Voices Without Borders: Who Are You When You're Not Home?

Chloe Cheng

On August 2nd, students from across the globe came together for Voices Without Borders, a 30-minute live seminar hosted by The Student Gaze. The discussion theme, “Who Are You When You’re Not Home?”, opened an honest conversation about the challenges teenagers face growing up between cultures. Through exchanging experiences, hardships, and highlights, students from around the world bonded over their stories of adapting to and embracing their cultural identities.

From Australia, Taiwan, Canada, and India to the USA, this lighthearted yet vulnerable conversation truly connected people.

The session began with a simple question: What’s something you do differently when you’re in your home country versus abroad? Discussions first revolved around food. One student shared how, as an Asian in a predominantly White neighborhood and school, many people didn’t understand—or even expressed disgust—when they described local Taiwanese night market foods, such as pig intestines. Since these dishes bring a sense of comfort, the student makes a point of sharing their Taiwanese identity by encouraging friends to try the foods they grew up with, especially the more unique ones like stinky tofu.

Another student spoke about humor, explaining how they adjust the way they joke depending on the cultural context. Within their home country, they felt freer to make jokes, knowing which boundaries not to cross. But when socializing with people from other cultures, they tended to be more reserved, avoiding humor that might unintentionally offend. Others shared that when speaking in their second or third language, they sometimes felt their personality became “more boring” because they couldn’t express humor as easily.

The second question, “Do you ever feel like you’re a different person depending on who you’re with?”, sparked equally thoughtful responses. A Mexican student living in California shared that they feel the need to be more traditional or reserved around their Mexican family members compared to when they are with friends in America. Their relatives expect them to have the stereotypical “valley girl” accent, and these preconceived notions sometimes make it difficult to be seen as fully belonging in the Spanish-speaking community.

An Indian student who lived in Burma shared that they generally don’t change how they act in different cultural settings because they value staying true to their identity. However, in India, peers often see them as “more Burmese than Indian,” despite sharing the same nationality and ethnicity. They make an effort to bridge the gap by sharing Burma’s history with friends, using storytelling as a way to connect both sides of their cultural heritage.

By the end of the discussion, participants expressed gratitude for the opportunity to share and listen. Even though they were scattered across the world, cross-cultural teenagers found comfort in realizing how similar their experiences were—just in different contexts. While the conversation didn’t solve anyone’s cultural identity crises, it reminded students they aren’t alone in their struggles and that it’s possible to embrace multiple cultures as part of who they are.

Voices Without Borders will continue hosting monthly conversations, amplifying the perspectives of students worldwide who want to connect through shared experiences.