Last week we said goodbye to four students from Italy who had been staying with Year 11 host families during their summer break, as part of an exchange program with the WA Association of Teachers of Italian (WAATI). The aim was to live an ‘in-home experience’ and get a feel for Australian life at the very heart of it.
Two of these students took the opportunity to write about where they’re from, their experiences here on exchange, and what differences and similarities they noticed between here and their home in Italy…
Leonardo Magrini: My friends call me Leo, and I am 16 years old.
I live in a little village in Tuscany, which is called San Quirico D’Orcia. The only thing that is like Busselton is that they both are little compared to a big city. The village has less people, and isn’t in a plain but on top of a hill. The houses are pretty different, and so is the formation of the town. Most of the people live in the centre.
I chose to come to Australia because I wanted to get a better understanding of English, and I also wanted to see what Australia is like.
My school in Italy is very different from here: there are 11 subjects and you can chose between a scientific pathway (subjects like math, science, physics...), a classic one (with Latin, Greek...), a linguistic one (German, French, Spanish...), or a professional one (engineering, economics...). There are only five hours of school, but we also go on Saturday. My favourite subjects are Philosophy and Maths. I think that the most interesting thing about going to school in a foreign country is seeing the differences between the two. For me, the most difficult thing about English is learning the grammar and understanding it.
Elia Pergola: I live in Rome. I think that I’m very lucky because I’m deeply fond of the history of my wonderful city. Therefore Rome is perfect for young people. In fact, it’s full of bars and events. Of course, there are problems like in any city such as the rubbish issue.
I have always lived in a big city, so for me this was a really new experience. This place reminds me of my grandma’s town in the countryside. Of course life is different, there are many choices of shops and restaurants, but it’s nice because you can try everything. In fact, whatever you need is always close to your house.
I actually chose Canada. But then I won the exchange here and I’m really happy that it happened this way. I really enjoyed the parties here, where I’ve met a lot of likeable people. They let me rap every time, and everyone has enjoyed my songs – except doe Zeke, who is my favourite hater.
In Italy, my favourite subject is Italian, but here in Australia my favourite is Phys Ed. It was interesting to see at school, here and in Italy, everyone has to study the same subjects!
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