Italian exchange student is sad to leave
Staff writer
Bright, adventurous, and Italian describe Francesca Bona, one of two foreign exchange students this year at Hillsboro High School.
Bona has spent the semester living with the Steve and Lou Greenhaw family here in Hillsboro.
At home, Bona is an only child. Her mother is an information technology consultant and her father is a publisher.
The 17-year-old exchange student is from Turin, Italy, and this is her "first real experience with the United States."
She arrived in New York in early August where she went through orientation with other exchange students.
Bona is one of many of her friends and family who have gone to other countries as foreign exchange students.
During this school year she has had a friend in Michigan, one in South Africa, and another in New Zealand.
Two years ago her cousin's experience as an exchange student inspired her to apply herself.
Bona has studied English since the sixth grade, but had private lessons as well.
"I think private lessons helped a lot," she said. "I wouldn't have been able to come here and do what I did without them.
"I think a lot about Italy," added Bona, but she isn't homesick.
She says the climate in Turin is similar to Hillsboro but she misses the mountains in her native home.
Turin, or Torino as it is spelled in Italian, is a major city of more than a million people and until 1870 was the capital of Italy.
Bona and her family live in downtown Turin, and readily available transportation is one of the many benefits of city living that she misses.
"I really miss public transportation because I can't drive," said Bona.
Italians can't get a driver's license until they are 18, but with buses and other forms of public transportation available, that isn't a problem in her country.
"It's kind of annoying, because if I want to go somewhere here, I have to ask someone to take me," she said.
Turin is about 45 minutes from the more rural areas of Italy, and Bona says since she's never lived in a small town in Italy, she can't compare the lifestyle. She was nervous about leaving the city.
"At first I was really scared," she said, "to come to a small town and have not much to do church and school. There are a lot more rules here. This was the first big thing I've done by myself."
She wasn't worried about the people she would stay with, however, because she met the Greenhaws when they visited Italy last May.
"It made it a lot easier because I already knew them," said Bona.
The Greenhaws and their son's family were traveling in Europe. When they found out who their exchange student was going to be, they took a side trip to Italy to meet Francesca and her family. She is the Greenhaw's third exchange student.
"I was shocked about how little people know about Italy," Bona said. "and I will be glad if I managed to teach something about my country."
The food here is different than what she is used to at home, but what Bona really misses is freshly bread baked daily.
She hasn't done much cooking for her family in Hillsboro.
"Lou is such a better cook than I am," she said.
But she did invite school friends over for an authentic Italian meal.
School hasn't been a problem for Bona who feels classes have been easy. She is worried that her classmates will be ahead of her in many subjects when she returns.
"School is very different at home," she said. "You don't choose classes."
According to Bona, in Italy, 25 or 30 children start school together and continue through every grade together. They take all the same subjects in one classroom, and the teachers come to them.
She says she is going to miss going from class to class. That and the pep rallies offer a break, "more than just studying," she said.
Although Bona is a senior at HHS, she will have another year of school when she returns home. There are five years of high school in Italy.
After high school, Bona plans to attend university and would like to go on to medical school.
Bona hasn't decided where she wants to go to college but may try to come back to the U.S. to study. As far as coming to the U.S. to live, that's out.
"I want to live in Italy," said Bona. "It's my country. I love it."
Being a foreign exchange student has been a positive experience for Bona.
"It's increased my self esteem," she said. "I've been able to come here and make friends by myself. I've left everything else behind."
Bona will leave Hillsboro after Christmas and visit her aunt in Hartford, Conn. Her grandparents also will fly over from Italy for the post-holiday visit.
Christmas for the Bona family in Italy would have consisted of dinner with her father's family on Dec. 24, opening presents on Christmas day and having lunch with her mother's family, then going to the mountains to ski.
"I'm sad because Christmas is coming, but mostly, because I'm leaving," said Bona.
"I will miss the people and family the most," said Bona "and the easy school. I'll really miss that."
