Native to Belarus, freshman Anastasiya Liaskouskaya moved to America with her mom and dad in August of 2005, when she was a little over two years old.  

“My family comes from a long line of people from Belarus and a few people marrying into the family from Ukraine,” Liaskouskaya said. “Our whole family has only lived in America from around 1998 to present day.”

Although Liaskouskaya is from Belarus and speaks the native Russian language, her family isn’t big on ‘European holidays,’ with the exception of New Year’s.

“We take New Year’s pretty seriously,” Liaskouskaya said. “We usually cook a whole ton of food, including potatoes, turkey, steak, and lots of salads that my mom learned to cook back in Belarus when she was a little girl.”

While Liaskouskaya is a part of the Belarusian culture, her heritage usually goes unnoticed because most people she encounters do not know where the country is.

“95 percent of the people in Frisco that I’ve met have absolutely no idea where Belarus is and assume I’m just white,” Liaskouskaya said. “However, when they hear my name, they quickly think I’m Russian even through Russia and Belarus are completely different countries.”

Although Belarus and Russia are separate countries, they both share the national language of Russian, which caused some challenges for Liaskouskaya’s mother, Natallya, when moving to the States.

“The biggest challenge I have with being from a foreign country is definitely language,” Natallya said.  “I came here after speaking Russian my whole life and it was a big change learning a new language from scratch.”

Although Liaskouskaya’s mother had difficulty learning a new language as an adult, Liaskouskaya had the advantage of learning both languages as a child and as a result, she is fluent in English and Russian.

“The best part of being bilingual is the shock it brings people,” Liaskouskaya said. “Russian isn’t a very common language and I think it’s very cool to speak something that most people don’t know here in America.”  

Even so, being fluent in two languages has its setbacks for Liaskouskaya, as sometimes she may know what to say in Russian, but not in English, and vice versa.

“Growing up, I caught onto English words quite fast and I learned to be able to put two languages aside from each other and know when each one is appropriate to use,” Liaskouskaya said. “Sadly, even to this day, I sometimes will know how to say something in one language but I can’t remember it in the other.”

Because people automatically think Liaskouskaya is Russian, due to the fact that she speaks the language and most do not know where Belarus is, she often hears stereotypical Russian jokes aimed at her.

“I have jokingly heard that ‘Russians drink lots of vodka’ and that all Russians are ‘spies but it doesn’t affect me because I’m not technically Russian,’” Liaskouskaya said.

No matter the jokes that come with being foreign, Liaskouskaya is glad she is a part of the uncommon Belarusian culture, although she wishes there were places in Frisco for her to further express her heritage

“I find it very special being from a country that most people in Frisco aren’t aware of,” Liaskouskaya said. “I do wish that there were places around the area for Belarusians to gather as there already isn’t may of us to begin with and it would be cool to meet others like me.”

While Liaskouskaya and her family are proud to be Belarusian, Liaskouskaya’s mother believes there is a bright future ahead of her daughter here in the States.  

“I believe that America is full of tons of opportunities and my daughter will have a bright future ahead of her,” Natallya said.

Unlike Liaskouskaya, who was born in a foreign country and has a direct connection to Belarus’ culture, freshman Lizzy Stone is linked to the Nordic island of Iceland through her father’s side of the family.

“My grandmother is from Iceland, but [she] doesn’t live there as she became a citizen here about 15 years ago,” Stone said. “Although my grandma and grandpa do visit for for weeks at a time to see family and their favorite sites.”

Because of Stone’s Icelandic heritage, her father, Woody Stone, and family take great pride in the country and its achievements.

“We take great pride in Iceland, which is a small country of only a few hundred thousand people but has done some big things; they played a big role in the Cold War, made major contributions to genetic testing and research, and this year qualified for the World Cup, just to name a few,” Woody said. “Anything Iceland-related gets us fired up!”

Along with their patriotism for the country, Stone and her family cook and eat many traditional Icelandic foods.

“We express our culture through my dad cooking a lot of foods my Amma cooked for him when he was a kid, like smoked lamb, fish, skyr, kleinur, and Icelandic pancakes,” Stone said.

Not only the cuisine of Iceland influenced Stone, but also how she addresses her grandparents; Amma and Afi.

“Instead of grandma and grandpa, my sister and I call them Amma and Afi, the Icelandic names,” Stone said.

Although Stone addresses her grandmother as Amma, her first name is Gudny, which is a traditional Nordic name.

