By Corbyn Aquino
Departure: Puerto de Palmas Victoria Guanajuato, Mexico.
326 people in total. Majestic mountains. Vast views. Luscious landscapes. A peaceful paradise.
But, in a matter of days, everything changed for the 16-year-old girl and her family.
Arrival: Muncie, Indiana.
65,081 people in total. A rural college town. Congested. Bustling and noisy.
After receiving her permanent resident card (green card) and moving to the United States, sophomore Diana Mata encountered one of the most immense changes of her life.
“I didn’t want to face a place totally unknown to me where they didn’t speak my language,” Diana said.
She did not favor this move due to the memories and family she would be leaving behind, but she knew that her dad’s job was substantially more important.
Diana’s dad, Gonzalo Mata, sought out a job at Smoot Landscaping L.L.C. after his friend, previously from Mexico, notified him about the job.
On July 22, 2023, Diana landed in Indianapolis and made a trip to Muncie. There, her family found a house in downtown Muncie and decided to stay there.
After only being in the country for nine days, Diana started her first day at Delta High School.
“It caught me by surprise when I saw how much schools use laptops here (United States),” Diana said. “In Mexico we mainly used books.”
Diana has also found increased difficulty in school due to the language barrier but believes most teachers are understanding and help by modifying assignments.
Mrs. Amanda Craw, an English 9 Honors and BSU 103 and 104 teacher, has become a staple in Diana’s and many other international students learning careers.
Craw modifies assignments and tests by shortening the length or providing the information taught in their first language. She believes that it is important that the non-fluent students retain the same information as the fluent.
In 2021, Craw hosted Sara Longoni, a foreign exchange student from Italy. She believes her previous experience with Sara has helped her with assisting international or non-fluent students at Delta.
Just across the Atlantic Ocean from Mexico lies Africa, where sophomore Keano Anieto and his brother, senior Keith Anieto, spent most of their lives.
Keano kicked off his journey in Durbin, Africa, where he spent 13 years before moving to Nigeria for a year.
After Keano’s mom decided she wanted to seek a nursing job in the U.S., Keano encountered one of the biggest changes in his life.
Following the family’s move to Brooklyn, N.Y,., and spending a year in the U.S., Keano was struck by how open the U.S. was compared to Africa.
“I think it’s stupid how spaced out the buildings are here,” Keano said.
The landscape is only one of many differences for Keano in the US. He also believes that the school system is much more advanced here.
“In Africa, I would have to sit in ONE class with the same people and teacher all day,” Keano said. “People think school here is boring, but they wouldn’t last a day in Africa.”
Keano grew up with his parents speaking different languages, with his dad’s first language being Ebo and his mom’s Azulu.
However, his family all shared the English language, which made Keanos’s transition to the U.S. much easier.
Keano also believes that being a part of the soccer team was a main factor in his smooth transition from Africa.
Keano played center middle for the junior varsity soccer team and contributed with four goals.
He plans to stay in the U.S. for the remainder of his life but intends to make yearly trips back to Africa to visit family.
Just north of Africa lies Ukraine, a country in Europe, where sophomore Denys Krushenytskyi spent the majority of his early years of life.
Denys moved to Minnesota from Ukraine in May 2022 due to the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war.
“I didn’t take it (the move from Ukraine) seriously,” Denys said. “I thought I would just leave for a couple of months and come back (to Ukraine).”
Denys believes his biggest struggle during the transition to the U.S. was the language barrier, due to speaking Ukrainian previously.
Denys spent two months in Minnesota before moving to Muncie to live with his cousins.
Soon after moving in his 8th grade year, Denys decided he wanted to try out tennis, a sport completely new to him.
Denys found a passion for tennis and wanted to stay with the sport when starting high school and intends to stay with it.
Due to Denys’s dad being a part of the Ukrainian military, Denys had to leave him behind when moving to the U.S.
“I think about my dad daily,” Denys said. “I wish he could be here with us.”
Denys spent two years in Muncie but had some problems with his travel documents, so he had to return to Ukraine in September 2023.
He eventually returned to Muncie at the end of the 2023-2024 school year and intends to stay there in the meantime.
Although Denys believes he has built a good foundation in the U.S., he still has a soft spot for Ukraine.
Denys hopes to move back to Ukraine with his family eventually, but due to the war, his wishes can’t be granted at the moment.
