MHS exchange students overcome culture shock
Staff writer
Although all three of the Marion High School foreign exchange students longed for the experience of traveling to another country and learning its culture, the shock of the cultural differences was immense for each of them.
Vu Nguyen learned he was going to live with Sarah Waddell this past summer. The only information he had about his future host parent was a piece of paper with clinical details about the family.
Even though he had studied English since the sixth grade, Vu was nervous about the outcome of the upcoming trip. Would his house parent be mean or nice? The answer to that question would affect the next year of his life.
He prepared himself for a 13-hour plane ride, featuring a disorienting landing where the traveler gains a day of time because of the crossing of the international dateline.
Vu was heading to a strange country whose inhabitants spoke a language he had studied but had never used to speak to a native speaker.
For the first few weeks of his Marion residency, Vu was unsure of his English and spent much of his time pent up in his room.
Vu and Webber Tang, from Taiwan, had siblings graduate from American schools as foreign exchange students. Webber’s brother Justin graduated from Centre High School last year. Vu’s sister went to school in Minnesota; he briefly visited her last year.
They knew the only way to relieve the pressure of a new environment was to throw themselves into the new culture.
Webber has used humor to bond with his teenage classmates — although it was difficult at first.
“Sometimes you just want to make a joke, but you can’t find the right words,” Webber said. “It’s still hard, but it’s easier than in the beginning.”
What has helped Luis Esteban, from Spain, is that he moved in with a host family with a teenage son. Luis became fast friends with Justin Barr, the sophomore son of Caroline Barr and Garry Klose.
The three students have also participated in athletics.
Their only previous experience with football came from sporadic viewings; Vu, Webber, and Luis had never played American football before.
“When you’re just waiting, your heart will beat so fast,” Webber said. “When you tackle people, it’s just a lot of fun.”
Vu and Luis both played basketball and baseball at MHS. Baseball was less familiar to them because they had played it only briefly as children before joining the Marion team this spring.
Webber and Vu have bonded with their host families, especially the young children. Webber was escorting Eric and Bethany Carlson’s young children Olivia and Michael Friday around the Marion Relays track meet — both in a stroller and in his arms.
Vu and Webber have enjoyed the difference in family dynamic in American culture. In their families, older siblings always carry responsibilities for their brothers and sisters.
“My (host) parents are really nice to me and they let me decide stuff myself,” Webber said. “They’re younger so they understand teenagers.”
Vu and Webber have also enjoyed small town living. Vu hails from Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon — a city of 7 million people. Taiwan has 23 million residents in a total area of 12,456 square miles. In comparison, Kansas has a total area of 81,814 square miles and nearly 3 million residents.
“It makes you feel empty and lonely when you walk around a city and no one knows you,” Vu said. “Here everyone waves at you. They ask you how you’re doing. How’s your day?”
Also making the transition smoother for the three students is a relaxed school schedule. Vu said his school in Vietnam has adopted the American style of learning — offering classes like rowing and dancing. However, they attend school six days a week from 6:45 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Webber said his school cancels fun classes — like art and physical education — within a week of a basic knowledge test for math or reading.
Luis also said his school in Spain was more difficult, with all of his tests being essay exams.
“In America you study less but I think it’s more effective,” Vu said. “I can remember things longer.”
The students have also involved themselves in other parts of American culture.
Luis went hunting.
“In Spain it’s hard to get a license; we don’t have the right to bear arms,” he said.
Webber attended the MHS prom April 2.
Vu converted to Christianity, and has been attending Eastmoor United Methodist Church since November.
Although each student misses the food of their native countries and misses seeing their families, another uniting factor is the warmth they have encountered from Kansans.
“People in Taiwan are nice, but not like my classmates,” Webber said. “Americans are very nice, not like in movies.”