Lorenzo Borio 11 is a foreign exchange student from Milan, Italy. He is here for an entire school year. He finally arrived on August 11, 2021 after a trip of 26 hours.

“I missed my plane because it was late so I decided to take a nap and missed it. Then I had to wait a day for the next plane out. I had to sleep at the airport,” Borio said, ”I was so tired and super frustrated”. 

Borio chose to take a gap year in order to improve his English and to live a wonderful experience. He chose this country because of the US dream. He is very happy to be here and doesn’t regret his choice.

 “I feel like I live in a series or a movie,” Borio said, “ It’s cool and different from home. I live like a dream. Arriving in a whole different country and knowing nobody here is like being adventurous. I was excited, scared, ready for a new adventure.”

Borio sees that as an adventure and has discovered many things. He finds the landscapes totally different and that people here are friendlier. 

“When you go to a store, people ask you how your day was. We don’t do that in Italy!” Borio said. 

The size of the cars has surprised Borio. He is used to smaller cars in Italy.

“They are so much bigger here than they are in Italy, sometimes there’s even a step on the car so you can get in,” Borio said.

Borio really enjoys everything here so far: football games, highschool, people, and especially the fact that he can play rugby.

“I play rugby in Italy and I am happy to be able to play here. I really like my team and the global atmosphere of the practice. I met people thanks to rugby, too,” Borio said.

Borio feels very confident with the language and has a very good oral comprehension. He can even understand his classes, as school is much easier here than in Italy.

“I was so surprised, the level is absolutely not the same and our high schools are stricter,” Borio said.

Borio is very excited about this year especially for Thanksgiving, Halloween, Prom and Homecoming. He has never done these before because they don’t have these events in Italy. 

“I am excited to discover these events,”  Borio said, “They are part of American culture and I am here to learn more about this culture. I am sure that I will really enjoy it!”