Greensburg junior Italo Soares wants to attend a college stateside - five months of life in the United States has captivated the Brazilian exchange student.
Italo joined the ranks of international exchange students in August 2009 after a group of friends told him about the Council on International Student Exchange (CIEE) and its advantages. “It’s been a great opportunity to learn English, make friends, and create responsibility for myself,” he said. “It’s been unbelievable.”
“It was hard in the beginning…now I have a strong grasp of the language and a lot of friends,” remarked Italo, who studied English for three years in the classrooms of Teresina, Brazil, a bustling metropolis of over one million residents. He says the considerable burden of the transition was reduced by his gracious host families; he is currently living in the household of Lori and Sean Durbin, who have welcomed him as a full-fledged family member in every respect.
Italo has made the most of his time in the U.S. by immersing himself in the local and national experience. So far he has commanded the soccer field and grappled with the wrestlers at Greensburg High School with great success. He has attended two school dances, amassed many new friends, and enjoyed, for a time, the torrent of snow.
“I had never seen snow before I came here,” said Italo, “but I don’t want to see it again.”
Among Italo’s new adventures are memories of New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and twelve different states - the itinerary for the exchange program. He’s toured the country’s landmarks and cities with a bus full of international exchange students and counselors from the CIEE program.
Despite the excitement, he wishes he were home for February, when Brazil explodes into the extravagant month-long celebration of camaraderie, freedom, and fun called Carnaval. “I heard Madonna is coming this year,” Italo said with Eighties-era excitement.
He had adjusted well to the contrast - including the school system - between both of the countries. In Brazil he had to attend school six days a week, spend vacation in the winter months, and sit in classes of well over fifty students. Italo welcomes the difference between the hometowns. “I appreciate the smaller classes and the quiet streets of my new home,” Italo said.
When he ends his tour and returns to Brazil, where he is a senior, he will work with his family on returning to the U.S. as a college-bound student. The exchange program has left him with a definite interest in pursuing education stateside.
Italo keeps his parents and two sisters informed and excited about the continuing trip. He is always ready to relay his experiences and talk about the many new cities he’s experienced.
“New York is the most memorable place I have in my life,” said Italo. “It is running and working all the time - a very exciting world.”
“I want everyone to explore the world,” Italo encouraged. “It’s a house without walls.”
Features
Related Photos
-
Stephen Esposito
Exchange Student Finds Home Abroad
- Features
-
-
Local Volunteer Named "GOTR Coach of the Year"
GREENSBURG - Katy Riester, of Greensburg, was recently named Girls on the Run Coach of the Year for 2011.
-
GES Kind Deed winners
GREENSBURG - In September, the students and staff at Greensburg Elementary School accepted RachelÕs Challenge to change the world through our kind deeds.
-
Decatur County son is Native June
GREENSBURG - Good Fryday ended on a deserted stretch of highway just north of Flagstaff, Ariz.
-
Harlem Globetrotters to visit Batesville
BATESVILLE - The high-flying basketball antics of the historic Harlem Globetrotters are coming to Batesville Jan. 11.
-
Native son lives rock and roll dream
GREENSBURG - Few musicians would point to Thanksgiving as the origin for their dreams of rock-and-roll greatness.
-
club chatter 121411
Country Girls and Guys 4-H
The Country Girls and Guys 4-H Group met at 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec.11 at the Kingston Presbyterian Church. -
Events 121411
Local clubs, service groups, fraternal organizations and others are encouraged to send their Coming Events information to the Daily News at news@greensburgdailynews.com or Daily News, PO Box 106, Greensburg, IN 47240.
-
Foundation cookbook available in new locations
The Hospital Foundation has announced that its new cookbook, "Recipes for a Cause," is now available in additional locations for last-minute shoppers.
-
Wenning is Optimist Youth for November
The Greensburg Optimist Club selected South Decatur Senior Danielle Wenning as its Youth of the Month for November.
-
DCMH lends support to Cheer Fund
In honor of the board of trustees and the medical staff, Decatur County Memorial Hospital donated $1,500 to the Daily News Cheer Fund.
- More Features Headlines
-
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
