Pella Christian High School is participating in a unique reciprocal exchange program with Greijdanus High School of Zwolle, a municipality in Overijssel in the Netherlands.

As part of the program, 12 students from Greijdanus came to Iowa on October 3rd and have been staying with host families from Pella Christian. The students from the Netherlands are here until next Friday, and during their time in Iowa, have had the opportunity to enjoy different activities to experience the culture of the United States. Some of the activities these students have experienced include a trip to Chicago, visits to the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Frisian Farms, Pella Historical Village, and multiple Pella Christian sporting events. Aniek Verwoert, one of the students from the Netherlands, says that it has been interesting to learn more about life in America, and that schooling is one of the big differences between the Netherlands and Iowa.

“The school is different, the classes are mostly the same, but the school is way smaller and they have sports at school here and we don’t have that at home.”

Maggie Vos, whose family is hosting a student from the Netherlands, says that it has been fun to see the reactions the Dutch students have to different experiences.

“It’s just so fun to have these different experiences, and especially when we got to the football game on Friday night when they got here, they were all taking out their phones and taking pictures. And [for me] it was like, wait, this is normal for us but it’s different for them, they’ve never seen this.”

In the reciprocal exchange program, Pella Christian will send the students from the host families to the Netherlands in March. Hear more about the reciprocal exchange program at Pella Christian High School on an upcoming Let’s Talk Pella.