Texas is so large that if it were an independent country, it would be one of the world's largest nations. With an area larger than France, driving across it from east to west takes over twelve hours. This vastness has contributed to creating a strong cultural identity: many Texans define themselves as Texans first and Americans second, a sentiment rooted in the state's history as an independent republic before joining the United States in 1845.
Texas was not simply a destination I visited. It was the place where my American adventure began. After leaving Italy, I moved to Beeville, a small town in Bee County, in south Texas. It sits between San Antonio and Corpus Christi, but when you live there you quickly realize that distances in Texas mean something different than what we're used to in Europe. To reach a major city often requires hours of travel, and having a car becomes almost essential.
I arrived in August, the hottest time of year. The temperatures were much higher than anything I had experienced in Italy, and adjusting wasn't simple. Soccer practice often took place in the early afternoon, under intense sun and with humidity that made every session particularly challenging. The first few months were probably the most difficult physically. Beyond adapting to a new culture, I also had to get used to a completely different climate.
Beeville is a small town of just a few thousand inhabitants nestled in the plains of south Texas. It's not the Texas you see in movies or tourist guides. There are no major attractions, skylines, or famous neighborhoods. Life revolves mainly around the college, sports events, and the local community. For many international students, the main limitation was mobility. Few owned cars and getting around was difficult. As a result, much of daily life happened within the campus or its immediate surroundings. At first, this aspect was complicated. Moving from life in Italy to a small Texas town requires significant adjustment.
One of the things that really made me understand how large Texas is were the sports road trips. To play matches, we often crossed the state for hours and hours on buses, driving roads that seemed to never end. Distances that in Europe would mean crossing multiple countries, in Texas often simply mean going from one city to another. Those road trips became one of the main ways I discovered the territory. From the window came an endless succession of ranches, plains, small towns, and long stretches of road where there seemed to be nothing for miles.
If there's one thing that made that experience special, it was the people. The group of friends made within the team and at college played a fundamental role. We were guys from different countries but united by the same experience: living far from home trying to build something in the United States. When you live in an isolated place, friendships become even more important. Most of the memories I carry with me aren't tied to places, but to the people I shared them with.
One of the most beautiful moments of those six months was Thanksgiving. A Mexican teammate invited us to spend the holiday with his family in Houston. For many of us, it was the first chance to experience a real American holiday within a local family. Houston seemed enormous compared to Beeville. Skyscrapers, traffic, modern neighborhoods, and a cultural diversity we hadn't seen in the small town where we studied. During those days we visited the city, watched an NBA game, and finally had the chance to explore a different side of Texas. It was one of those moments that let you see another face of the state compared to daily college life.
Every now and then we managed to reach Corpus Christi. For someone living inland, seeing the sea meant a pleasant break from campus routine. The beaches of the Gulf of Mexico are very different from those I was used to in Italy, but they still offered an opportunity to get away from training and university commitments. Although visits were few, they represent some of the best memories from that time.
My time in Texas lasted only six months. Later I moved to Kansas and, a few years after that, to Chicago, where I completed my university studies. Yet Texas holds a special place in my memory because it was my first real contact with the United States. It wasn't the easiest experience of my American journey. The isolation, the heat, and life in a small town presented various challenges. But that's precisely what made it an important milestone. It was there that I began to adapt to a new culture, to live far from home, and to build my experience as a student-athlete in the United States. Looking back, Texas wasn't the most spectacular place I've lived. But it was the starting point for everything else.