Labib Ahsan is a 16 year old sophomore from Bangladesh. He has been in the United States for a little over a year.  Ahsan’s aunt already lived in the United States, which helped his parents apply for a green card, which was approved a year later. He traveled with his mom, dad, and brothers. The most difficult part about moving for Ahsan was leaving his relatives and cousins in Bangladesh. He was very enthusiastic for the trip here, a trip which lasted 24 hours. Ahsan says he misses the people the most in his country. When asked what surprised him about the U.S., he said, “The people and culture, which are very different.”

Ahsan said his biggest challenge was “learning English and going to school because I could hardly understand my teachers.” This is a challenge faced by many international students. When asked where he found strength, Ahsan said he found it through Ms. Wisnieski, a teacher here at J-DHS.  There were times where he felt unwelcomed, for instance, when he was treated differently because he couldn’t speak English and communicate with other people properly. But that isn’t stopping him from striving for his goals, such as going to a “good college” and getting a “good job.”

Advice Ahsan would give someone planning to move here would be to “learn English before coming” and to “get ready to see new people.” He wishes more people knew that he’s still fairly new to this country.

In Bangladesh, the most celebrated holiday is the Bangladesh New Year. Advice he would give someone traveling to his country would be: “It’s very weird.” His favorite local foods are sweets and his native language is Bengali. He says “hi”!