Living Double Lives: Students manage multiple identities through language, family and sports.

With dark eyes and dark hair, people tend to assume sophomore Melinda Saadatnejadi is of Hispanic descent. In truth, she is Chinese and Persian. Saadatnejadi loves her unique blend that gives her a unique outlook on other ethnicities.

Peninsula’s campus is populated with many others like Saadatnejadi, who come from a mix of many cultures. This impacts their lives both at home and school.

“[Our family] celebrates many different holidays [from my two cultures],” Saadatnejadi said. “I celebrate New Year’s three times; one each for Chinese New Year, Persian New Year and American New Year.”

At home, Saadatnejadi usually speaks to her parents in English; they speak to her in both Chinese and Farsi. She has been speaking Farsi since she was five and is currently learning Chinese at Peninsula. Handling so many languages at once is difficult, but Saadatnejadi feels she is adapting well to her multiculturalism.

“Being part of a multicultural family is beneficial because I get to experience different parts of the world and then gain a broader perspective of how each culture works,” Saadatnejadi said.

Despite the many perks that come with coming from a multicultural family, there are difficulties that come with it as well. Language barriers between family members who speak contrasting languages are a factor that makes being part of a multicultural family a challenge.

Freshman Kristen Fernando comes from an Indian, Sri Lankan and Korean descent. Fernando’s grandparents on her mother’s side can only speak Korean and her grandparents on her father’s side can only speak Tamil. This prevents communication between Fernando and her grandparents, since she can only speak English. In American culture, New Year’s Eve is spent by staying up until twelve o’clock to watch the ball drop in Times Square. In Korean culture, it is typical for children to bow down to their elders and receive money as a gift. The different aspects of each tradition helps Fernando learn more about her cultures.

“As a multicultural person, the moment I love most is when my family from both sides come together on holidays to celebrate all three [American, Indian, Korean] cultures,” Fernando said.

Having grown up in a diverse place like Los Angeles, freshman Ariel Matsumiya knows many multicultural people who attend Peninsula. The various cultures established on campus affect many students.

“When I was at Club Rush for the first time this year as a freshman, I had no idea Peninsula had so many cultural clubs I could participate in [that would allow me to] meet more people who [have the same cultural background] as me,” Matsumiya said.

Having Japanese and Filipino cultures from her parents, Matsumiya sometimes finds it difficult to relate to other students who do not have the same customs as her. Being a part of a mixed culture helps her gain a greater knowledge of her lineage.

“Being a mix [of two cultures] has taught me more about my race,” Matsumiya said. “I relate to people who are the same [ethnicity] as me.”