Another group of immigrants trying to fit into life in this country. DP
By Jamie Francisco, Tribune staff reporter
Chicago Tribune: In slow, concentrated movements, the petite 15-year-old curled her torso and lifted her legs into the air, bringing them forward until her pointed feet balanced above her head.
Chime Batsaikal, the daughter of former circus musicians, was tapped to become a contortionist at age 3 in her native Mongolia. As she untwisted herself at a recent meeting of Maine East High School's Mongolian club, other members debated what else to include at the school's International Festival, to be held from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday.
"It's important for us because our goal is to show how beautiful Mongolia is," said Solongo Zorigt, club president.
Mongolian students at the Park Ridge school and Niles West High School in Skokie, who say they are often mistaken for Chinese or Korean, formed clubs to educate others about their country's cultural traditions.
There are 11 members at Maine East and 12 at Niles West, and they help students, many of whom are recent immigrants, establish an identity on campus, said Elizabeth Papanastasopoulos, adviser of the Maine East club.
"If they can see they're part of something, it helps them out," Papanastasopoulos said.
Most Mongolian families are in the U.S. in search of better job opportunities for parents and the chance for their children to go to college.
The clubs aim to eliminate stereotypes about the country as a nomadic wasteland. People live in modern cities, and there is no such thing as Mongolian chicken, Zorigt said of the biggest misconceptions.
"They don't know much about Mongolia," Zorigt said. "We want to show what Mongolia is in the real world."
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