photo credit: Sophia Robinson
Traveling to a new country is almost always fun and exciting. Orange exchange students, junior Davide Lorusso and sophomore Antonii Gomis, love traveling so much that they took it to the next level: they were willing to spend one year in America attending school and staying with the Elwel’s; their host family.
Lorusso is from Italy and moved here as an exchange student five months ago. When hearing Italy, people often think of endless pasta and delicious flatbread pizza as an everyday diet, but Lorusso plans to break this superstition.
“We don’t eat only pasta and pizza,” Lorusso said.
Gomis also moved here as an exchange student five months ago but from Spain. The first thing he noticed was a change in the sports programs.
“In Spain, you do a sport all year round and here you can change every season,” Gomis said.
Traveling can bring about many different kinds of emotions for all people, even when it is just a short trip. These students experienced all kinds of feelings when preparing to leave their home countries.
“I was excited, curious and a little scared,” Lorusso said.
When traveling, it is hard to make a brand new place feel like home. A common question that exchange students often get asked is whether or not they miss home.
“The most difficult part is not seeing my friends and family,” Gomis said.
Lorusso has a similar experience when the topic of family comes up.
“I miss my grandparents,” Lorusso said.
Another problem regular travelers have is a difficulty feeling at ease, comfortable or relaxed when they constantly feel like they are alone. This can make finding new friends hard.
“I met lots of friends especially from PE and sports,” Lorusso said, “I came here with another exchange student so we were friends immediately.”
The trouble of fitting in is also a problem these exchange students come across often. However, there are small things they can pick up from other students to fit in.
Lorusso found that to fit in easier, it helped to “learn the slang,” he said.
Everybody knows the “American” stereotype consists of being loud and obsessing over John Deere, so it is no shock that is what Gomis and Lorusso were expecting when coming to America. But to their surprise, that is not all they saw when they got here.
“They all go to the gym,” Lorusso said.
Gomis admits that he was scared to meet his host family at first but warmed up to them quickly.
“They are really nice and altruistic,” Lorusso said, “they would describe me as really fun and talkative.”
The biggest difference these students noticed when moving here was the schooling.
“In Spain, it is more difficult, and the teachers are more strict. We have only one class for four years with the same people, and the teachers come and go every period,” Lorusso said.
American food is definitely one-of-a-kind, but that only made Gomis and Lorusso more excited to try it.
“I was excited to try Crumbl Cookies and Canes, and they lived up to the hype,” Gomis said.
The first major holiday these students experienced was Thanksgiving Day.
“I didn’t think I would like mashed potatoes, but they were actually good,” Gomis said.
Many things surprised Gomis when first arriving here that he was not expecting.
“We look at the flag in class and before games,” Gomis said, “The classes Child Development and Photography surprised me the most.”
According to EBSCO, less than two percent of high school students become exchange students even though it is an amazing opportunity.
“I plan to graduate my junior year from Orange and then go back to Italy for my senior year so I will have two degrees,” Lorusso said.
Even with all the new changes from their origin countries, Gomis and Lorusso handled them well and are loving all the new things they are learning about the culture while being here.
“I would do it again and I’m sure my children will do it too,” Gomis said.
