Kansas is known as "The Sunflower State," but it is also one of the most important places in the history of American agriculture. The flat terrain and climate made Kansas one of the United States' major wheat producers, earning it the nickname "America's Breadbasket." The vast agricultural expanses that stretch across the state remain a fundamental part of local identity today.
Kansas was the second stage of my American experience. After spending the first six months in Texas, I moved to Chanute, a small town in southeastern Kansas, to continue my journey as a student-athlete at another community college. Once again, I found myself not in a major American city, but in a reality completely different from what I was used to in Italy.
Chanute had many similarities to Beeville, the town where I had lived in Texas. It was a small community, far from major urban centers, where available activities were limited and the college represented an important part of daily life. Like in Texas, here too a car was practically essential for getting around, and without your own vehicle it was difficult to explore the surrounding area. The day was mainly organized around training, classes, and campus life. It wasn't the classic American dream of big cities, skyscrapers, and endless possibilities. It was a much quieter, less known side of the United States, made up of small towns, long roads, and vast open spaces.
Once again, soccer was the element that made this experience special. Living far from home in a new environment would have been much more difficult without the group of friends created on the team. We were students from different countries, all in the same situation: far from our families, trying to adapt to a new culture and build our path in the United States. In places like Chanute, where there weren't many distractions, the people you share the experience with become even more important. The hours after training, the conversations, and the moments spent together are probably what I remember most from those months.
Although Kansas isn't a particularly tourist state, soccer gave me the opportunity to see a part of the United States I probably wouldn't have visited otherwise. Road trips took us to surrounding states, crossing the American Midwest. The landscape was characterized mainly by vast plains, agricultural fields, and small towns. Compared to other parts of the United States, the Midwest has less scenic variety, but has its own identity: enormous spaces, slower rhythms, and very close-knit local communities. It was a part of America very different from the images I had in mind before I left.
During a college break, we had the chance to visit Kansas City with some friends. Compared to Chanute, it seemed almost like another world. The city offers a more urban reality, with restaurants, sporting events, and a more developed cultural scene. It was a good opportunity to break away from the small town routine and see a more dynamic side of Kansas and neighboring Missouri. In this case too, however, distance remained a fundamental characteristic: in the United States, even a relatively nearby city can require hours of driving.
My experience in Kansas lasted six months. They were intense months, almost entirely devoted to soccer and university life, before the final move to Chicago in the winter of 2023. Looking back, Kansas wasn't the most spectacular place in my American journey, but it was still an important passage. After Texas, it taught me once again what it means to adapt to a completely new environment, to live far from home, and to find your balance in a huge country. Kansas may not be a destination many put at the top of their list when they think of the United States, but for me it represents an essential part of the journey: the period when I continued building my American life before arriving in Chicago.