Photo courtesy of Melinda Meier Martin Welnitz of Slovakia took advantage of a number of athletic and social activities attending school at Marshall High School.

MARSHALL — Martin Welnitz of Slovakia has a sense of adventure, enough of a sense to take him halfway around the world.

He concluded a 10-month American Field Service foreign exchange visit last week. He’s traveling with his Slovakian family to New York, Washington D.C., the Twin Cities and Duluth this week before coming back to Marshall where his family will meet his AFS host family.

He was hosted by Marshall High School sophomore Jack Meier. He has sisters, so it was a new experience for him to have Jack and his brother, Sam, as host siblings.

“I enjoyed my family stay very much,” Welnitz said. “It’s a very important part of AFS. By living with a family, we learn what home life is like in the United States.”

Welnitz was a three sport athlete this year in Marshall. He played football, basketball and ran on the track team. He said football was an opportunity to learn a totally new athletic competition.

“Every Friday was exciting,” he said. “It was fun to learn. I played soccer through a private club in Slovakia. I like how football is directly tied to the schools.”

Another new experience was the Marshall prom in the spring. Welnitz wasn’t sure he’d enjoy it before he went, but said it turned out to be a highlight of his year in Marshall.

“I really liked it,” he said. “It was actually fun. I enjoyed the dancing, the food and staying out late with my classmates.”

Welnitz comes from the Slovakian city of Nitra, which has about 80,000 people. He said coming to Marshall became an opportunity to experience life in a smaller community. It also meant getting accustomed to Minnesota winters.

He became interested in AFS after hearing about his sister’s experience in Germany. He expected an opportunity to see another part of the world as a year-long resident rather than a tourist.

“I thought it would be cool,” Welnitz said. “I felt prepared to using English. I knew I’d just have to speak and speak and speak. It’s the best way to learn, and it got easier later in the year.”

Jack said having Martin as part of his family provided a great opportunity to learn about a European culture. He said they got along very well as AFS brothers.

“I didn’t know how it would turn out,” Jack said. “Before I met Martin, I wasn’t even sure he’d like me. It was great after he moved in with us. It was just like having an older brother.”

Jack’s mother, Melinda Meier, said it was a pleasure to be Martin’s host mother since he always showed enthusiasm for both school and family activities.

“I give Martin a lot of credit,” Melinda said. “He was always willing to participate, always willing to put himself out there. It’s not easy for a teenager to spend 10 months away from home. He lived up to the challenges.”

Regional AFS representative Cindy Bader said AFS is currently in an expansion mode as more teenagers consider going overseas now that dangers from the COVID pandemic have subsided.

She and Marshall area AFS leader Lois Johnson said keys to success for AFS students include support from local high schools and interest from entire communities.

“AFS students leave everything that’s familiar; language, school, food habits and family dynamics,” Johnson said. “They come to a new place with new rules. It takes work, but it leads to many rewards.”