Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2009, Page 128

Description:	our melting potStudents recognize their heritage and show thatVOfiety really is the spice of lifeftfilSophomore Isaac Ackerman, junior Megan Mazza, freshmen Dustin Udey, Daniel Fox, Sumit Khanna, junior Diana Fox, and freshman Matthew Haugheedisplayed flags showing the diverse culture at Bloomington South, photo illustration by timothy kravchukana fumurescu Jonathan ohanlon kawtar el-bekhtyThe United States was known for bus-ding highways, enormous supermarkets, and fast food restaurants that hadbecome a regular part of its culture.Senior Ana Fumurescu had neverexperienced these aspects of life untilher family moved to the U.S. from Romania in 2001 for the same reasonsmost people do; a better life and a better future, she said. Fumurescu saidthat she experienced several notabledifferences between the two cultures.For example, someone [in Romania]would be lucky to own a car at all.People use public transportation muchmore often than they do [in the UnitedStates], she said. Although Fumurescuhad adjusted well to the hustie and bus-tie of America, she had plans to visitRomania again. I am going to spendthe summer there with my family, sheexplained. I wouldnt move back, butI will continue to visit.-ELIZA WILLIAMSJonathan OHanlon held a bridgebetween two worlds; the BloomingtonSouth sophomore had a dual passportthat enabled him to work anywhere inEurope as desired. OHanlons dualpassport was necessary because hismother was born in Yorkshire, England, so he had visited on numerousoccasions. He had noticed some differences in mannerisms between the English and Americans. People are muchmore courteous in England, OHanlonsaid. They always say please andthank you, and are so much more gracious about their food. He explainedthat his favorite part of England wasLondon, although he didnt remember it very well because he was youngwhen he spent time there. OHanlonplanned to return to England to visithis grandmother during the summer.Until he visited again, OHanlon enjoyed traditional English foods at hishome in the United States such as roastbeef with Yorskshire pudding and fairycakes. —ELIZA WILLIAMSKawtar El-Bekhty. a junior atBloomington South, was no strangerto partying Moroccan-style. When shewas three-years old, she had a hugefestival thrown for her in Morocco, thecountry where her parents were bornand raised. I wore a gown and waslifted up, and everyone threw moneyat me, El-Bekhty said. The festival wasthrown just because I visited, she explained. Although Moroccans lovedan excuse to throw a party and gatherwith friends, El-Bekhty explained thatthe culture was very strict. Generally,girls dont talk to boys. They wouldthink I was a wild child if I ever livedthere, she said with a laugh. Althoughher mother visits every other year, El-Bekhty has only been to Morocco threetimes. However, her family manages tomaintain their culture in the UnitedStates. My family is Muslim, so wecelebrate all the traditional holidays,like Ramadan, she explained. —ELIZAWILLIAMS128 \| STUDENT LIFE \| heritage
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/8150
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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