9781422277492

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Getting Here

V ictor Alarcón arrived at his mother-in-law’s house one day to find money heaped on the bed. This wasn’t a good thing. It was the 1980s in Bolivia, and an economic depression had caused extreme inflation , in which money loses value rapidly. The money looked like a lot, but it wasn’t worth much. And it would be worth even less in a week. Alarcón’s sister-in-law had already moved abroad to

Words to Understand dictator a leader with total power economy a region’s wealth or resources

emigrant a person who leaves his or her home country to live elsewhere immigrant a person who has permanently settled in a new country inflation a trend in which prices increase over time oppression a long period of harsh treatment refugee a person forced to leave his or her home country due to war or natural disaster visa a document that gives a travevler permission to enter and stay in a country

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