Lorenzo Lisi wasn’t sure how he’d feel being in a town where gun ownership is common. Unlike his hometown of Palo Alto, California, guns are a regular part of life in Kilgore, Texas, where Lisi spent a week this summer as part of the American Exchange Project, a program that sends recent high school graduates to experience a place in the U.S. that is radically different from their hometown.
At first, Lisi felt uneasy in Kilgore, but as he spent more time in the community getting to know the locals, he was surprised by how safe he felt. “It was important to have that experience of feeling safe and knowing that there are guns around to have a mindful conversation about whether guns belong in a society,” the 18-year-old said.
Outside of his comfort zone, which was largely shaped by growing up in America’s progressive and affluent tech hub, Lisi’s education continued. In Kilgore, he helped brand and vaccinate cows — his job involved lifting the cow’s tail, which helps the animal remain calm when pressure is applied to certain nerves during the procedure. “It was a very eye-opening experience, because it’s a process that is not pretty,” said Lisi, recalling the clanging of metal, the mooing and manure everywhere. “It’s something I’ve never even thought of — when you’re eating beef, you don’t really know what goes on behind the scenes.”