Moving to a new school or a different state can be hard, especially having to adjust to a new environment. These challenges are made even greater when moving to an entirely new country.
Immigrant and foreign exchange students might find themselves trying to find a sense of belonging in a place extremely unfamiliar to them.
Iurii Kolyadin is a junior who immigrated from Moscow, Russia a little over 5 years ago. When he moved to the U.S. he spoke little English, so he had to put extra effort into learning English, while also continuing his education here.
Kolyadin and his family came here because of the political instability in Russia, and his parents sought out the economic opportunity that the United States brings.
According to Kolyadin, the most significant thing he had to adapt to was the lack of urban structure in the U.S. because in Russia, and most of Europe, there are a lot more densely populated areas.
“You can walk from place to place pretty easily. If I wanted to go to the store, I could walk out and walk to the store, and I could walk right back. Here you need a car for basically everything. That was a really big struggle, especially the very beginning because we didn’t know what to expect,” said Kolyadin.
Cultural differences between countries can make for a great culture shock for immigrant students as well.
“This country was made off of immigrants…created based on immigration from all over the world which leads to a lot more diversity, a lot more different cultures that are kind of mixed together to form a society,” said Kolyadin.
Senior Sadeen Hindiyeh is another immigrant student at SJHHS who was born and raised in Dubai to Palestinian parents, and she grew up speaking both Arabic and English which helped her have an easier transition here. She immigrated to the U.S. before her sophomore year.
Hindiyeh noticed a major cultural difference in school life between the U.S. and Dubai. The popular high school activities or traditions that are standard in American schools aren’t present in other countries.
“The ‘American High School’ experiences were very weird, like homecoming, football games, all the dances, and stuff,” said Hindiyeh.
Hindiyeh mentioned how she found herself adjusting to a new school system as well. Her school schedule consisted of many more classes with very few being elected classes in Dubai.
“My freshman year I was taking 13 classes, like you had to take 13 every single year. And you could only choose 4 of them, the rest were mandatory,” said Hindiyeh.
Foreign exchange programs can also bring students to America, but temporarily so this can cause an even more complicated adjustment.
Natalia Morales is a foreign exchange student from Pamplona, Spain, who’s going through her sophomore year in America. She will be here for one year before traveling back home to Spain.
Morales saw a difference in the school systems between Spain and America too, as she could not choose her classes in Spain. She finds that the way American schools allow students to choose their courses makes it a lot less stressful.
“The strangest thing I’ve seen are the lockdowns for the active shooters, we don’t have that in Spain because having guns is illegal,” said Morales.
Without a doubt, adjustment is hard and for newcomers to the U.S. It’s a nerve-wracking experience to grow accustomed to new cultures and ways of life. However, fun activities here help welcome these students to America and make them feel like home.
