Untitled Document

Introduction

In an effort to expose us to various cultures, our EXCEL teacher, Ms. Lois Collins, entered us in a contest where we had to learn about the diversity in our school. She took us on a field trip to Brookhaven National Laboratory. The Lab is in our school district. As a result, many of the Lab employees have children who attend our schools. We went to the Lab, because we were able to interview a wide variety of people from different cultures. Some of the questions revealed the differences and similarities between our country and theirs. This made it clear that although we come from different cultures, we can all work together toward a common goal.

by Erica Kannry

We would like to thank the Hospitality Committee for allowing us to infiltrate their Tuesday Morning Coffee meeting, where we totally devoured all of their pies.

Interviews

The Interview Team of the EXCEL program went to interview people at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (known on Long Island as "the Lab"). We learned that many international visitors work there. There are people from Russia, England, China, Brazil, and many other countries. Our visit was set up by Mrs. Elaine Lowenstein of Community Relations, and Mrs. Monique de la Beij of the Hospitality Committee. These two women also took the time out of their busy schedules to allow us to interview them too.

While some of the team members were interviewing individuals, Natalie, Rexton, Tiiu, and Jenifer interviewed Mrs. Lowenstein. She told us all about the kind of work that is actually done at the Lab. It is owned by the Department of Energy, and they do all kinds of scientific experiments. For example, they may take new medicines for people and test them on animals to see if they work and if they are safe. If it does not work, it can not go on the shelves of stores. in addition to biomedical tests, they have engineers and scientists who work with physics, and environmental tests.

We were told about the whole BNL community (it has its own zipcode), the population of all of the international visitors (visiting scientists, engineers, and their family members). This community within our community is very ethnically diverse. It is so diverse that some of the people have their own chefs to cook their own types of food. If someone from China wants sushi, the chef makes if for them in a flash. The population of international visitors has increased a whole lot over the last year.

Usually, the people there work on medicines or chemicals that will be used for health or science to help out in the future. These experiments could take anywhere from a month to a year or more. They work very hard, so they are very busy. Sometimes for them to keep their jobs they have to really take part in or come up with a brilliant idea, or have a perfect experiment which has succeeded. The work being done is usually government sponsored. So, we get the scientists and engineers from countries who chose to invest in a particular area of research.

Mrs. Monique de la Beij was very friendly and shared lots of information with us too. She told us what it was like for her when she first got here, and what her responsibilities include as the Chairperson of the Hospitality Committee. Tuesday Coffee Morning is a great time for all of the visiting international employees and their family members to get to know each other. They have great field trips and international cooking classes.

Sometimes it is difficult for family member to get accustomed to living here. While the employee in the family is very busy working, the others are sometimes homesick. The children learn English very quickly. Some even decide to go back home early, because they can not make the adjustment. "If mama is not happy, nobody is happy." (smile) Also, most of the spouses of the engineers and scientists are highly educated professionals themselves, and they prefer to be at home working in their own professions.

All things considered, most of the international visitors enjoy being here as much as we enjoy having them here.

by Rexton Gordon, Jenifer Steckler,
Tiiu Lindemann, and Natalie Ebner

I went to Brookhaven National Laboratory and interviewed one of their foreign employees. Her name was Jing Wie. She came from China about two years ago, and had been working and living at the Lab for about a year. Jing decided to go back to China after about six months, just to visit. She said she liked Long Island, but not as much as China. She quotes, "It's to expensive!." Jing had also mentioned that the food and language was hard to get used to. She quotes, "It's very different." In conclusion, I think that Jing is getting used to living here.

by Janelle Smith

The international visitor that I interviewed was named Lessy. She was from Indonesia.She is an attorney. She came here because her husband was here. The rest of her family was in Indonesia, along with her pet turtle. What she mostly likes about the United States is that we are friendly, open, and free. She likes meeting different people. The hardest part was meeting people who are not used to foreign people. She came here last May.

Lessy also told me about things in her country. Her system of money was called rupian. Her food is different from ours also. In both countries we play tennis.

As you can see, our countries are both the same and different.

by Erica Kannry

When I went to Brookhaven, I interviewed two women who were originally from Russia. Both of the ladies loved the beach, the trees, and the fact that Brookhaven Lab is on an island. They also thought that the food was very bland, not as exciting as the food at their homes in Russia. The women both loved the fact that they were treated kindly, and that their was other people here just like them.

One of the women commented on the fact that the traveling was really harsh. "the visas and planes helped the traveling go a lot smoother." Both of the women came over because their husbands were invited to use the scientific material (and facilities) at the Lab.

One woman said that the way school went was different. They have a smaller budget.

She waid she would move here because it is hard to find in Russia. She said that since she is an engineer, it makes it even harder.

As you can see, coming here has its challenges and benefits.

by Devon McGhee

I interviewed Simone at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Simone came here from Germany, because her husband chose to come here to work. She has three children ages two, six, and eight years old, and they in Shoreham. They came by plane, and one of the frustrations of coming here was that her daughter was crying. Some of the hardest things about living here are meeting Americans and driving long distances. What she is especially fond of is the beaches.

In Germany, Simone was a teacher. Some things that a very different in her mother country are washing machines, schooling, and food. She was invited to a New York birthday party, and they had cheesecake. She took a big slice, and found it was really heavy compared to German cheesecake. She had trouble finishing it. (I want that recipe!)

by James Dolan

When I visited Brookhaven National Laboratory I interviewed a lady who was from Japan. She has no kids, but she is married. She is in America now for about ten months. She came here because her husband got a job here. An average flight from Japan to the United States is about thirteen to fourteen hours!

She was just thirteen years old when she learned English. At first, she said it was hard to learn English, but now she said the only problem is that it is hard for her to have a conversation with someone else. She also said she has a little problem with speaking or reading English.

In America, she said she likes a lot of things. For example, she likes the large amount of animals on Long Island, and she likes the nature, too. She also said she feels more "free" in America. There is one thing she does not like. She said that when you first come here, it is hard to find a job. At home, she follows her native culture. For example, she still eats mostly Japanese foods.

In conclusion, I hope you know more about the Japanese culture now that you have read my interview. I hope you enjoyed it!!

by Sandra Sobolewska