Junior Beatrice Taranto is an exchange student from Italy. There are lots of differences when comparing Italy to the United States.

“In Italy people often hug each other and show affection. In Missouri people don’t just hug they usually wave or smile at each other,” Taranto said.

Aside from greetings, the food is also a huge change.

“The thing I miss the most about Italy, besides my friends, is the good food. Especially the pasta,” Taranto said.

Becoming an exchange student is a big decision and is obviously made on different factors.

“In Italy you can’t be employed if you can’t speak English, so I wanted to learn faster. I also wanted to be independent for a year and have new experiences,” Taranto said.

The newest experience introduced to Taranto is high school itself.

“In Italy we study for five, straight, hours. There are no sports or clubs at school in Italy either. We are with the same people for all of high school, and instead of walking to a new classroom, the teachers come to us,” Taranto said.

The whole entire school experience in America is quite different than in Italy.

“I love how I can talk to people easier now. In Italy the teachers are very strict and professional, but here the teachers actually care about the students and are very nice,” Taranto said.

Overall, Taranto has been enjoying her stay in America and being able to try new things.