Monday, July 7, 2008
People in Lawrence this year will celebrate Independence Day by watching fireworks sparkling over the Clinton Lake. However, the University has more than 1,500 international students hailing from more than 110 countries for whom the American independence day isn’t their first independence holiday. Other international students residing in Lawrence celebrate their independence by marching on streets, in high schools and on the beach.
1. José Espinosa-Machado, Panama
It wasn’t easy for José Espinosa-Machado, Lawrence senior, to partake in America’s freedom as an immigrant from Panama.
Coming to the U.S. became possible when both his parents received Fulbright Scholarships in 1988 to attend graduate school in Texas.
Life was hard in Panama after the U.S. tried to remove Manuel Noriega, the Panamanian military general, and froze Panama’s assets in the late 1980s. José said many Panamanians experienced financial hardship during the period.
“My mom was like, ‘Let’s get out of here. We can escape this hardship at least now,’” he said.
His family came to the U.S. just before the government invaded Panama in 1989, after which the U.S. government cut José’s parents’ scholarships.
After José’s parents lost their scholarships, his father went back to Panama and his mother Maritza stayed behind with her three children. She had no relatives in the U.S. and didn’t speak English well. The reason she didn’t return to Panama was because she couldn’t afford the airline tickets back home.
Maritza didn’t have any money and got multiple jobs. She started work at a manufacturing factory, cleaned other people’s houses and washed dishes at a Chinese restaurant.
Finally, she was hired as a Spanish graduate teaching assistant position in Kentucky and earned her master’s degree.
Maritza moved to Lawrence in 1991 with her three children. Maritza started working for the KU Academic Programs for Excellence and became the director in 1996. She recently earned a doctorate in education.
When she was young, her family could not afford her tuition and she gave up a dream to be an architect. She said she wanted her children to have better opportunities.
“I wanted them to pick what they wanted to study and pursue,” she said. “I think that was my motivation.”
Maritza said Panama had as much freedom as the U.S.
“I have the same freedom I had in my country: the freedom to pursue my work, to pursue what I like doing,” she said. “I won the scholarship and I came to study. Many things changed and I had to stay. But I had many opportunities in my country, too.”
She said one of the main advantages of the U.S. was its people who accepted different ideas and struggled to search for what would develop the country and make a better life.
“People are always thinking outside the limitations,” Maritza said. “I think that is why the country is so great and progressive.”
Panama has several holidays in November, including the day of separation from Columbia and the day of independence from Spain. Maritza said the separation from Columbia was the biggest holiday among them. She said the whole month was busy with parades and parties. Panamanians celebrate the country’s independence in high school, neighborhoods and in the streets.
José is taking advantage of being in a university that offers many opportunities to its students. He is majoring in East Asian languages and cultures, studies Japanese, plays in the KU marching band and is a member of the Ballroom Dance Club and DanceSport. His jobs include working at Supportive Educational Services, web services for AIESEC and teaching salsa dancing lessons at the University.
Despite all of his activities, José said he still felt like he didn’t belong anywhere.
He has been in the U.S. for almost 20 years and likes the country’s diversity. He said the U.S. offered opportunities that had attracted people from around the world.
However, he said he occasionally faced rejection or discrimination. He said people stared at him when he was the only non-white in a group of his white friends. People have been impatient with him even though he speaks English fluently. He said in restaurants some waiters and waitresses did not treat him as well as they would treat white customers because they thought he wouldn’t tip well.
“It’s not very obvious,” he said. “I think it’s a just subtle things like that.”
He said most of the discrimination was not intended. He said discrimination existed in any culture and people often acted in that way unconsciously.
José has not been back to Panama since he moved to the U.S. in 1988. Many of his relatives live in Panama and he wants to visit them sometime in his life, but he hesitates to do so. He understands Spanish, but he does not speak it well. He said he worried people would think he was not Panamanian.
“I’m also Americanized,” José said.
2. Ya-Chi Yen, Taiwan
Ya-Chi Yen, Taichung, Taiwan sophomore, came to the University last year, seeking to be a dentist.
Yen said American universities offered more freedom to students. For example, students can change their majors more easily because of the flexibility of the American educational system.
She said she was also surprised at the open relationship between students and instructors after coming to the University. She said American students often argued against instructors in class. She said many Taiwanese students only listened to their teachers’ lectures without any interaction.
“Teachers have more power to control students,” she said. “Most students are afraid of teachers.”
Taiwan celebrates its independence day, or Double Ten Day, on Oct. 10. The Taiwanese government holds an official celebration. Its program includes a presidential speech, public singing of the national anthem and military parade.
Yen said Taiwanese families may gather to remember independence, but usually they did not do anything specific for the day.
Yen said they celebrated traditional events more throughout the year, such as the Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival and the Moon Festival. Those holidays are based on the lunar calender and are related to Chinese history and legend. Families celebrate the holidays by eating special food, drinking and going to festivals.
3. Mohammed Ahmed Al Yousif, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Ahmed Al Yousif, Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia, graduate student, came to the University to study economics a year ago. He was working at an American bank, which provided him money to study.
Al Yousif said he hadn’t experienced major culture shock since he came here. He had American friends from his work and watched American films at home. He said many Saudi Arabians were familiar with American culture because of Hollywood and American corporations in Saudi Arabia, such as McDonald’s.
Al Yousif said he liked the diversity of American culture. He saw many immigrants and international students from all over the world. He said he could not experience that in Saudi Arabia.
“When I went San Francisco, I went to Chinatown,” Al Yousif said. “I felt like I’m in China.”
He said many people outside of Saudi Arabia associated the country with desert, but he wanted them to know it had more variety. He said some places had nice weather similar to California’s beautiful mountains and beaches, especially in the south.
Al Yousif said Lawrence was similar to his hometown, Al Hassa, an oasis region in eastern Saudi Arabia.
“It’s smaller, not crowded and there are a lot of trees,” Al Yousif said. “I have been to different cities, California, north of Michigan and Seattle. Lawrence is the best.”
Saudi Arabia has a national day to celebrate the unification of the country on Sept. 23. People celebrate with traditional dancing and music, family gatherings and trips to the beach. On that day, King Abdul Aziz talks about the Saudi history on television programs.
— Edited by Rustin Dodd
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