Exchange students share experiences of home, Iowa

    GRUNDY CENTER — Gideon Danbauchi and Jelena Jaggi’s homes are a world apart, yet the two are joined by a common thread as overseas visitors spending the year as exchange students at Grundy Center High School.
    Danbauchi is the 16-year-old from a small town in Nigeri where his father serves as a pastor. Jaggi, also 16, comes to the United States from Switzerland where she is already a college student. Both said they came to the United States wanting to see something new.
    “I was pretty bored (at home) because I knew everything, so I thought I wanted to see something new,” Jaggi said. “I want to discover the world and see different cultures and totally learn the language because my English was pretty bad. I was like ‘I can improve my English, see new things here …’
    Danbauchi said he tried several times to get a scholarship so he could see a new part of the world before passing the test to get into the program.
    “I was excited,” he said.

For more of this story, see the Jan. 30 Grundy Register.