Adjusting from summer days in the sun into back-to-school season tends to be a challenge for many students balancing the workload, new schedules and activities that a new school year brings. However, the task of returning to school in a whole new continent is not one that many tackle. One particular student’s world was turned directly upside down when returning to school meant on the other side of the globe.
Sophomore Bao Le is a native of Vietnam who decided to come to the United States this past July anticipating the experience of an American school. He shared how many features of typical Kansas differed from his hometown, such as the weather and urban benefits.
“It is very convenient here that you don’t need to go far away to find a store close by,” Le said. “In Vietnam, they don’t really have that. The weather is also mediocre, but here it is too hot to concentrate. The environment is also cleaner than I expected”
One aspect of the school that has stuck out for Le is the opportunities presented in the engineering program. He has taken a peculiar interest in the maker space perks that his class provides.
“I am still trying to adapt, but I have found a lot of new things for me to explore and study,” Le said. “I really like that in engineering they let me create something new and interesting. They kind of had that (Vietnam school), but it was pretty boring. The teachers also help you a lot and have helped me to adapt.”
Le resides with his uncle while staying in the States rather than with a host family. As an international student, he is required to attend a private school. After high school, he intends to attend an American university to pursue a career as a doctor.
According to Le, his primary challenge over the past three months has been struggling with communication. He had just begun speaking English when he arrived, which affected his navigation around the school.
“I came here alone, so it’s pretty hard and I always need to ask a lot of people what I need to do next,” Le said. “If I don’t ask someone I will probably be late (to class). Saying the right things is hard too.”
The school has fostered other international students through foreign exchange programs in the past, including senior Ella Liu. Liu enrolled in her freshman year for similar pursuits as Lu, in which communication has impacted her education for all four years.
When asked about how English played a role in Liu’s life, she explains that it is still an ongoing journey that did not come naturally to her.
“I feel like I am still constantly struggling with it,” Liu said. “I always felt like I couldn’t really talk and I couldn’t read, and I still need the translator to read and do my homework. I will say, though, that it has gotten a lot better since freshman year.”
For most classes, Liu uses a translator to understand unknown words or phrases from different passages. Teachers such as English Teacher Janie Woods have made efforts to adjust work based on Liu’s English comprehension.
“I remember, at least for freshman year English class, I couldn’t really read the passage or do any grammar practices,” Liu said. “Mrs. Woods told me to not worry about how correct my sentences were, which was very helpful.”
Being a part of a foreign exchange program admits students into different cultural exchanges and is intended to broaden their horizon of opportunities in the future by paving the way for personal international relations. The families of Le and Liu recognize the abundance that these high school connections could bring for the future, leading these two to pursue the program.
“By coming to the United States it will help me get a job here after high school,” Liu said. “Subjects and school go on a lot longer and are very challenging in China. I am really happy to be experiencing the States and the opportunities and new classes that I have taken, even if coming over can be scary.”
