The spoken words

By Emily White

Lincoln Park High School

The United States of America has always been a land of opportunity. People come from all over the world and come here to study for various reasons.

More often or not, the principles of American culture and government are exaggerated until they're a forged bliss. Teens, and sometimes adults, are led to think that the American way of life guarantees them automatic freedom and individualism, without considering that some people fall into the trap of stereotyping and making assumptions that are incorrect.

Language and accents are often the first indicator of differences and that perhaps someone is not born in the U.S. Many international students note how people react to them when they speak with an accent and when others misinterpret where they are from because of it.

"I was born and raised in Kazakhstan until I was four, so my native language is Russian — the primary language of my country. When I came here, everyone assumed I was Russian, because I spoke it. Even my teachers. I thought more people would be open-minded to [different] cultures," said Arseniy Minasov, 14, of Lincoln Park High School. "I can speak English very well, like most of my family members, but I still have an accent.”

Many people don’t know how to differentiate between ethnicities either and may mistakenly label international students students because of their surnames. "Most people assume I'm Mexican or another Hispanic race since I'm from the Philippines and have a Spanish name, but I'm Asian," Alex Rosales, a freshman at Whitney M. Young Magnet School, said. Rosales’ mother worked in numerous countries as a singer with her quartet band. Once she found a stable status for herself, she moved to the United States with Rosales and her younger sister. Apart from school she hopes to build a stronger relationship with her mother, who she hasn’t been very close to. Before Rosales’ mother moved to the U.S., she was always on the road so she would only speak to her mom over the phone.

"Considering English is one of the Philippine's official languages, students were required to learn English. Going to school in the Philippines and learning English was a great privilege because the Philippines is a third world country, where the public schools are not up to par," she said, comparing the two school systems, even though she admits that the Filipino school system is stricter. According to the American Psychological Association, one in 10 U.S. citizens were born in a foreign country. While kids often adjust to new cultures quickly, parents have to carry the extra baggage of transitioning into a different culture and taking care of their family. More often than not, parents will send their children to the U.S. to live with relatives already residing here.

“My parents live in Thailand right now. They sent me to America to study,” said Tep Suwannathen, 15, a student of Ogden International High School, who was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand. Since he came here in the spring of 2009, he’s been living with his aunt and uncle, who have lived in Chicago for almost 45 years. "Everything is different. The houses, food, people, customs, laws, money, how to eat, what to wear--everything," he said in a thick Thai accent. As one would think, learning a new language is difficult, especially when the language--and even the alphabet--is so different from theirs.

Though language may be a barrier in the U.S., learning English is a definite plus to overcoming obstacles and helping to bridge the gap of misconceptions.

"It took me about half a year to speak English well. I did not want to, but I had no other choice," said Alevtyna Kupenko, 13, a student at Lincoln Park High School and a native of Ukraine's capital, Kiev. "My mom and I are the only ones who know how to speak English in my family. When my grandparents came here for my 8th grade graduation, I had to translate almost everything. It can be annoying, but not so much.”

Eight-grader Cassie Ng’s father was born in Shanghai, China. In her school she takes Chinese classes and tries to follow by the same Chinese values her father had to follow when he was young. Despite the overwhelming amount of differences between American students and international ones, she says there are some similarities. Whether you were born in Seoul, Paris or Rome, we all share something in common.

“People are quick to point out the differences and negative things, but we all really want to just get ahead. We’re looking for love, happiness and just overall a better life,” she said.