Lorena Niederhauser of Switzerland is spending the year as an exchange student, studying at South Tama County High School. Niederhauser recenlty spoke to the Tama-Toledo Kiwanis. Pictured l-r are Niederhauser, John Kavalier and host parent, Joe Tafta. Photo Provided

At the January 22 meeting, members were delighted to have Lorena Niederhauser, foreign exchange student from Switzerland, talk about her home and her experiences in Iowa.

Lorena said that Switzerland occupies an area smaller than Iowa and that she comes from a village of 3,000 people. As a student in her school, she studied math and science. In her home country’s school, sports are not a part of the school. There are three sports offered outside of school in which young people can participate- soccer, tennis, and hockey. As a student at South Tama, she has participated in volleyball and found it challenging because she had not played volleyball before. Another first for her was being part of the STC marching band. She said it is hard to march and play at the same time.

Lorena had many other “firsts.” She went to the Iowa State Fair, saw her first baseball game, and visited a pumpkin patch where she enjoyed learning to use a slingshot. She visited Las Vegas and saw Cirque de Soleil. Her first Christmas in Iowa was a different experience as well. She was impressed by the number of presents and the amount of food. She said that in Switzerland, the habit is to eat healthy foods. However, she has discovered cheesecake and likes every variety of it.

Lorena said she found Iowans more friendly than was usual in her home country. She had several pictures of her and her STC friends at events and just being together. It was very obvious that she has made many new friends and is happy and enjoying her time with them. It seems that her time in Iowa has been a really good experience.

She is staying with the Tafta family. Her host father, Joe Tafta, came to the meeting with her. Obviously, student and family were very well-matched.