I moved from California to Bristol, England when I was 13. The bullying was almost unbearable, they made fun of my accent, made snide comments, called me names, stole my stuff, ruined my painting in art class, physically assaulted me. A 13 year old boy punched me in the face! I punched him back, and my only friend berated him for hitting a girl! My parents complained to the head mistress. It did no good, and when the offending kids were confronted, it just made them angry, and the bullying got worse. I wanted to die! We moved back to California 2 years later. By this time, I'd developed an English accent, and I was really scared about another new school. But the kids LOVED my accent, and wanted to hear all about where I was from! What a diffence! It is a cultural thing?