There is a new foreign exchange student walking the halls of St. Louis High School, and his name is Guilherme Silva. Guilherme, also known as Gui, is a native of Brazil. Gui is here at St. Louis to get an experience of being in the United States, and he is staying with active St. Louis citizens Jeff and Rayna Oswald. His family is what he misses most from home, but he is enjoying his time here and taking advantage of this opportunity to learn and grow in a new country.

Some things were different for Gui back in Brazil. For example, Gui stated, “In my country I live in a farmhouse, so my home here is very different.” Food is not much different in Brazil than in the U.S. according to Gui. He says that they have many of the same restaurants, such as McDonalds, Subway, and Burger King. However, Gui also said about Brazil cuisine, “The seasoning is different, and we usually eat a lot of rice and beans, but in a different way.”

Another thing that Gui has noticed a difference in is the people. He said, “In my country, people are more loving. I don’t know if this make sense, but we like to hug, and here when you meet a person, it’s difficult to do this.” Gui has a lot of fun with his friends back in Brazil, and he says that going to the cinemas is one of his favorite things to do with them. They also have fun just staying at home and eating too.

One of Gui’s favorite things of all is to play volleyball. He said, “I play volleyball in Brazil, and I like to practice this sport so much.” He says that volleyball is extremely popular where he’s from, and so is soccer and basketball. Overall, Gui has been enjoying his stay and living the “American way.” He is learning a lot from this experience and is excited to be able to tell all of his friends and family back home all about it.