Alessio Farresi is a Hempfield High School foreign exchange student from Italy. A lot of people tend to have many questions about him and his culture, or what his thoughts are about American life. Well the interview I had with him was more than educational; it was fun and answered all the lingering questions about him.
Farresi claims he decided to to study abroad for “a challenge and a change in his life;” he was also heavily influenced by his two older siblings who both participated in the program as well. Farresi claims that American high school is “a lot easier than Italian high school” as it is not just “focused on academics here.” He mentioned that in Italy, there is not much opportunity within their high schools for clubs and sports. Farresi has been involved in many activities in our school, but one thing that helped him transition from Italy to America and make friends was soccer. “The first contact I had with American teenagers was with the soccer team. The guys are all really nice and welcomed me.” Farresi a phenomenal player. His shot is as fast as a rocket, and he has amazing technical abilities. What surprised many on the team however, was that Farresi had only played 8v8 soccer and not 11v11. This of course was a big difference from what he did in Italy. He commented saying, “Here in America it is more of a physical game and less than a technical game; everyone here is fast and strong, and they do a lot of other activities outside of soccer like track and field”.
His least favorite thing about America is that we need cars to get everywhere. He finds it difficult getting from point A to point B.
Food is always a big part of every culture, especially for an Italian. Farresi hands down enjoys the food in Italy more than America stating “our diet is more carbohydrates; I mean, I love pasta. I used to eat pasta everyday in Italy,” he says. His favorite American food is grilled, mac n cheese and burgers.
Farresi embraced the change upon arriving in America but was still shocked at how welcoming everyone was. “I wasn’t expecting all these people to be nice to me without knowing me.” He further reflected upon Hempfield Area saying, “it is cool how proud everyone is to be a Spartan and an American.”
