Coming to live in a country, especially one you have never visited, for nearly an entire year sounds daunting. Needless to say Noah Kaufmann was nervous about coming to the United States for his senior year of high school and leaving his friends behind in Switzerland.

There are many challenges that are presented to foreign exchange students. Making friends, missing home, language barriers, and acclimating to his new home are among some of the challenges Noah has faced. However, Noah does not struggle with these problems as much as one might think.

Noah was not sure what to expect when he found out he would be coming to Casper for his next school year. His expectations were loosely based on films that he had seen that depicted an average American high school.

“I thought that it would be perhaps like some films I saw, and it is exactly like the films. There is a big spirit in school, much bigger than Switzerland. Sports are more important here; it’s cool here,” Kaufmann said.

There are several things that set Wyoming and Switzerland apart. When Kaufmann first arrived in the United States there were quite a few differences that he noticed right off the bat. Noah has been here since August and it has taken some getting used to.

“Things are huge here. The food is huge the streets, the cars, and everyone has a car. Most people in Switzerland don’t get a car until they are 24 years old and no one drives to school,” Kaufmann said

On the other hand Wyoming and Switzerland share similarities. They are few and far between, but Kaufmann did notice a few similarities.

“I think we have a lot of things in Switzerland from the U.S. like the music, fast food restaurants.”

Leaving your friends and family for a whole school year would be hard and Noah knows that feeling first hand. Just a few months into his school year Noah has missed a few things, but surprisingly family is not at the top of the list. Not yet.

“The bread, and friends and family of course, but you don’t have good bread here honestly,” Kaufmann said.

The bread might take some getting used to. Also there are a few things that Noah found to be difficult to get used to. It wouldn’t be easy to overcome teen-age slang and understanding how different English is in America than Europe.

“Of course the language was hard to get used to and the food too. Everything is so huge and most things are sweet,” Kaufmann said.

Kaufmann is involved in our school and finds that it’s a good way to make friends. He played tennis this fall and currently participates in student council. He plans to ski in the winter and play soccer in the spring.

“I really enjoyed tennis, it was awesome and the team was great. In the beginning it was great to make new friends. When I arrived here it was boring because school had not yet started, but tennis was always the best thing of the day. The Golden Racquet was my favorite memory. Playing Natrona and finally winning (the match lasted two and a half hours) was very fun with all of the school spirit,” Kaufmann said.

Noah is excited for the rest of the year to continue making friends. He is most excited for school dances and holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving. His school year has presented some challenges for Kaufmann, but so far America is nothing he can’t handle.