A group of students from the Netherlands is in Pella to experience life in the United States and for local kids to learn from the counterparts in Holland. The exchange program happens every two years–usually around Tulip Time, as Central College Graduate Kate Van Wijck has sent students from her class in the Netherlands and this is the fifth trip for the group to Pella. Van Wijck says the opportunity allows her students to explore the United States–often for the first time, and see a world different from theirs even with the connections of Dutch Heritage.

“We can go on an exchange trip to New York City but no one would know anything about our country at all, so it’s been a real benefit to be able to come here and have people who are also interested in who we are and where we are from, and what life is like on our side of the world,” she says.

The Netherlands natives will be in Pella through the end of this week.