Utah鈥檚 Anna Busatto on the experience of an international student-athlete
SALT LAKE CITY (BVM) 鈥� Have you ever wondered what difficulties an international student-athlete has to face up? Well, Anna Busatto shares the tea.
Busatto, a senior majoring in Biochemical Engineering at the University of Utah and on the track and field team, opens up about transitioning from Italy to the U.S.聽
The mental and physical obstacles that she had to overcome made her into the woman she is now.聽
In high school, she didn鈥檛 even think about coming to the U.S. She knew about this possibility since some of her teammates started coming to the U.S. with a scholarship.
She received offers her senior year in high school from a lot of Universities, but never thought about that option.聽
She actually started University in Italy, but after the first semester, it was hard for her to keep up with school and track and field, especially since there is not a system that goes around sports like in the U.S.
Things were getting bad in Italy and Anna, after careful consideration, started to consider the United States.
Finally, she had to decide between the University of Alabama and the University of Utah. The Utes were her choice since she also loved the cold.
One of the major impacts聽 of the transition she had was the change of practices. Being in Utah, and on a track and field team, she struggled with the altitude and outdoor practices because she had never done them before.
鈥淚 was always running on the field,鈥� Busatto said. 鈥淗ere, we were running half of the year outdoors and for distance (miles), and I was used to running for time.鈥澛�
All up and down hills, Busatto felt quite lost her freshman year every time she was at practice.聽
鈥淭hreshold work and practices in parks were completely new and a shock for my body. It was agony at the beginning, but now I like the threshold,鈥� she said.
The amount of work and recovery days were very different from what she was used to her entire life.聽
She had never done weights when in Italy and once she came here, the struggle was real.聽
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 even do hang cleans,鈥� Busatto said. 鈥淢y arms were so weak I couldn鈥檛 lift. It was hard.鈥�
She added that with time, she learned to love doing weights, especially to be complete as an athlete and in all muscular sectors. Another thing she loved and helped her improve was cross-training, meaning the integration of bike and swim based on your needs.聽
For international student-athletes like Busatto, the American intercollegiate athlete life is tough, and keeping up with the schedule was tiring.聽
鈥淚 was tired but here you had everything very close to and near you, every support possible, from the sport psychologist to the trainer, from the massage therapist to the training room with every medium to help you recover or heal faster.鈥�
鈥淚 had a lot of injuries my first two years, and worked a lot with the trainers to do rehab,鈥� Busatto said.
Another difficulty she had to face up to was food. Italians are known for having some of the best food in the world, and as such, it is a big shock to be surrounded by different foods your body is not used to.聽
鈥淢y freshman year, I was in the dorms and I didn鈥檛 have a kitchen for me to cook, so going to the athlete dining was still a big impact for my body,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 had problems with my stomach because it wasn鈥檛 reacting well to the food I was eating here. Only after years, I have learned how to get some quality products.鈥�
Related to food, organizing and planning how, when, and what to eat during the day with a busy schedule between classes and practices wasn鈥檛 easy.
鈥淎fter two weeks I had a breakdown because I didn鈥檛 understand the language, the practices, I couldn鈥檛 understand anything,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he first night here, I remember everybody was at the hotel with their parents, instead I was in the dorms already alone, so being far from home and my family was difficult.鈥�
It was hard to make friends at the beginning because of language barriers, all the mental processes international students have to face up to such as thinking in your own language, translating it in English, saying it in English, and then translating the answer in your native language. In the beginning, the amount of effort was ridiculous and it was hard to be understood as well as repeat things.
鈥淚t was frustrating, and at the beginning, you are homesick, not knowing a language and the culture and everything was summing up too fast,鈥� she said.聽
Difficulty with the language reflected in everything: school, sport and social life.
Laughing, she remembers how strange it was initially to pass by people you don鈥檛 know and hear them saying 鈥淗i, how are you?鈥� and then keep walking without really stopping to answer. With time, she got it.
Another realization she had during her transition from Italy to the U.S. was how the food, above all the other struggles, impacted her mentally.
Due to all the new processes she was going through and how her life has turned upside down for the best for certain things, and for the worst for others, Busatto started to seek help from the sports psychologist.
Mental health was impacted by all the unexpected events she had to deal with when she was just 19 years old in a land unknown to her until the moment she stepped into Salt Lake City.聽
Anxiety and emotional eating were part of her first years that led her to being in an unhappy place mentally.
鈥淚 was having an inhuman effort at a mental level and I was struggling, so the second semester I started using the resources the U had, and I am thankful for the sport psychologist,鈥� Busatto said.聽
鈥淭he more weight I was gaining and the more uncomfortable I was feeling with myself, it was hard,鈥� she said, explaining that her body needed a lot of time to adapt to the food here, even the healthy kinds.聽
There was an uneasiness that started with little things that ended up affecting their performances in her sport.
She took a nutrition class called intuitive eating that helped her better understand herself and the approach she had with food here. After the first three years, she started to live happily and she developed a sense of awareness of her body, mind and spirit that helped her find balance.聽
鈥淢y senior year was the best year,鈥� she said as Busatto produced her best times during the 2021 outdoor season (800 meters – 2:13.47, and 1500 meters – 4:34.27).
It鈥檚 a reminder to never give up, and that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
