Junior Ella Shohet moved halfway around the world from her hometown in Israel in 2020. Being in a new place was nerve-racking, just like how it would be for any new student struggling to find ways to connect with their classmates. But unlike the average new student, Shohet’s biggest challenge was the language barrier.
“I think the biggest [challenge] is the culture shock, it’s huge,” Shohet said. “I was a much more extroverted person when living in Israel. I came here and it was really hard to communicate so I became kind of an introvert.”
Building relationships often centers around effective communication, but this can be especially challenging for someone who does not speak English as their first language or has trouble understanding. Differences in peoples’ languages can play a major role in misconceptions about their personalities.
Seeyoung Kee, a foreign student who moved from Korea this year, feels that the challenge of language barriers has affected her socially. She has experienced some of the same communication challenges as Shohet.
“[Students] might think my personality is very shy and not outgoing because of the language barrier,” Kee said. “But this personality is not actually me. I’m myself when I speak in Korean.”
Navigating the halls of the school during passing periods can be challenging, especially for foreign students who are not accustomed to the fast pace. This situation can contribute to stress as they adjust to new environments.
“Back home, instead of us moving classrooms, the teacher is the one that moves. We were just in the same classroom the whole day,” Shohet said.
The new environment that students encounter outside of school can also be hard to adapt to. Often foreign students are from large cities that can be traveled by foot, whereas the norm in the Park Cities is to travel by car to school, extracurricular activities, and social outings.
“I would say the biggest challenge is not being able to go out without a car,” HPHS graduate Yu Hu said. “Living in China, in a city, I can just walk out, go anywhere whenever. It’s very convenient.”
Another significant cultural difference between Korea and the United States as there are different values placed on academics versus sports.
“We focused more on studying. Whereas here, they’re more focused on sports,” Kee said. “I also played basketball, but it was just for fun, not like competition. There’s much more competition here.”
However, one aspect of high school shared by students all over the world is the stress that they feel about school and making good grades. When Hu lived in China, school often lasted eleven hours a day or more, a similarity shared by American students with crowded schedules from AP classes and extracurriculars.
“Usually, when I was in middle school in China, I was doing school from 7:30 AM all the way till almost 7 PM,” Hu said. “We had a 2 hour lunch break, but still, school was long.”
One thing remains true among these foreign students is the pride that they feel from their hometown. Cultural representation is an important part of highlighting one’s heritage, and the district supports this diversity through their annual Culture Fest each spring.
“In college, they do an international fest every year, like they do at HP,” Hu said. “I always want to represent China with a flag and my traditional clothes.”
Students come to America from all over the world. The reasons that they come vary from desiring a new experience, a better education, or more freedom and choices to do what they desire and a better quality of life. For Hu, it was a combination of all of these things.
“In China, you have to go to school,” Hu said. “I think because of that kind of situation, people are more stressed. But at a young age, I chose to come here because it’s more freedom of not having to go to school, but instead wanting to.”
