Zayan Chowdhury

Surrounded by India on its left and right sides, Bangladesh is home to more than 160 million people with junior Zayan Chowdhury identifying with its culture.

“My family is from Bangladesh,” Chowdhury said. “There’s not a lot of Bengali people here other than family so it’s cool when I randomly run into other Bengali people.”

With not a lot of people in Frisco being of Bengali descent, Chowdhury is often subjected to racial assumptions.

“I can’t tell you how many times people have I thought I was Indian and I’m pretty sure most people still think I’m Indian,” Chowdhury said. “I’ve [also] experienced people automatically assuming I’m smart.”

Not only does his race cause people to assume and tease, but so to does his religion.

“I practice Islam at a mosque,” Chowdhury said. “There is a pretty big Muslim community [here] so it’s cool [but] I’m subjected to a lot of jokes for reasons that stopped bothering me a long time ago.”

Although Chowdhury lives in the United States, his family still takes part in Bengali traditions and celebrations.

“We celebrate basically everything with cookouts and family gatherings, most notably Bengali New Years,” Chowdhury said. “It’s different and more festive in Bangladesh, but that’s what I’ve experienced.”

Chowdhury also speaks Bengali and has visited his ancestral homeland many times.

“I speak Bengali, although not often, but it’s usually just at home,” Chowdhury said. “I’ve been to Bangladesh six or seven times and the cities get super congested, [but] the rural parts are really nice and spacious.”

While being of Bengali culture comes with celebrations and visiting the country, Chowdhury has also experienced the need to meet certain expectations.

“Although Bengali culture can be strict in some ways, it’s not as strict as other South Asian cultures,” Chowdhury said. “[But] there are high expectations both in achievements and abiding by cultural guidelines in terms of hospitality and such.”

Because of such expectations, Chowdhury sometimes finds it difficult to balance the culture of Bangladesh and Frisco all at once.

“It’s hard, even frustrating sometimes because Bengali cultural expectations are so different [from Frisco’s], it can be hard to find a balance,” Chowdhury said.