Thankful for the experience, these foreign brothers have made an everlasting bond. Flying hours from France and from Germany, Noa Bonte and Ruben Zezelj met each other in the Columbus airport, to go to their host home for their yearlong, and semester-long stays. While both may have hoped to have resided in a big city like New York or Houston, they have enjoyed their experiences both together and separately here in a town like Mount Vernon, Ohio.
They traveled together to Chicago, Illinois with their host Father, and got to experience one of America’s big cities in person. While Noa has been to America before for his club Basketball team back in France and to visit family, this is Ruben’s first time experiencing the American culture first-hand.
Ruben decided to do an exchange year in America because his two older brothers had done so in the past. Ruben speaks German and Spanish, he also speaks English pretty well. Ruben has practically taught himself English since he was a kid. Noa, on the other hand, speaks French and a little bit of Spanish, but has had a more difficult time bringing his school taught English here.
One thing that both of them say is helpful about America is how easy it is to talk to Americans, and how open we are to helping people when needed. In their countries it is less common to see someone you do not know, and converse with them, or even smile at them in the street… they’ll think you are weird. Street etiquette is important to know.
In school, Ruben says the way that we dress is similar to that in Germany. Though, Noa says it is definitely different than in France. Sweatpants and hoodies are acceptable for a school day here, but in France you would see people fully ready for the day in what we would call business casual clothing.
In America, sports culture is a huge part of culture as a whole. Whether it is because we are watching American football games on Saturdays, watching, or participating in school sports, it is very important. Ruben played for our Mount Vernon Boys Soccer team for the 2024 fall season. He says he is grateful to have completed the season, and to have made friends from it. Noa plans to play for our Mount Vernon High School Boys Tennis team in the spring to gain a new experience.
Getting the chance to go to Homecoming was a good addition to the American experience. According to Ruben, our student section was a fun experience, though it’s weird since they don’t have anything like that in Germany.
Weekends here looked like hanging out with friends and doing things for Ruben. A weekend in Germany would usually look like clubbing with friends and drinking to have fun. ¨“ I wouldn’t say it’s good for you but it definitely can be fun”, Ruben says. Noa may spend his weekends in the gym or hanging out at home messaging his friend from back home. A weekend with friends in France would be like strolling the streets and going out to eat.
The days of school after the weekend are all different in both Germany and France, because they have year round school and their schedules change from day to day. They both say that it can be tiring having the same school schedule everyday of the week here. Our punctuality to things may not be great but it is definitely better than in Germany and France where a few minutes may mean a few hours.
Advice that they both would give to future exchange students traveling here would be to ¨involve yourself¨ in things like clubs and sports, it’s the easiest way to make friends. The both of them say that they would visit America again, and their time here was worth it.
