This year the senior class has welcomed two foreign exchange students. The McCord family is hosting Sven Van Goch, and the Biltoft family is hosting Christian Ostli.
Sven is from Berkel en Rodenrijs, Netherlands, which is a town of approximately 60,000. Sven said that the biggest cultural difference is that since Superior is a small community
information spreads really fast. He also said that America gives a lot of attention to army, country, and flag; which the flag isn’t that important in the Netherlands. His hobbies in the Netherlands included playing soccer, field hockey, video games, and hanging out with friends. In America, he enjoys playing sports, riding in any type of vehicle, playing video games, doing “American Stuff,” and hanging out with friends. Sven’s favorite class in his home country was Economics; here it is Spanish because it’s an interesting language to speak.
His favorite thing about Nebraska is that everyone knows each other, especially in a small town, so if you go to hang out with someone there will always be someone else there too.
His least favorite thing about Nebraska is that people are very dependent on other people, so if you don’t have a car you always have to ask for a ride.
In the Netherlands, his friends and him would travel to the city, Rotterdam, which was 15 minutes by subway. Sven’s favorite food in the U.S. is Mac and cheese, but he also enjoys
all the different types of cereal and cinnamon rolls/gravel tops. In the Netherlands, they see America as a country with a really strong army, President Trump is also seen negatively
throughout the news, and Americans are generally thought of as fat because of all the fast food restaurants. Before he leaves America, Sven is planning on visiting Colorado where he will go skiing with his family; he has already visited Iowa.
Christian is from Hamar, Norway, which is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes from the capital of Norway, Oslo. He said that there isn’t a large difference in between countries, but the most difficult thing is the language barrier. Christian enjoys ice hockey, soccer, floorball, and video games. His favorite subject is Physics, or any science class and his favorite part of Nebraska is the food and people. He has found nothing negative about Nebraska, but if he has to choose something it would be that he can’t wear a hat to school. Back home, Christian enjoys hanging out with friends and playing video games. His favorite American food is Freddy’s cheeseburgers and fries. In Norway, they see America as place with a lot of fast food along with the idea of “American” neighborhoods. Before Christian leaves America, he is going to visit Disney World and Miami, Florida.
Both students will be returning to their home countries after graduation.
