Matt Okelabo | Staff Writer for The Mount
Every year Mount Michael strives to reach out to the international community and joyfully embraces new students. This year Mount Michael has enrolled twenty-six international students; among these students, eleven are new to the Mount Michael community. One of the new additions to Mount Michael is junior Diego Buerreta Ochoa.
Ochoa
is from Culiacan, Mexico. Culiacan is in northwestern Mexico, the
largest city in the state of Sinaloa as well as its capital. Ochoa’s
search for a new school started when he and his family started looking
for high ranking high schools in the United States with aprestigious
curriculum. Mount Michael was a great fit and attracted Ochoa because he
was looking for a new experience and a good opportunity to improve his
English. He is happy to be at Mount Michael and is glad to have joined
the community.Although Ochoa enjoys being at Mount Michael he misses some aspects of his hometown. Some of the differences between Mexico and Mount Michael include the language, the culture, the food, and the school schedule. He says that although the food here is great, it is no where near as good as the Mexican food he enjoys at home.
The school schedule also varies in Mexico. Ochoa’s school day in Mexico consisted of five classes, each an hour and a half long. Another difference between schooling in Mexico and Mount Michael is that Ochoa did not have lunches, but instead had two breaks a day to do whatever he wanted. Although some of the differences may be difficult, Ochoa says that he loves the classes, especially Physics, Literature, and Pre-Calculus.
Ochoa is also an avid fan of basketball. He loves the Lakers and he hopes they will win the NBA Championship this year. As a fan of the Lakers, Ochoa naturally does not like certain teams like the Miami Heat. “I hate Chris Bosh, he’s so bad. The Lakers are going to win this season, that’s for sure,” said Ochoa. He also plays basketball and spends about three hours a day in the gym getting ready for the basketball season.
Mount Michael is starting to feel like home for Ochoa. “So far it has been one of the best experiences in my life. I like everything so far about Mount Michael including the classes, sports, and how the students and teachers treat the international students. It’s been really cool thus far.”
