At San Luis Obispo High School, many different students are gathered together, promoting diversity among the community. In addition to students coming from different countries and cultures, they have to adapt to a completely new life and culture of San Luis Obispo. 

  Expressions wanted to get an insight on how foreigners have viewed SLO and its cultures. We interviewed seniors Jesus Rodriguez from Zacatecas, Mexico, Chu Minh Hạnh from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and freshman Jaivardhan Shinde from Solapur, India about how they live here.

Expressions: How long have you been in the United States, and why do you want to study at SLOHS?

Senior Jesus Rodriguez: I have been here for one year. [I wanted] to study at SLOHS because I have several options [here] but I would like to be an automotive engineer.

Freshman Jaivardhan Shinde:  I have been here for eight years. I want to study at SLOHS because there is a lot of new and exciting things to study. 

Senior Chu Minh Hạnh: I’ve been here for six years. For me, SLO is the best city ever and my family lived here. 

Expressions: What is your first impression about SLO and SLOHS? 

Rodriguez: SLO is one of the most beautiful counties, and SLOHS is the best high school I’ve been to. 

Shinde: The first time I saw SLO, it was amazing. There were many things that  I have never seen in my life and was so interesting. 

Chu:  My first impression about SLO that it’s very pretty and the weather is nice, but it’s not as big as my hometown, and SLOHS is very big and full of nice people.

Expressions: Do you think the culture of your country is different from the one here, and do you feel that those differences made it difficult for you?

Rodriguez: The culture from my country is not very different because there are many people from my country here, so the difference is very small. It isn’t very difficult, because Mexico and the U.S. are the two closest countries and it was easy to adapt.

Shinde: The first time I went to SLOHS, it was a big change for me from middle school and I loved it. It’s very difficult to change because in my country, we don’t eat beef and we never eat in a restaurant or cool places. It was not really hard to adapt because I was pretty young. I think the most difficult part is that I have to study a new language that I have never heard.

Chu: The culture of my country is completely different. At first, it was very difficult, but over time, it gets better. The language, customs, and culture’s difference gave me a hard time in the beginning. But over time, my English got better and I was able to make more friends.