FLINT, Texas — Luba Vinnik got a taste of American school in April after leaving Ukraine with her family.
She said it was a smooth transition but on Wednesday she will begin her first full year as an eighth grader at The Brook Hill School.
“It’s different, yeah," Luba revealed, starting with the school lunches. "In Ukraine they didn't really care about the food.”
Her brother, Gleb, said a typical Ukrainian student lunch has three courses. The first course could be beet soup. The second course could be fried chicken wings with pasta or potatoes. Third course is almost always hot tea.
On their first day back at Brook Hill, the menu gives these siblings their choice of black-eyed pea soup, chicken breasts, hot dogs, mac and cheese and/or roasted cauliflower.
“I'm not sure of which food I preferred," Gleb chimed in after his sister.
The rising senior attended Brook Hill since his sophomore year.
He said assignment deadlines in American school are stricter. Ukrainians don’t check homework as much as Americans do.
“I got like, so many zeros at the start of the year,” Gleb laughed.
Gleb and Luba are at odds about the teachers. Luba said they’re nicer at Brook Hill, but Gleb can't get fully behind her.
“I think it's kind of the same," Gleb said. "The only differences is in the U.S., they have teachers that play favorites with students.”
It is worth noting they went to public school in Ukraine while Brook Hill is private.