Samuele Lenzetti came to Greeley West High School from Italy for his junior year. He had never been to the United States before this year, and he was happy to spend the last 10 months of his life with the students of Greeley West.
Lenzetti spent his year having fun and judging the small things. What surprised him the most was the difference in foods from Italy. “There is a lot more variety here and it’s all multicultural in general… I think America in general is just super diverse, specifically the food,” Lenzetti said.
When coming to America, Lenzetti didn’t know English, which was hard to adjust to but what was most hard to adjust to was the school, and how it’s a completely different system. “I was really confused at first, I always got lost throughout the school, and in class,” Lenzetti said.
Eventually he got used to it and how it works here, and created strong friendships with many students around him. It’s going to be emotional going back to Italy, he’s going to miss the people he met here.
“The people here, in general, they’re all so close with each other. Everybody knows each other, and they are kind to each other,” Lenzetti explained.
It’s not really like that in Italy, they are close, but it’s a lot bigger here, making it completely different to him. “Even if they don’t know each other, they give each other compliments, and talk to you more, it’s just different, and I’ve enjoyed it,” Lenzetti said.
Friday night lights, and the passion that Americans have for high school football games was a culture shock to Lenzetti. “The way we got dressed is the same, every week… I loved it, it wasn’t weird, it was just something new to me,” he said.
Getting used to a different culture was a big change for him, “I became more open minded, I definitely got to know more different types of people, and I’ve enjoyed this change,” Lenzetti said.
After this whole year gone from his home, he is excited to go back, but he’s also sad that he has to leave. “I’m very excited to see my friends and family again, but I’m also really sad that I have to leave everything else here,” Lenzetti said.
