<正> It was five days before Christmas,and the calé where Iworked in northern California glowed with strands of red andgreen chili peppers.Holiday music played over the sound sys-tem and my coworkers excitedly discussed their plans.“Doinganything special?”they asked me.I shook my head no. I was 3,000 miles from my family in Hawaii,pursuing mylifelong dream of becoming a pediatric nurse.I attended classes