Alienation
As a teenager, Sundara is called upon to adapt to an entirely foreign culture. She wasn't asked whether or not she wanted to leave Cambodia; she wasn't given a choice. When she arrives in America, she feels incredibly homesick. The kids at school tease her and shun her because she looks different and speaks broken English at first. She faces an enormous challenge at school. In addition to learning the language, she must learn to relate to her peers in a strange society without a guide. She just figures things out as she goes along. High school is brutal without facing the unique challenges of being a refugee. Meanwhile she misses the familiarity of her childhood in Cambodia. Gradually over time she does begin to adapt and to adopt new, "American" habits, which become evident to Jonathan and her aunt.
Jealousy
Sundara, Jonathan, and Cathy's love triangle really complicates matters. Sundara's affection and attraction toward Jonathan soon are replaced by jealous desire when she learns about Cathy. Understandably upset about Sundara's advances, Cathy treats her rudely. She is determined to hold onto the social prestige which she gains from dating a football star like Jonathan. When he quits the team, however, she immediately dumps him. She was made to feel jealous of the one kid in school who shouldn't have been able to, according to Cathy. She deals with some prejudice which only increases her jealousy. For her part, Sundara is jealous of Cathy's ease of interaction with people. She's popular. Most importantly, Cathy seems perfectly at ease with Jonathan, a thing which Sundara cannot feel because of her family's strict rules regarding her love life. Both girls are upset about something different than they claim; neither are jealous over the boy. This is the complicated environment of high school.
Superstition
Sundara fervently holds onto the culture of her people. Despite the foreign environment of America, she maintains her childhood beliefs. These include a deeply rooted belief in the supernatural. As her poem demonstrates, she believes in divine spiritual forces which interact with mankind for its harm or benefit. Much of Sundara's natural superstition is nurtured by her grandma, a wizened old woman. Grandma is the one who becomes convinced that Sundara has been possessed by a ghost. In keeping with tradition, she convinces all the women to pray for Sundara's deliverance. More is going on here than superstition, however, because Grandma can see Sundara's unhappiness. She's merely using the ghost as an excuse to show the girl that she's loved. She's providing Sundara with an opportunity to redefine herself. In the end, although a belief in the supernatural plays in important part in Sundara's life, the cultural traditions which accompany this belief actually serve to provide mythical context for normal human experiences. She's able to address her problems through a metaphor, using the religious convictions of her people.
