The first day of school can be nerve-wracking, but for Fernando Solari Grigera, a junior from Argentina, there was the added stress of beginning school in a different country.
“Everything’s different,” Grigera said of America. “Everything’s huge.”
Grigera moved to St. Louis from Lincoln, Nebraska because of his parents’ work in agriculture. He

said the biggest distinctions between Argentina and the U.S. are social ones.
“Friend groups are a lot bigger in Argentina,” Grigera said. “I hung out with 15 or more people regularly and we would get together at around 4 p.m. and go to the pool, downtown, or a club until 6 a.m.”
Grigera said the party scene is also very different here.
“In Pergamino, there are a lot of parties with over 1,000 people,” he said. “They’re mostly outdoors, and there’s more drinking. The legal drinking age there is 18.”
Grigero said school is more casual here.
“I used to go to private school and we had a uniform,” Grigera said. “I preferred to have a uniform because it made waking up and getting ready easier. People here dress very differently and teachers are fine with it. Classes are a lot more laid back, too.”
Grigera said joining cross country was good for him.
“Cross country has opened a lot of doors,” Grigera said. “You get to know a lot of people and personalities. It’s an individual sport, but at the same time, it’s a group start. We have a lot of team spirit.”
Grigera said he is overwhelmed with homework, but appreciates the pace in his classes. Fluent in both Spanish and English, Grigera is an active participant in AP Spanish V.
Scott Szevery, history teacher, said he is enthusiastic about the new perspectives Grigera could bring to AP US History.
“It’s always helpful to have a foreign student in a US history class,” Szevery said.
Szevery said one of the first class discussions concerned “an event hundreds of years ago that happened in Grigera’s part of the world.” He was able to share how the event was taught at his school.
“He’s very nice and outgoing, and because of his personality, he seems more willing than others I’ve had to share his perspectives,” Szevery said.