draws rude drawings of Mr. Bogart that Kim doesn't fully grasp but understands the intention, and writes answers in her notebook and shows them to Kim. School becomes bearable for Kim because of her friendship.

Ma and Kim begin leaving their oven on and open all the time. Kim is used to the heat of Hong Kong and so the bitter cold of New York is especially jarring. She doesn't have underwear like the other girls, and so wears two layers of pajamas under her pants. She has one sweater that was once pretty, but is now shrunken and pilled. Despite the layers and the oven, Kim is never warm. Ma often brings clothing home from the factory and never goes to bed before Kim. She tries to play her violin, but it's too cold for her to properly move her fingers.

Kim begins to look forward to school because of the heat and because of Annette. Annette wears braces, which is a new concept for Kim, and brings cold snacks to school, which she delights in sharing. Kim is also secretly fascinated by Annette's paleness. Annette constantly admires Kim's black hair and loves learning Chinese insults, though her pronunciation is horrendous. She also teaches Kim American slang.

Kim soon learns that her school is in a middle-class black neighborhood, though white kids from the nearby wealthier neighborhood also attend. Kim thinks of herself as one of the black kids, as they all get free hot lunch. However, Kim has no friends aside from Annette, and she doesn't fit in at all. Her clothing is homemade, and Ma keeps her hair chopped short, insisting that it takes less time to dry in the freezing apartment. Sometimes, fights break out that leave kids bleeding. The students are beginning to become romantically interested in each other and play games in which they "transmit cooties" to each other. Kim often ends up losing, as she'd been taught not to touch people without permission and therefore can’t pass the “cooties” on.

That winter, Kim is sick most of the time. Ma cooks traditional Chinese remedies for her but continues to send Kim to school, as she's too afraid to leave Kim in the freezing apartment. Mr. Bogart remains unimpressed with Kim, even as she proves herself a whiz at math and science. He constantly makes jokes about "the fairer sex" and acts as though his female students are incompetent. Kim continues to do poorly in any subject that relies too much on words. She buys a dictionary to study with, which costs her $2.99—200 skirts. She begins thinking of any cost as being in skirts rather than in dollars.

Kim tells Ma that in the U.S., students don't get to keep their homework or tests, so she doesn't have to show Ma her poor grades. She continues to struggle with Mr. Bogart's assignments, as he assigns things that are nearly impossible for her—collages out of old magazines and writing assignments about one's treasured objects pose problems, as Kim doesn't have treasured possessions or a collection of magazines. These issues plague other students too, but Kim feels as though she's the only one who truly tries.

Mr. Bogart's favorite student is Tyrone Marshall, a poor black student. His grades are exceptional and Kim nurses a secret crush on him. Mr. Bogart often speaks about how wonderful Tyrone is, which embarrasses Tyrone to no end. Kim secretly leaves Tyrone candy when Annette gives her some.

Kim notes that in Hong Kong, her best friend had been the second-smartest student at school. She'd been envious when Kim mentioned she was leaving, but Kim believes she was happy to finally take Kim's spot as the best student. With Annette, Kim revels in how kind she is: she gives Kim whatever she has, whether it's candy, drawings, or information. She once asks Kim what she does after school. The next day, Annette informs Kim that she asked Mr. Avery about kids working in factories and he said that that doesn't happen anymore. Kim understands that she needs to keep that part of her life hidden from Annette.