Q1: Where are you from?
“I’m from the Netherlands. I lived in a town called Driebergen.”
Q2: Why did you choose Bismarck?
“I actually didn’t get to choose Bismarck because the organization that I’m here with matches your character with your host family. So you can get placed around the whole US depending on the family you matched with.”
Q3: What made you want to be a foreign exchange student?
“I wanted to be an exchange student because I wanted to meet new people with different cultures and I really liked the idea of having a second family in a different place in the world. I already graduated high school in the Netherlands, so I’m doing this as a gap year before I start college next year. I’m hoping this year will help me figure out what I want to study next year too.”
Q4: What is different about Bismarck & your hometown?
“The biggest difference is probably that Bismarck is way bigger than my hometown because I lived in a small town. My town didn’t have a mall or any fast food places.You would have to go to a city for that. And you would have to use public transportation to get there, since you can’t get your driver’s license in The Netherlands before 18.”
Q5: What is your biggest challenge you’ve faced since coming to Bismarck?
“I think the biggest challenge is not being able to go anywhere that’s not walking or bike distance since I don’t have my driver’s license. If I want to go somewhere, someone has to bring me and pick me up.”
Q6: How has your daily routine changed since you started living here?
“School days in The Netherlands are way shorter than they are here. I usually had 4 hours of school and it usually started later than 8:20, but that depended on my schedule which was different every day. I had every subject twice a week and some once or three times. Also, sport-practices in the Netherlands were usually only two times a week, with one match on saturdays. Practice there is around 8/9pm, and the sport clubs are not included in the school, so sports and school didn’t have anything to do with one another.”
Q7: What advice would you give to future exchange students preparing for their own journey?
“I would advise them to join a sports team because I think that can help you meet a lot of people and gives you a nice activity to do. I would also say be open for everything and take initiative to meet new people. Give yourself time to settle in and it will be fine!”
Q8: Are you doing any extracurricular activities?
“Cross country!”
