Senior Khen Nung went back and forth between countries in South Asia before hitting his final destination in the U.S. He was born in Burma and three years later, he moved to India with the rest of his family. After eight years, he moved back to Burma so him and his family could then move to the U.S.

India is where Nung spent many of his childhood years, so he misses his friends there. He misses his friends in Burma as well.

“We’d all hang out in big tree houses and eat fruits, it was pretty cool,” Nung said.

One thing he really enjoyed about Burma was the countryside.

“I miss the wide open nature like hills and valleys,” Nung said.

    Nung moved to the U.S. when he was 14 and has now been here for a little over four years. With him, came his two brothers and one sister along with other family members. Nung would not like to discuss why his family and he moved to India, but he stated that they came to the U.S. for a better life and education, as most others do.

    When living in India, Nung lived in Manipur where they spoke manipuri. He did not begin learning the language and catching on until right before he moved back to Burma, so he has no recollect of that language. Nung is still bilingual, fluent in English and Zophei, which is a language spoken in Burma and India, but not neither’s official language.

According to Nung, in India, at school, you must memorize everything word for word. That’s how they are graded. You have to be neat and clean and the teachers were allowed to hit the students with a stick as punishment. That could possibly be why Nung’s favorite thing about the U.S is the education he has been receiving.

“In India, you go through high school and if you have the money, you go to college,” Nung said. “Here, there are scholarships to help you.”

He wants to become a computer programmer, but he feels as though it will be difficult because he has no experience. He is unsure of what school he’d like to attend.