Miami Country Day School is a multicultural community, and the students enrolled in ESOL often have a hard adjustment. Their transition from their home countries to the United States can be difficult, but is ultimately rewarding.

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Lucia Bruzzi

Hi, my name is Lucia Bruzzi. I am from Modena, Italy. I am 14 years old. I moved to Miami about two years ago. From the first time that my parents told me that we were moving to Florida, I immediately loved the idea. Miami has always fascinated me. On the other hand, I knew that I would lose my house, my friends, and my family. Leaving everything you built in 14 years is not easy; all my certainties sadly were gone. I was anxious of what the future was going to be for me, in a country that was not familiar to me. For the first month, once I arrived in America, I did not speak. I was afraid. I was frightened to speak a language that was so strange and unnatural to me. I was afraid that I would not find the right word to explain what I wanted to say. I was afraid to say something wrong. I was worried that I would not make any friends. I was concerned that people would judge me, because I was different. However, as soon as I started school here, all of my apprehension went away. Everyone was so friendly and kind. The environment was so hospitable and pleasant. In the long run, thanks to my experiences, I can now say that I am glad to call Miami my home.

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Ciao, mi chiamo Lucia Bruzzi, ho quattordici anni. Sono italiana e vengo da Modena. Siamo venuti a Miami due anni fa. Dal primo momento in cui i miei genitori mi hanno detto che ci saremmo trasferiti in Florida, ho subito amato l’idea. Miami mi ha sempre affascinato. In tutti i modi, sapevo che avrei perso quello che fino a due anni fa era la mia casa e tutto ciò che ne era collegato, la mia famiglia e gli amici. Lasciare tutto quello che hai costruito in quattordici anni, non è facile. Tutte le mie certezze, tutto d’un colpo, erano svanite. Avevo paura di cosa il futuro sarebbe stato per me, in uno Paese che non mi era il mio. Per il primo mese, una volta arrivata in America, non ho parlato. Avevo paura. Avevo paura a parlare una lingua cosi poco familiare. Avevo paura di non trovare le parole giusto per spiegare quello che volevo esprimere. Avevo paura di dire qualcosa di sbagliato. Ero preoccupata che non avrei fatto nessun amico. Preoccupata che le persone mi avrebbero giudicato, perché ero diversa. In ogni caso, appena ho iniziato la scuola , tutte le mia apprensioni sono scomparse Tutti erano cosi amichevoli e carini. Il clima cosi ospitale e piacevole. Grazie alle mie esperienze posso ora dire di essere onorata di chiamare Miami, casa mia.

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Mila Markovic

Hi everybody!  I am Mila. I am fourteen years old. I was born in Milan, Italy. For the last two years, my parents have wanted to move to the U.S.A. They wanted me and my sister to study in an American university.

So, here I am writing to you about my life from an American desk. In fact, I am not too happy about my parent’s decision. I know that Miami may be the dream for a lot of people, but not so much for me.  I would like to go back to Italy and be reunited with my friends again.  It would be nice to continue speaking my own language. I really enjoyed taking public transportation to go to school; this made me feel very independent.  In addition, I really miss feeling at home. Even though my new friends here are very nice people, I still miss my friends from Italy.

Now in the U.S.A., I have more possibilities for my future. In this period, Italy is being affected by an economic crisis. I am sure that my parents made the right decision for the whole family. I think that I am starting to adapt to the American system, even if it is totally different from the Italian system. I hope that one day I will thank my parents for this change in my life.

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Ciao a tutti sono Mila, ho quattordici anni e sono nata a Milano, Italia. I miei genitori volevano trasferirsi a Miami già da due anni, e quest’anno ci sono riusciti.

Eccomi qui, a scrivere un tema del quale sono io la protagonista, su un banco americano. Non sono contenta della decisione dei miei genitori. Sono consapevole, che Miami può essere un sogno per molti, e invece io vorrei tornare a casa. Vorrei restare con i miei amici, andare alla mia scuola, parlare italiano, prendere l’autobus, dormire a casa mia… Qui, invece, dormo in una casa che non sento mia, gli amici che mi sono fatta sono simpatici e amichevoli, ma non sono i miei amici italiani. Sicuramente qui ho molte più possibilità per il mio futuro rispetto alle possibilità che ho in Italia, che adesso, purtroppo è vittima di una grave crisi economica. Sono sicura che i miei genitori hanno preso la decisione giusta per tutta la famiglia. Mi sto già adattando al sistema americano, totalmente diverso da quello italiano. Spero che un giorno ringrazierò i miei genitori per questa scelta.

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Sirui Yu

Hello everyone.  My name is Sirui Yu.  I am fourteen years old.  I was born in China.

When I just heard the news about coming to America, I was not only very happy, but also scared.  I was happy because I knew that by moving here I was going to have less homework.  Back home, I had an insane amount of homework to deal with.  I was a little worried because I was afraid of my English language skills.  Unfortunately, I cannot understand many English words.  What can I do?  This is a difficult situation, especially because I now have to live in an English speaking country.

After being here for a few days, I did not feel afraid anymore.  People here are very friendly and kind.  Not only the teachers, but also the students want to help.  For this reason, I do not need to worry about my mistakes so much.

I think I will get better if I continue working hard.  I thank my teachers and classmates for their support.

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  大家好，我叫于思睿，今年十四岁，出生在中国。

  在刚刚听说到要来美国上学时，我是又惊又喜的，喜是我不用在中国经历中考，不用成天不分昼夜地做作业，而且还可以体验不同国家的学校生活，想到这一点我心里不由得泛起一股激动和紧张。惊则是因为我害怕，我怕我过不了语言关，我不懂别人在说什么，我该怎么做？这会是一个非常艰难的过程，因为我不得不去一个英语是母语的国家。

  当我来到这里的第一天开始，我对美国人的看法完全改观，更粉碎了我心中的那一点惊慌。这边的人都非常友好，无论是老师还是同学，他们都对每一个人都非常热情。你根本不用去在意你的错误会给你带来什么，因为他们不会应为你的错误而对你指手画脚。

  我认为，在接下来的一年中，我会在老师和同学们的帮助之下，尽快的融入这个英语环境，让我的英语水平更上一层楼，

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