What it's Like

By Laura Evers

Thursday, May 10, 2007

When Lucy Stun, Belize City, Belize, graduate student, moved to the United States to go to school at the University of Kansas, she wasn’t sure what to expect. Stun grew up in a country with fewer opportunities than the United States and a very different reality. “In a third-world country, you see things you wouldn’t normally see,” Stun says. “There are a lot of large families who struggle to support themselves.”

One thing that surprised Stun when she moved to Kansas was that her roommates would frequently leave the doors unlocked. You could never do that in Belize, she says, because you may get robbed.

Today, after several years in the States, Stun says she’s happy she made the decision to move. “It’s a real eye-opener,” she says. “It’s a good growing-up experience. I always knew that if I didn’t like it here, I could go back.” Stun only sees her parents twice a year, but she says she’s learned to figure things out on her own. “You learn a lot about yourself,” she says. “You don’t have a safety net.”

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