Student reporter Sophia Gose interviews classmates Karla Delapena and Sieon Lee, whose families are from Mexico and South Korea, about what it's like to grow up between two cultures, from navigating language barriers to celebrating traditions that many of their classmates have never heard of.

Immigration is often discussed through statistics or economic outcomes, but Karla Delapena, whose parents are from Mexico, and Sieon Lee, whose parents are from South Korea, give us a new perspective on their everyday lives. They express their appreciation for living between two worlds.

Lee grew up with a language barrier, speaking only Korean at home, but notes how “we are all humans, and are all friends together.” Lee appreciates that she can speak two different languages, allowing her to “communicate with people on the other side of the world.”

Delapena’s elementary school offered an English language program for students, who would then take “national exams that were graded by the county.” In fifth grade, Delapena passed the English test, saying she could communicate very well.

Beyond language differences, traditions vary between countries. Thanksgiving is a celebration very specific to the United States, though other countries may observe a version of it.

Delapena does not celebrate any form of Thanksgiving. Lee, however, says that they have a similar holiday in Korea, called Chuseok, celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar.

Moreover, Delapena and Lee celebrate holidays that Americans typically do not.

Delapena loves Mexican traditions because there is a “spiritual meaning and history behind them.”

She celebrates El Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), El Día de los Reyes (Three Kings Day), and Mexican Independence Day. On her birthday, Delapena wakes up to her “parents clapping, singing the Mexican Birthday Song.”

Lee celebrates the Lunar New Year, which typically falls between January 21st and February 20th. On this day, there is a full moon, and families will “dance under the full moon” and spend time together.

Even when holidays overlap, families engage in different activities on the day and celebrate in unique ways.

For Christmas, Delapena’s family plays Mexican music and enjoys the traditional Mexican soup, pozole, which isn’t usually prepared for a traditional American Christmas. Lee says that “Christmas is not a typical Korean holiday,” but she still celebrates with family and friends and decorates a tree.

We all grow up with different experiences, and it is important that we all come together to share, understand, and learn about our differences.