New to town

Two exchange students begin their school year in Newcastle

Michael Alexander

NLJ Reporter

Newcastle High School has two foreign exchange students this year. They are Levy Schulz, 16, and Gustaf Rydholm, 17. Both are seniors.

Schulz is from Moers, Germany, and is being hosted by Ryan and Sara Whipple.

Rydholm calls Lidköping, Sweden, home and is staying with John and Tracy Leonard.

While Newcastle, Wyoming, is quite different from either boy’s hometown, it was Schulz who suffered the greater culture shock. He is accustomed to big-city life and had anticipated getting a more urban placement. The city he is from has a population of over 100,000 and is only half an hour away from Cologne, Germany, which boasts a population of over 1 million.

Rydholm is also from a town larger than Newcastle. Lidköping has a population of about 40,000. However, Rydholm said that life in his suburb is somewhat similar to life in a small town.

Neither boy had long-held plans to study abroad, and both sort of happened upon this opportunity by chance. Schulz said he was inspired a year ago by a family conversation at a restaurant. The topic of conversation turned to his brother’s friend’s experience doing an exchange year in Texas.

“It sounded pretty cool,” Schulz said.

Rydholm admitted that he hadn’t considered being an exchange student until earlier this year. At his parents’ suggestion that he consider an exchange year, he looked up the website for Education First. According to its website, Education First is “a non-profit corporation designated by the U.S. Department of State to operate a J-1 student exchange program.” Inspired by what he found online, he decided to follow his parents’ suggestion.

Both boys left their placement up for Education First to decide. Rydholm was hoping to be placed somewhere in the rural American West, but Schulz anticipated a placement in an urban community not unlike what he is accustomed to. However, both were ultimately satisfied with being placed in Newcastle.

“I’m pretty happy that I’m in a small town. It’s much easier to find friends,” Schulz said.

Rydholm echoed Schulz’ assessment. He said that he worried at first, for he thought that the residents might be similar to a stereotype of rural Swedish farmers, which is to say, unwelcoming of strangers. He was very glad to discover that this was not the case.

“First, I was a little bit shocked, to (tell) the truth. No one knows (about) Wyoming,” Schulz said.

However, Schulz, who has a friend currently doing an exchange year at a large school in Dallas, Texas, feels fortunate for his placement. He pointed out the natural beauty of Newcastle and the surrounding area and the friendliness of the locals as reasons why his placement is better than his friend’s.

When asked for their opinions on American food, both boys were quick to assert that their native cuisine is better. However, Rydholm has developed an appreciation for fried chicken, which is not a common dish in Sweden. He has become a fan of KFC.

Schulz, who admitted real hesitance about trying American cooking, confessed that some homemade strawberry cheesecake “looked gross but was yummy.”

Rydholm said that what he hopes to take from this experience is to develop long-lasting relationships.

For him, a major part of the promise of this experience is “having a home away from home.”

Schulz said that he hopes to “grow as a person.” He wants to “grow in (his) mind and how (he sees) some things.”