The sound of a new school bell and voices floods Nicolas Cattani’s (10) ears as he makes his way through the hallways. Despite the challenges that come with moving to a foreign country, such as a language barrier, Cattani is unfazed by the difficulties. He is looking forward to meeting new people and playing soccer, just as he did back home in Brazil.

Cattani made his transfer to the United States in the fall to learn English, and to experience more opportunities for his future. His school back in Brazil was different. With soccer being year round and attending a small school, transferring to East Lansing, which has over 1,200 students, was a stark contrast.

“Here, the school is bigger with two gyms and a pool,” Cattani said. “It also has events like football games and swimming competitions. In Brazil, my school had one gym with a big soccer field. We have two school buildings with 20-25 students in each class.”

He lived in a smaller tight knit community within Marau, Brazil. There, Cattani’s life consisted of a busy schedule full of multiple sports and
schoolwork.

“Back in Brazil, I played soccer, volleyball and martial arts,” Cattani said. “I studied in grade school every day with classes in the morning and afternoon. Sports like soccer were usually in the evening but sometimes they were played during school in gym class.”

This fall, Cattani played on the JV boys’ soccer team. Cattani enjoyed the experience because and he got to hangout with his new teammates while playing the sport that he loves most. Cattani’s new friends made sure he was involved in school activities like homecoming and football games.

According to ELL teacher Katerin Barnes, Cattani has many hobbies outside of school that he likes to share with his friends. Such activities consist
of running, watching movies and playing video games.

“I plan on playing basketball in the winter because I enjoy sports and I am very tall,” Cattani said. “I have made a lot of new friends and I enjoy hanging out with them. A lot of my friends do many sports so I thought it would be fun to try basketball.”

Cattani has fit right in to ELHS, building relationships through soccer and school. He expressed that with all the support he has learning a new language hasn’t been very challenging for him. Cattani has taken it upon himself to use this as a learning experience in order to build his
future in a new country.