Big city, thousands of new people, unknown language, and being miles away from home: this describes the current life of many students in our community. Foreign students come from all over the world to immerse themselves in the language and cultural differences of American schools.
Senior Aldair Avilar Echeverria shared his struggles with learning in an English speaking classroom environment while trying to keep up with the rigorous expectations.
“The teaching is good, but the fact that I came here for senior year [is] difficult because I have to learn everything students here have learned for the last three years,” Avilar Echeverria said. “I’m not going to learn a whole new language in less than a year.”
Avilar Echeverria finds that he has to put in extra hours each night to translate assignments into his primary language and then figure out how to complete them. On top of that, the pressure of finding a group of friends is another layer of difficulty as he constantly feels like an outcast.
“I don’t have friends or anyone to talk to,” Avilar Echeverria said. “I spend lunch alone which makes me feel weird and lonely.”
Language is not the only barrier for these new students: students are constantly fascinated by the immense culture difference compared to their hometown. Assimilating into this new community both intrigues and adds a layer of distance and stress.
“Back home [in Germany] we don’t have the same schedule every day…you just have more classes, not just seven, maybe 14 to 15,” junior Lena Hentschel said. “It is harder to make friends here because back home, the teacher comes to your class, [and] you stay with the same [classmates] throughout [the] day.”
Furthermore, school is different throughout the world with different structures, beliefs, and social life; some might find our regular life activities to be a luxury. Sometimes, the new students find themselves relieved when entering this new community.
“There’s a lot of pressure to study in Chinese schools,” sophomore Haoqi Zhao said. “The pressure to study here is relatively relaxed.”
It is crucial for us, as current students, to give the incoming students a warm-hearted welcome to create a bonded community. Zhao shared his exceptional experience when making personal connections with others during his first few days here.
“I think [the school] is very good, the teachers are very gentle and patient with me,” Zhao said. “I have made many friends here and they are very friendly with me and often help me.”
Our school offers an immense variety of extracurricular opportunities. The incoming students are in a position where they are able to expand their skills to a deeper level and bring out their full potential in a way that was not possible in their home country.
“The football team [here] is better than my Japanese team so far, so I’m excited about football everyday,” sophomore Yuma Hayashi said. “I’m gonna try my best and play as much as I can!”
