Adjusting to Life in the United States
![Image of Mohamed outside](/sites/cla.umn.edu/files/styles/teaser_image/public/unsorted/images/mohamed_boujnah_0.png?h=93cd8c82&itok=P7rsumHx)
Mohamed talks about adjusting to American maps and public transportation after he moved to Minnesota from Tunis, Tunisia in 2012 and began studying at the University of Minnesota.
![Pa, her mother, and her sister holding American flags](/sites/cla.umn.edu/files/styles/teaser_image/public/unsorted/images/pa_thao.png?h=586afb2c&itok=o_rd97JX)
Pa was born in Thailand in 1989. Her parents had migrated from Laos to Thailand during the Vietnam War and the family lived in a Thai refugee camp. She and her family were resettled in the United States in 2004. She reflects on starting a new life and raising her young son in a different country.
![Norma and her brother when they were children](/sites/cla.umn.edu/files/styles/teaser_image/public/unsorted/images/norma_guevara.png?h=de2de2ab&itok=AwoSAYHU)
In 2000, Norma was born in Tegucigala, Honduras. In 2007, she moved to the United States with her family, where she found many differences from her birth country.
![Photo of Mahamoud smiling](/sites/cla.umn.edu/files/styles/teaser_image/public/unsorted/images/mahamoud_wardere.png?h=a4e85012&itok=shDiUB7T)
Mahamoud was born in Qooqaani, Somalia in 1967. He was forced to flee the country during the civil war. He came to the United States as a refugee and has lived in Washington, DC and Minnesota. Mahamoud has worked for Minneapolis public schools and Commons Bond Communities, a nonprofit provider of affordable housing; and former US Senator Norm Coleman. He is a community activist and has run for public office in Minnesota.