At Cameron High School, most students haven't seen much diversity over their lives. Not very many students have been out of the country. Some students haven't ever been out of the Midwest. Some students haven't even been out of the the State of Missouri. Even at school, there seems to be little diversity.



There is, however, some diversity at CHS. French Teacher Mimi Jones is from Belgium. Sophomore Anne Ruuskanen, also European, is from Finland. A few of the students here are Asian, Sophomore Pauline Santos is from the Philippines, Freshman Khushbu Patel is from India, and both of my parents are from India, making me Indian as well.



There is more to these four countries, Belgium, Finland, Philippines, and India, than most people know or think they know. There is more to the person from each country, too.



Mimi Jones was born in Belgium. Her mom is Italian and her dad is Dutch. She moved here to the United States in 1995. "There is more to Belgium than Belgian waffles," Mrs. Jones tells.



She was right about that. For example, the Belgians were actually the ones to invent french fries. Their National Day is July 21. Belgium has more comic makers per square kilometer than any other country, even Japan. And the 1920 Summer Olympics were held in Antwerp, Belgium.



Now to a country 1,214 miles Northwest of Belgium, Finland. Anne Ruuskanen was born in Oulu, Finland. She moved here in 2001 during the summer. Anne thinks that seasons in the Finland are more fun there because there is more snow during winter and summer is hotter.



Holidays are fun too. "During New Year's we get tin and melt it then put it in cold water to see what it formed," Anne explains. Overall, Finland has some of the best geography. There are 187,888 lakes and 179,584 islands in Finland.



Another country with pretty geography is the Phillipines, where Sophomore Pauline Santos was born. Pauline moved here in 1997.



"I was terrified at first because I couldn't speak English." The language that Pauline spoke before was Tagalog. Pauline says that it is a lot closer to Spanish than people would think Filippinos would speak. Pauline also talked about how Christmas was a big holiday with lots of fireworks and celebrations. The Philippine Independence Day is on June 12. Some other information Americans might be shocked to learn is the most commonly sports are basketball and billiards and the natural resources found in the Philippines are timber, gold, copper, nickel, iron, silver, and petroleum.



"I like living [in the United States] because I've lived here longer, but both countries have their good qualities. The Philippines is just so different and culturally interesting," says Pauline.



The Philippines was one of those countries where I thought I knew at least a little about, but in truth there was so much more to the Philippines than I'd known.



Last, to a country I do know about, India. Khushbu Patel was born in India, as were both of my parents. They are both from Ahmedabad, which is in western India. There's a lot that people misinterpret when it comes to my culture.



First, I'd like to talk about vegetarianism. This really doesn't have anything to do with India itself, but the religion Hinduism, which is my religion. Not all of the people of India are Hindu and not all Hindus are vegetarians, although this is what most people think. For the people who are vegetarians, one of the reasons for it is because they believe in nonviolence, one of the main principles of Hinduism. I myself am a vegetarian, partly because I believe in nonviolence and partly because almost everyone in my family doesn't eat meat. I am not a strict vegetarian, however. I still eat eggs and consume milk and milk products as does my family.



Another thing a lot of people wonder about is the last name Patel. I've had many people come up to me and ask me if I'm related to someone with the last name Patel, for example, in Chicago. The answer is most likely no. Over 100,000 people have the last name Patel, although not necessarily of the same ethnicity or religion. The surname is very common in India.



Last, I'd like to leave you with some interesting facts about India. India is said to be the largest democracy in the world and is the world's largest mango producer. India is also said to have been the first country to use sugar and is the second most populated country in the world.



I hope this left you with a little more knowledge about these countries, these people, and diversity because diversity is really important and should be embraced.