Meet an Exchange Student: Luisa Virgilio*
*Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Luisa is a senior from Lisbon, Portugal.
Why did you decide to do an exchange year in the US?
When I was in eighth grade my cousin decided to do an exchange year in Denmark. I started to think “I would like to do [an exchange year] in Denmark.” I researched about it, and then I started seeing videos of people who went to the United States and I’ve always wanted to go there to study. I used to try to convince my parents to go there so I wouldn’t have to go alone. So since eighth grade I’ve been wanting to come to the US.
What is something that surprised you about America?
A lot of things surprised me. One thing is the food. Another is the schedule. Here, classes finish at 3:15 and I used to finish at 5:00. And then we have dinner at 6:00 and we used to have dinner at 9:00. I used to go to bed at like 1:00 and here it’s 8:00 and I’m in bed already. So it’s really different.
What is it about American food that surprised you specifically?
Everything is really spicy and everything is really big. At first I would eat something— even if it was just a little bit— and I would be completely full. It’s a different feeling [than food in Portugal]. It’s heavier.
Do you have a favorite American food?
Oh, I do! It’s not technically American, but it was a thing that I tried here. It’s like my favorite food now, which is dumplings. There’s a really good store in Urbana with dumplings that are amazing.
What were your first impressions of Uni? How does it differ from what you imagined an American high school would be like?
A lot of people imagine a typical high school from the movies with cheerleaders and footballs when they’re going to the US. That’s not Uni. My first impression was that it’s really small. My old school was 2,000 students. So I was used to big schools and then all of a sudden I have like a three floor school, really small. But everyone was super nice.
What is something you miss from Portugal?
My family. I love my host family here, we do a lot of things differently. Here [my host family] doesn’t listen to music in the car. Which is fine by me, but it’s weird because it’s so different. We wouldn’t stand like ten minutes in the car without music [in Portugal]. It’s really different, but I love them both.
What was one of your favorite memories of first semester?
It was probably the Sprabitat Haunted House because it was really cool and afterwards we went to McDonalds and saw our friends. That or going to see a movie at the drive in theater.
What are you looking forward to this semester?
Starting ice skating classes and winter formal, because it’s my first dance.
