Before I boarded my flight to the United States, I had very little knowledge of this country, other than the facts I discovered in the many Wikipedia articles I read.

I did not choose Cincinnati as my destination, in fact, I heard this name for the first time a few weeks before my flight. I remember the day well; I was on a trip to the city close to my village, Zürich, when I read the email from my exchange

organization which included the names of my host parents and a short description. 

My location was not included, but a quick internet search by my parents pointed them to Cincinnati. At first, I didn’t want to know anything about it because nothing was official yet.

A few weeks later, I was on the plane to the United States. After a long stay in Chicago O’Hare, I landed in Cincinnati: my home for nearly a year.

Now, the year will be over soon, and time is flying by too fast. I learned a lot of new things and met many very nice people.

Of course there were lows and highs during the year. Sometimes there was loneliness, but I was able to experience highlights like all the extracurriculars, which I would never have experienced in my Swiss school.

During this year, I made Cincinnati a home. I know how things work and not everything is as strange to me.

I recommend that everybody try to spend a longer time abroad. It is eye opening to see how different the cultures can be but how similar the people are with their challenges, problems, and feelings.

I hope this column was able to give some insight into the experience and thoughts of an exchange student. I really enjoyed my year here at WHHS.

Thank you and go Eagles!

Max Blessing