Coming into a new school is hard enough, but imagine coming to a whole new country. For Senior Polina Kopylova, the experience was exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time.
“I couldn’t speak the language very well when I first came here so it was hard to fit in,” she said.
Coming from Magadan, Russia, a small town in the southeastern corner of Siberia, four years ago, she worried about fitting in.
Students at Chapin High worry about clothes and having classes with friends. Kopylova worried about having friends in general.
Those fears were quickly dispelled. When she met her fellow Chapin students, she realized it would be a lot easier to fit in than she thought.
Kopylova says, “The people were nice and open enough to teach me the things to know, such as all the (social) boundaries.”
Moving from Russia to the United States four years ago Kopylova noticed one major social difference between the two countries: freedom.
She said she loved “the ability to do whatever you want with your life; the ability to be financially independent not matter your sex or race.”
This is something most American teenagers take lightly. Having experienced the rampant chauvinism of some Russian citizens, Kopylova sees America as a country where gender does not play that big of a role in success.
Those differences also apply to the differences between American boys and Russian boys.
“Boys in America are a lot more respectful and a lot less immature than boys in Russia,” said Kopylova.
Besides dealing with boys and the other stuff teenagers deal with, Kopylova likes to spend her free time like everybody else.
“I like to play video games and hang out with friends,” added Kopylova.
Kopylova does not wish to go back to Russia but she does miss one thing.
“It snows there pretty much all year long,” she said.