Senior Alice Micheli is a foreign exchange student from Rome, Italy.

“In Italy I had my family, my home, and my friends, so I thought I would be homesick,” Micheli said. “I adapted pretty soon but I still am making comparisons in my head about how different it is here.”

One of Micheli’s fears before arriving that Americans might have preconceived ideas about Italians.

“We thought Americans might have many stereotypes,” Micheli said.

She was also interested in the bullying problem that  is associated with the United States, in Italy.

“I heard about bullies in America a lot on the news in Italy,” Micheli said. “Before I got here, I was very worried about it.”

Micheli pointed out that Italians also have stereotypes of Americans, mostly regarding attitudes and appearance.

“In Italy we think of Americans as fat because of the food here,” Micheli said.”My first impression was good though; everyone is really nice.”

Micheli is currently the age of a junior but classified as a senior, taking senior and junior classes, including English III with Ms. Lukowski. Although she has adjusted to life in the United States she realizes that she is always making comparisons.

“I was scared because it was a new state,” Micheli said. “When you go to a new place you are constantly looking at every day life things and noticing how they are different from your home.”