By TRICIA HILL

Looking to the 2014-15 school year, Boscobel welcomes four new students to the high school hallways, including Giulia Milazzo, Helen Feng, Matti Chamier, and Marcello Urubata.

Milazzo

Milazzo, 17, comes to Boscobel from Italy and is staying with Andy and Michelle Burbach. She decided to come to the United States to learn about our culture and to better understand the English language.

“The culture here is very different from back home,” Milazzo said.

Some of the differences that she pointed out were the nice people here. The school was different for her because back home she attends school from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.  and then she goes home for lunch. At her school they do not have lockers, as they stay in the same classroom all day and the teachers switch out of the room every hour.

One major difference for Milazzo was her American family. Back home she is an only child, where here she has four other siblings.

Milazzo will only be staying in Boscobel for five months, because when making the decision she felt that a year was going to be too long to be away from home. However, after being here, she has warmed up to Boscobel and is sad she chose to stay for such a short time.

After being in school for about a month now, Milazzo is excited to participate in Homecoming because they do not have those kinds of activities in Italy. She has also been participating on the varsity reserve volleyball team.

“My first week was very hard for me because I am used to the quiet and staying home to study, where here I am always with someone and doing something,” Milazzo said. “I have really come to like it though.”

Feng

Feng, 15, is visiting from China and is staying with Lukas and Emily Bomkamp. She decided to come to the United States to study American culture and the English language.

A major difference for her is being in such a big household. With her American family she has three siblings, where at home she is an only child.

“That is very different because it is more crazy,” Feng said.

Schooling is different back in China because she feels that it is stricter back home than it is here. She has found schooling to be more relaxed and easy here compared to what she is used to.

“Chinese schooling is very hard,” Feng said.

One thing that has been different for Feng is back home she generally stays at home, where here she finds herself hanging outside with her host family and having fun.

Feng will be here for the entire 2013-14 school year and is excited to take part in Homecoming and other activities that the school will be having.

Chamier

Chamier, 16, is from Germany and is staying with Wendy Stitzer and Craig Kovars. He decided to come to the United States because he likes it here and he wanted to work on his English. Chamier is from a big city so moving to Boscobel was a big change for him because he has gone from a two sibling household to having no siblings.

Some of the differences that Chamier has pointed out are the cars and truck are bigger than the vehicles in Germany. He also noticed that there is much more fast food than he is used to.

The schooling is also different from what Chamier is used to. His schooling is similar to Milazzo’s where he is stuck in one classroom and the teachers switch out of the room.

“We do not have as much homework,” Chamier said. “We only have one math class in Germany, where they are divided into different groups here.”

Chamier is an avid athlete and has started off his school year participating on the cross country team. Following the fall sports season, he plans to participate in basketball and track and field.

Outside of sports Chamier is excited to take part in Prom, Thanksgiving and Halloween. Halloween is celebrated in Germany a little but nothing like it is here.

Urubata

Urubata, 18, is visiting from Brazil and is staying with Marsha Parker. He decided to come to the United States to learn more about the English language and to work toward his goal of becoming a professional soccer player.

“It is my dream to become a professional soccer player,” Urubata said. “I am trying to play soccer in Platteville since Boscobel does not have soccer.”

Some of the differences that Urubata has noticed from our culture and his is the weather. Where he lives in Brazil, the weather is always around 85 degrees, so he is not used to the cold.

“I’m freezing here but I am trying to survive,” Urubata said.

Another difference that Urubata has noticed is in the school day. Back home he does not have the changing of days. For example, Boscobel has A and B days. He is excited about attending Homecoming because that is not something that is normally done at his school.

The food is another change for Urubata because here we have three main meals—breakfast, lunch and supper. At home he is used to eating about five times a day. At home he would also eat more rice and beans.

“The beans here are more like candy beans back home,” Urubata said.

Urubata is most excited about having a chance to work toward his goal of becoming a professional soccer player. He will also be going to Disney with his home Brazilian soccer team on Dec. 26 to play in a tournament.

One thing that Urubata has struggled with while being in the United States is that he is unable to drive. In Brazil, students are not able to drive until they are 18, so watching 16-year-olds drive is very difficult for him.