Eight months ago, freshman Edoardo Carera packed up his bags, and took a flight almost 4500 miles across the globe from Bergamo, Italy to Naperville. Though he spent most of his life in Italy, Carera has been able to overcome the language and cultural barriers and enjoy his new life in America.
After finding out about the move almost two years ago, Carera was shocked, considering he had to leave behind his extended family and friends.
But upon arriving in Chicago and stepping outside of the airport, Carera approached his new surroundings with excitement.
“I saw the skyscrapers, all the shops, and I was like, oh, that’s like a movie,” Carera said.
After the move, Carera spent four months at Jefferson Junior High in eighth grade and remembers being mostly quiet for much of his time there.
“When I first came here, I didn’t understand anything at all,” Carera said. “[English is] another language [from Italian.] It’s not even similar. I couldn’t talk with anybody, [not] even the teachers, and it was very hard to be good at [classes.]
It was at Jefferson that Carera began learning English, making it easier to socialize with his peers.
“His English is very good—he’s better at speaking it than me,” said freshman David Bukowski, a friend of Carera’s.
The American education system offers students a far greater degree of freedom compared to the Italian system, according to Carera.
“[Americans] can do whatever you want at school, anywhere you want,” Carera said. “In Italy, it’s not like that.”
Carera regards teachers and his peers in his home country as more aggressive compared to their American counterparts.
“In Italy, they were not that kind,” Carera said.“If you’re not popular at school, then you were [labeled as] a ‘bad’ kid.”
Carera considers himself to have been a “popular” student at his former school.
“In Italy, we had a book where we had all the stuff that [learned],” Carera said. “Here it’s more like listen and take notes, which I like.”
While he embraces many aspects of his new life, there are still things Carera misses about Italy.
“I’ve been here for nine months, and I never see my [old] family or friends”, Carera said.
His dislike for Americanized Italian food is another reminder of home.
“[Americans should try real pizza, and you’re gonna change [your mind].” Carera said in regards to Chicago-style deep dish pizza.
Aside from some elements of American culture, Carera considers his life to be better in almost all other aspects.
“I’m happy here, and it was a way to change my life,” Carera said.“Here was like starting again, a new beginning.”
When Carera found out he was moving to Italy, he thought he had a fairly optimistic reaction.
“A lot of people would just cry all day, but the way I reacted, it’s different,” Carera said. “I see the good things about moving here. I don’t see the bad things.”