New foreign students arrive from around the world

Senior Melodie Zhang is accustomed the crowded, busy city life of her hometown of Hong Kong, a far cry from her new home in quaint, cozy Saratoga.

“At first, moving from Hong Kong to the U.S. was really scary because I didn’t know what to expect,” Zhang said. “It’s a different culture altogether and I was a little nervous [about attending school in the U.S.].”

Zhang is one of many international transfer students who are now faced with the challenge of adjusting to life in a new country as well as acclimating to a new school. This year, the school has added students from Peru, Mexico, Japan, China, South Korea, New Zealand and several other nations.

While stepping onto a new campus is always daunting, common hardships such as navigating the flow of traffic in the hallways and finding an unoccupied place to sit at lunch are made even more difficult for foreign students, whose first language is often not English.

“I didn’t know how to dress for the weather and making friends was difficult at first. The curriculum was also different; it’s a lot easier than in Finland,” freshman Olli Lilja said.

Freshman Boyu Pang, who moved to Saratoga from Canada about a month ago, was also anxious about attending school in the U.S.

“The transition was a major one,” Pang said. “I didn’t know anything about the [U.S.] education system, or any of the schools really, but I also had to deal with finding new friends.”

The school has attempted to ease the transition for new students by hosting the annual new student barbecue, held on Aug. 18, which gave students new to the district an opportunity to interact with both old and new students.

“I also found the new student barbecue and the orientation day very helpful, as I met new people and had many of my questions answered,” Pang said.

Pang also added that being a member of the marching band helped him adjust because he got to know some of the staff and students before school even began. Since then, he said he has easily settled into the rhythm of high school life.

“All in all, I think that the transition went very smoothly, especially considering the added details of moving and adjusting to a new environment,” Pang said.

Despite being unsure at first, Zhang has also managed to become accustomed to the lifestyle in the U.S. thanks to help from the school staff, the friends she has made and her relatives who live in Saratoga, and she is now excited to experience all that California has to offer.

“I saw a lot of thick forests and cute little shops downtown,” Zhang said. “It was great, because you can’t see that in Hong Kong.”

But the thing she’s looking forward to the most is the different environment.

“I love how the sky is so blue and that it’s not noisy or polluted,” Zhang said. “I’m really looking forward to living and going to school here.”