NMH Magazine : Fall 2004

Speaking Globally

Being a Freshman 

by Ja Kim '07 

During freshman orientation, I was scared because people around me had blonde hair and blue eyes, or reddish hair with brown eyes, or black hair. I felt totally disoriented and I didn’t know what to do. On one hand, I wanted to go home to Korea; on the other hand, I wanted to challenge myself. I tried to talk to Americans and get to know them.

It was difficult for me to adjust to dorm life at first. For more than two weeks, I cried every night because I was homesick. Moreover, since I was not used to American food (which seemed oily and fatty to me), I often had a stomachache. I thought my life at NMH would be miserable, but it was not. The solution had a name: Mariko, my roommate.

Since she was half-Asian, she seemed to understand me and my Korean culture easily. We talked about our families and what happened to us every day, and we helped each other adjust to NMH life. Mariko is my best friend, advisor, and a light in the dark for me.

Besides dorm life, I had many new experiences. A formal occasion was one of them. At the first one, I felt really uncomfortable. Wearing a formal dress for an hour was torture to me. Since my shoes were a little big, I tumbled down the stairs and slid on the floor.

When I first came here, I was surprised at how active and confident American kids were. I tried to be the same way, but it was hard at first. Now I can talk to people whenever I want! When I went back to Korea for the winter break, my friends told me that the way I act, the way I talk, and the way I dress were changed. My mother told me I improved both physically and mentally.

Although it wasn’t easy to get along with a new culture, it was worthwhile.

Bulgarian Creation Myth

by Victoriya Nikolova '05 

When God created the world and the people, he decided that each country should have a part of nature that it would be most famous for. So God called all people and ordered them to stand in line. First came the Swiss, and God gave them beautiful mountains and herds of sheep. Then came the Italians. They received a perfect coast on the Mediterranean Sea. The Spaniards got a big valley. The Finns got gorgeous lakes.

What God did not know was that the devil was waiting outside the doors of heaven, and whenever people came out with a gift from God, the devil took the most beautiful bit and kept it for himself. So he took a small range of the Swiss mountains, a piece of the Spanish valley, some gentle sand from the Italian coast, and a few lakes that the Finns had planned to use.

When the Bulgarians’ turn came, God realized there was nothing left for them. Then God saw the devil looking at what he’d stolen. God called him into heaven and took what he’d taken and gave it to the Bulgarians.

The Bulgarians left heaven with the most beautiful coast for their seaside, two valleys, seven mountains, and some of the most famous lakes in the district.

And that is how my country was created!