Student News Desk: Bolivia native enjoys student experience at North Star
November 26, 2024
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Lincoln Public Schools understands the importance of quality journalism to help inform our community and shine a light on the people, programs and events that make our school district unique.
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Written by Mariana Bazan, North Star High School
Mateo is one of our only exchange students at North Star this year. He is from Tarija, Bolivia. So far Mateo is really liking the United States.
One thing he told the Gator Galaxy was that, “One thing that was different compared to Bolivia were the people here are a lot more shy which makes it harder to make friends.” Some of the friends he has were made from joining the LNS football team.
Mateo decided to try football for the very first time and his favorite part about football was getting to be the kicker. He also wants to join wrestling or swimming for the winter and soccer in the spring. He said the food here is a lot less healthy than it is in Bolivia, “the food in the US has a lot less flavor than the food in Bolivia.”
For only being here for three months, his English is really good. He told the Gator Galaxy that when he first met his host family they couldn’t talk to each other without using Google Translate. About a month later his English improved a lot. He said listening to music and trying to speak as much English as possible throughout the day helps a lot. He can now converse with his host family without any trouble.
When asked what made him want to come to the US he said, “it was mainly for his parents.” He knew his parents had not received the chance to do this so when he found out he could, he didn’t think twice about saying yes.
The decision on coming was also made because he wanted to learn a new language, culture, and make new friends. He is truly happy about getting the chance for something new and so far his experience has been wonderful.
When Mateo’s exchange year is over he does see himself coming back to the US to visit. But instead of coming to Nebraska he wants to go to Arkansas. The reason for this is because the University of Arkansas has a program with Bolivia where he is able to apply for a scholarship so he can come back and get a college degree in whatever he wants to do.
Published: November 26, 2024, Updated: November 27, 2024
North Star High School student Mateo smiles at a University of Nebraska-Lincoln football game this fall. Mateo is an exchange student from Bolivia. He said he has enjoyed his first few months in the United States.
