As German foreign exchange student, junior, Tom Smets entered Paola Kansas he said Paola was beautiful and new to him .

“I wanted to learn the American culture, to learn daily life in high school and see how everything in America works,” Smet said.

Smets is from the town of Coburg, Germany. According to Google Maps, Coburg Germany is a town with a population of 41,316 compared to Paola with a population of 5,630.

“Paola is a small town, my town is bigger and everything [in my town] was in the distance,” he said, “the distances were shorter in his home town than in Paola.

In Germany, the teachers didn’t have their own class, but the students did Smets said.

“In Germany we do not have lockers, I had to have instructions on opening my locker,” he said.

One thing Smets said he is excited for is the dances.

“We do not have [school] dances in Germany and it is not a normal thing to get this kind of experience,” Smet said.

Smets said students here are younger when they become legalized drivers.

“Germans are only allowed to drive at 17 with a parent and at 18 they are free to drive alone,” he said.

Smets said he played soccer here and in Germany and they call it Foosball.

“In Paola it is more about the spirit of the team can win,” he said. “In Germany, it is more every person is playing individually and hopefully you get the ball”.

Smets said his 19 year old brother came to New Jersey as U.S. foreign exchange student and had a wonderful experience.

“It [feel] like it was my brother’s experience, except I have got to see more country side,” Smets said.