“My mom has a thick accent, so my friends often could not understand her,” Woody said. “Also, her name is Gudny, definitely not normal in the U.S., but not as different as my brother’s name which is Sverrir, a common name in Iceland.”  

First names are not the only difference between Iceland and America, as they have a system to determine last names as well.

“Last names are constructed with the first name of the father and either ‘son’ or ‘dottir’ added to it,” Woody said. “My mom’s last name was Bjornsdottir and if we lived in Iceland today, Lizzy’s last name would be Lizzy Woodysdottir.”

Because Stone and her family do not speak with an accent or look any different than an average American, their heritage often goes unnoticed.

“People [in Frisco] always assume I am fully American,” Woody said. “I laugh to myself every time I have to fill out a form that asks for ethnicity because Icelandic American is not an option!”

Although Stone’s family is proud to be of Icelandic heritage, her grandmother is glad to be living in America now.

“My grandma always speaks highly of Iceland and she misses it a lot, but she is glad she came to America,” Stone said. “Her dad and most of her whole family, 13 siblings in total, had to work in the fishing industry and she’s thankful she doesn’t have to do that here.”

While Stone’s grandmother is happy to be living in America, Stone wishes she could connect with her Icelandic culture more.

“I wish I could go to Iceland because it’s a lot different seeing and being there than just looking at pictures,” Stone said. “Everyone lives a lot simpler and isn’t super interested in having a lot of stuff or certain brands like we are in Frisco.”

Exchange student, Solamé Boitelle, was born and raised in Elsass (Alsace), France. Getting the opportunity to live in the United States for the duration of an American school year has given Boitelle a look into a culture that is completely different from her own.

“Schools in France are so much more difficult,” Boitelle said. “Getting good grades in the classes that I’m in right now is pretty easy for me.”

Along with the level of difficulty in school material, there are many differences regarding schedules, classes and how subjects are taught.

“We don’t change classes very often, one teacher teaches many different subjects,” Boitelle said. “In France, we also don’t have electives, the only choices are basic classes like maths, sciences, and different languages.”

One benefit of studying in the United States is getting to explore different career paths without having to wait for college.

“Some people, for example, want to become a lawyer in the future, but they come out of high school without really knowing what it’s like,” Boitelle said. “Students can get the chance to learn more about and really feel what it’s like to be in that career here in the U.S.”

Back at home, Boitelle had a completely different daily life than she does now as a foreign exchange student. From her diet, to means of transportation, France and America greatly differ in lifestyles.

“I ate a lot of fruits, veggies, and salad back in France instead of the junk and processed food I eat here,” Boitelle said. “We don’t use a car for everything we do, instead we use the bus, the train, or we walk to places.”

Even away from her home country, Boitelle still finds ways to trace her home roots.

“I can usually find cheeses and other french food at World Market and Kroger,” Boitelle said. “So when I’m missing France, I like to go get some comfort food to remind me of home.”

Not being able to drive and not having public transportation at her fingertips is challenging for Boitelle in adapting to the American culture.

“Whenever I want to go places with my friends or meet up with them, I have to always ask and bother my host parents to take me,” Boitelle said.

Although moving from France to the United States can have its cultural differences, Boitelle doesn’t believe most of them are negative and appreciates the open-midness of Americans.

“In France, you are more likely to get judged if you are gay because they are very closed minded,” Boitelle said. “I like that in the U.S people can speak their mind and do what makes them feel good and if someone wants to come to school in pajamas or dress up nice they can, without worrying about getting judged.”

Boitelle feels that throughout her migration to the U.S, she has found that she has the opportunity to express herself more than in her homeland.

“As a smiley and happy person, I enjoy getting to express myself in America where in France people are always so serious,” Boitelle said. “They act as they don’t enjoy themselves, so I always had to restrict myself more back home.”

For Boitelle, the United States offers the opportunity to interact with those of multiple cultures and heritages in a public and daily environment.

“In the area that I come from in France, we don’t have a lot of immigration and all, so basically everyone at my private school is white, snobby, and boring,” Boitelle said. “Here, my friend group has people from all over like Canada, Mexico, Cuba, and Pakistan, so I love the diversity.”

Not only does Boitelle feel that Americans are accepting to others overall, but she feels like the staff and students at Liberty have welcomed her with open arms

“I was so glad to find out that everyone at [Liberty] was so accepting,” Boitelle said. “Everyone gets so excited when I tell them I’m French and it has made my experience so much better than I imagined.”

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