Meet Two Of McKinley’s Foreign Exchange Students

A chess player from Italy and a makeup artist from Brazil share something in common...destination McKinley High School!

By Erin Ponn

Early in March, I had the pleasure of spending the morning talking with two exchange students at McKinley Senior High School: Andrea Selva, a Chess standout from Lombardy, Italy who dreamt of visiting the United States since he was a young child, and Daniel Almeida Dos Santos, a social media creator from the almost always sunny, São Paulo, Brazil. Both Andrea Selva and Daniel Almeida Dos Santos told me all about working to cover the costs of participating in the international student exchange program, the friends and family they left behind, and how excited they are to be “living the dream” here, in Northeast Ohio, with the same host family.

Andrea Selva

Armed with little more than a dream about visiting the United States, 17-year-old Andrea Selva left his home in Lombardy Italy in January, determined to see the America he’d become familiar with while watching movies and online videos.

“I wanted to come to America since a young age. I’ve watched film, “he said with a laugh. “I thought it was a beautiful place.”

Andrea eloquently, albeit shyly, smiled and spoke openly about his dream to visit America, working in Italy to raise enough money to participate in the International Exchange Program, of his childhood best friend, Roberto, and his love of all things Chess.

When I first sat down to interview Andrea, his grasp of the English language was so good that had he not told me he struggled with learning English, I would have never believed it to be true. “I was not a good student in English,” he explained. (English courses are taught in Italy beginning in primary school). “My mother hired a private tutor in middle school to help.”

In addition, Andrea (a bit of an independent learner) watched movies in English and online videos from sources like YouTube.

“I worked in a bar with tourists who spoke a lot of English to earn money to come here,” Andrea said. “That helped a lot.” He also hoped that being part of the exchange program would improve his ability to speak the language.

“When Roberto signed up to be an exchange student in Japan, that inspired me,” said Andrea. “I’d be a few months without him, so I’m going to do the same and I’m going to go to America,” he said. “Also to improve my English,” he added with a smile.

I asked Andrea if he would tell me a bit about his family back home and he talked fondly about learning chess from his father (who he has yet to best in a game) and teaching Roberto to play chess so he would have a worthy competitor. Now, the childhood best friends continue the game online even though they are oceans apart. Andrea modestly talked about winning the pressing that pasta was “different here” but the pizza was “pretty good.” And maybe it was because we were laughing together about food when I asked the question, but when pressed to name one thing Andrea would miss the most when he returned home in July, he answered with little hesitation and a smile, “The burrito” he said with a shrug.

As a makeup artist, Daniel advertised on Instagram — social media marketing skills he continues to use to share his time in the United States with family and friends. He smiled telling me about posting videos on YouTube detailing his experiences in Northeast Ohio and his impressions about living in the states but admits that posting is something he hasn’t done in a while. “It’s a lot of work to post,” he said.

When I asked Daniel about how prepared his family was for him to leave Brazil he said that while his sister was happy and excited for him, his mother was scared.

“I worked early - strived to do things for myself,” said Daniel. “So mom was confident I would be okay, but a bit scared for me.”

Daniel Almeida Dos Santos

He also expressed gratitude for his father’s support and how he helped him pay for the plane ride — an expense that is not covered under the costs associated with participating in the program.

district-wide chess tournament at McKinley in February and calling home to tell his dad about the win.

“I tell them everything of U.S.,” explained Andrea. “I send pictures. They ask what I did in the week.”

During his short time in America, Andrea has been to visit the McKinley Monument and the mall.

“Everything is different,” Andrea emphasized. “Everything is bigger. The mall is huge,” he continued. He laughed, talking about how big a gallon of milk is compared to the liters they have back home.

“I thought it would be impossible to finish it,” he said. “But we ran out in three days!” He spoke freely about how Americans haven’t quite mastered Italian cuisine - ex-

São Paulo, Brazil feels like the kind of tropical destination many Americans would dream of visiting. Online descriptions boast of bright blue skies, palm trees, and warm temperatures year-round. Certainly, it’s a far cry from the overcast, cloudy skies of Northeast, Ohio in March, but to talk with Daniel Almeida Dos Santos you’d never guess we weren’t chatting together in paradise.

“I came here alone,” Daniel said. “I didn’t know what’s waiting. What to expect. It’s a surprise,” he laughed. Daniel spoke confidently of wanting to try something different and unusual. He told of being raised in a family with limited means and how he worked to earn enough money to participate in the exchange program. Not unlike his host brother Andrea, Daniel also had to pay his own way to participate in the international student exchange program. He worked in a child’s party center, a call center, and as a certified makeup artist before the pandemic slowed his progress.

When asked about the cultural differences between the US and Brazil he told me about how Brazil is filled with tourism, and how culturally, the people in Brazil seem to be warmer.

“We kiss the cheek in greeting,” explained Daniel. “It’s colder here, more closed when greeting.” In addition, surnames are used less in Brazil. Daniel explained that instead of calling his performing arts teacher Mrs. McNally in Brazil, students would call her by her first name or even just teacher.

It didn’t take long before the discussion landed on food and Daniel “kissed the air” saying that our hamburgers, cookies, and brownies were great. “And all the ways you guys have chicken,” he said, laughing. “Especially the chicken with barbecue. It’s different here and the soups…” he trailed off.

Before we parted ways, I asked, “what do you miss about Brazil right now, Daniel?’

“The sun,” he said looking over my shoulder toward the glass windows that frame the front of McKinley High School. “I miss the sun. The warmth. Brazil is warm year round.”