By TOMMY MCDONALD
High school is a new and often overwhelming experience. For senior Raul Muti, it is just another piece of moving to a new country.
Muti left Italy the summer of 2009 before his freshman year to come to the United States on a work visa with his parents because of his father’s work. His father went from working on TV production including the Olympics to helping Orlando Kart Center with technology. After a year which included a few rough months of adjusting to a new culture and language, he was able to speak English.
“When I got here, I didn’t have a lot of friends [and I spoke] bad English. I felt so different [because] the two places [are] totally different. I had to adapt to the way people were acting.” Muti said.
Barely speaking English, Muti was thrown into the public education system after moving from Italy to America. Muti was placed in five regular classes not knowing much English and two ESOL classes. After his freshman year, he decided to be in all regular classes.
“[I was not concerned with Raul speaking English because] he is a really smart kid, and I knew he was going to learn English quick,” Mr.Muti said.
By watching television and listening to people speak at school, he was able to learn quickly and now speaks fluently.
“Freshmen year he was introverted,” senior Delaney Seacord said. “He kept to himself and he didn’t have a lot of friends. Eventually, he became comfortable in America and transformed into a social butterfly. He’s the nicest guy I’ve ever met.”
Now that Muti has dealt with the initial difficulty of adjusting, he enjoys the U.S. more than Italy.
“Everything is easier [in the U.S.] and funnier. In Italy, we don’t say “swag” and “yolo”. Its just funnier [here] and there are more things to make to make fun off. [Even] if you lived in the city in Italy, there wasn’t a lot to do. ,” Muti said.
Muti finds American culture more free thinking because everyone has their own opinion while in Italy every thinks similarly. In Italy, 96.6 percent of the population is Catholic compared to 22.6 percent in the US. Also, in Italy 96 percent of the population is ethnically Italian. This leads to numerous cultures being dominant while in Italy the far majority of people resonate with common Italian Catholic beliefs.
“It’s more open minded here. Over there [in Italy] they care a lot about religion [,and] teenagers are more reserved,” Muti said.
Even though Muti prefers the United States to Italy, Muti and his family have carried over traditions from Italy.
“My mom makes the best food. That is for sure my favorite Italian tradition,” Muti said.
Muti plans on staying in the U.S. for the rest of his life.