Students at North have much more about themselves than meets the eye. Some students share experiences that have lived or stayed in many different countries. Students have experienced different cultures and had different ways of life than many others have had. Junior Marlo Anderson, junior Maria Khrystin, junior Emily Janowski, and previous student Sonya Voitenko from Loyola University all lived in Europe at some point in their lives.

“Living in Ukraine for 15 years and then coming here was such an eye-opening experience. I didn’t expect living here to be as different as it is. I loved meeting people from all the different states I stayed in over the years; it felt like I had one big family in America just all over,” said Sonya Voitenko.

These students have lived or stayed in a variety of different countries. Junior Marlo Anderson visited Poland recently and lived in Europe for a short period of time.

“When I was in Poland, I realized just how different certain cultures really are. I guess I got so used to being in America and doing American things that I forgot how it was to be in a place with different customs,” Anderson said.

Some students visited countries that share the same culture as their families.

“My family is Polish, so visiting wasn’t too much of a shock in terms of the cultural differences. I speak Polish at home and with my family, so it was nice to be around other people who spoke Polish too,” said senior Emily Janowski.

These students experienced a multitude of different cultures and then all came back to the States where they all currently live.

“Coming back to the States and then also moving to Chicago for college almost gave me whiplash. It was a lot all at once. I had to adapt back to American customs after being back in Ukraine for the first time in almost three years, but I also had to learn to adapt to the college environment as well. I had just finished high school and had finally gotten comfortable with my friends and host family until suddenly everything changed,” Voitenko said.

The amount of overall differences other countries have compared to the United States is actually larger than some would think. Socially, economically, culturally, and politically, everything is different, from something as simple as their fashion style or architecture to something as complex as their form of money or government.