Coming from a different school can be a difficult task in itself, but imagine coming from another country.

Joel Betancourt Diaz, junior, moved to Missouri the last week of October from Humacao, Puerto Rico.

“I came here for more opportunities to play baseball and to play during the summer,” Diaz said.

Diaz has been playing baseball since he was 3 years old and hopes to play for the Mustangs this year.

“Marquette is much harder and much bigger,” Diaz said. “In Puerto Rico, classes were too easy.”

Diaz said classes are much more difficult because he can only speak simple English. He said his other Spanish speaking friends help him around school.

“There are a lot more people here,” Diaz said. “It is better that we don’t have to wear uniforms like we did in Puerto Rico.”

Although he misses his friends, he communicates with them through an app called WhatsApp.

Along with adapting to a new school, Diaz is also adapting to the new food.

“Some of my favorite places to eat here are Steak ‘n Shake and Golden Corral,” Diaz said.

One of the main teachers helping Diaz is English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher Carol Logue.

“Joel comes to my ESOL class every day,” Logue said.

ESOL is a class that helps students from foreign countries with any questions they have regarding school work.

“I help Joel learn English and I answer questions he has about homework, research projects, etc.,” Logue said.

Rida Siddiqui, junior, said Diaz has adapted to MHS very well.

“He was only nervous day one and two, but now he is comfortable,” Siddiqui said.

She also said he is getting much better at English.

“He talks a lot,” Siddiqui said. “And he’s really funny.”