It's All Relatives

1. "Not surprisingly, my native language, Persian, contains many more precise words for relatives than does the English language. My father's brothers are my amoo. My mother's brother is a dye-yee." page 96

Why doesn't the English language have more specific names for relatives? It would be a lot easier in my opinion.

2. "My oldest paternal uncle, Muhammad, did become a doctor...He and his family fled to America in 1980 with just a few belongings, Muhammad's Iranian license did not allow him to practice in America, so he had to take both English and medical courses and pass the the necessary exams." page 101

The same happened to Sundara's uncle, who was able to rise to the position of accountant after much hard work. While Pok Simo's father was demoted to a janitor from his high ranking military position in Cambodia.