Coming from the other side of the world, senior UzZ’wal Sunuwar is able to get a glimpse of a culture he is not usually acquainted with, as Kathmandu, Nepal is very different from the United States. Sunuwar was faced with the many struggles of fitting in, learning completely new ideas, and pushing through the numerous cultural barriers of travelling and being immersed in a totally new environment. Sunuwar originally wanted to travel and study in the United States because of the better educational opportunities. “The studies are better than in my country,” describes Sunuwar. However, once he got here, he was stunned by the sizable differences. Sunuwar was not used to the major cultural shift between Nepal and the United States. “It’s different …show more content…
He is very interested in music and while he doesn’t plan on continuing on the musical track, he still feels that being in band here at TJ will help him move further in life. “It gets him out there and the social aspects showed him a different culture,” stated Alvitre. Sunuwar explained that he was uncertain whether or not he wanted to come back to America at first. But now that JROTC has inspired him to join the military, he wants to eventually move and live here. At first, the differences were so extensive that he did not like not fitting in and not feeling “normal” like everyone else. “It is tough because you might not know the customs or the culture of the country. You have to get used to new way of doing things and a new lifestyle,” explains Sarah Cantrell, Sunuwar’s ELA (English Language Arts) teacher. However, Sunuwar got used to many of the evident differences and he is excited to continue to experience new cultures. Getting used to the way things operate here was one of Sunuwar’s biggest frustrations, but he is adapting to the switch very well. “He’s doing very well. He’s about the same level as all the other students,” said Cantrell. After returning to his home country, Sunuwar wishes to continue studying abroad in other countries. He likes that he has the opportunity to immerse himself in other countries’ cultures and learn new lifestyles that he would otherwise not be acquainted with at all. “I think you get to learn about a new culture, you get to meet new people, you get to travel, you get to learn about the country you are studying in,” explained Cantrell. Being a foreign exchange student offers a great way to integrate yourself into a community that can be completely different from the one you’re used