From Romania to Italy to the US, one student’s experience
“We moved [to the United States] for a new experience,” Liliana Serban, ‘20, said.
Serban recently moved to the United States from Italy, a place that still remains in her heart. She is originally from Romania, where she lived with her grandmother, while her parents lived in Italy and worked to make a better future for their family.
At the age of eight, her parents brought Serban to Italy, where she would live until the age of 16.
“I’m the type of person who hates routines, so I wanted to come here and try it,” Serban recalled.
When she moved from Romania to Italy, she said she didn’t have many difficulties, “given I was young and had never developed an attachment to Romania.” However, when she moved to America, she had to deal with difficulties concerning education and personal life.
Unlike the five-day American school day routine, Serban attended school for six days in Italy: Monday through Saturday. Despite having to go to school for more days in Italy, she still prefers it over the day to day routine in America.
“It’s totally different, so all of things I [have already studied] I have to do again, which I don’t like it at all, [and] learn a language again, English,” Serban explained.
One of the many difficulties she faced was having to transfer her school transcript from Italy to the US. Since some of the courses are different in Italy, she was required to retake a couple of classes which places her back one year.
Socially, Serban struggles to fit in with her peers. Serban explained, “I feel like there [are] really fake people here. If you have problems, they will just say ‘Oh, I feel so sorry for you!’, and then they will just walk away. They’re not trying to help you or they are jealous.”
Serban believes moving to America has brought immense educational opportunities; however, her heart still remains at home in Italy with her friends.
“In Italy, I have really, really good friends. [They’re] like family for me, and we’re still in contact. Like my best friend came for Homecoming and she is going to come in April,” Serban said.
Since her move to the United States, Serban visited Italy over the summer and she shared that nothing has really changed for her.
“When I went [to Italy] this summer, I had a friend, like he was so happy [when he] saw me, and [he kept saying] ‘Look Liliana is here!’ It felt like I hadn’t moved at all,” Serban described.
In the future, Serban hopes to get a degree in either Interior Design or Architecture in America, and then move back to Italy where her friends are. She knows she can have a better future in America, but she still misses her friends back home in Italy.
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