It is easy to surround yourself with small town life; the daily goings on, our repetitive patterns of activities and errands, even seeing familiar faces day in and day out. Some get bored with it, some are driven by it, and some are truly appreciating all it has to offer.

Salman Ashraf, a foreign exchange student from the second largest German city of Hamburg, Germany, is one who has found solace in the quaint goings-on of Wells.

With three younger brothers and a mother and father back home, being housed with John Miller, the only member in the household, has been a nice change for both of them.

“John is great. He’s very involved with the local church, he plays in the church band, and it’s really great to just hang out with him on the weekends when we’re both not busy,” says Ashraf.

“My experience with Salman has been great,” said Miller. “I’m surprised they asked me to host him because I’m a single guy. You usually assume these students need a ‘family’ setting, but that’s just not true.”

Miller has done previous mission work in Jamaica and says he’s used to meeting new faces from different countries and was glad to be able to house Ashraf.

“He’s very sociable and has lots of activities to choose from,” says Miller in reference to Ashraf’s busy schedule.

Ashraf is a member of the United South Central baseball team this spring, and participated with the USC basketball team that made it to sectionals, which was a big deal for Ashraf, considering he had never played basketball prior to this past season.

Back home, Ashraf is on the soccer team, which is private and not associated with his school.

“I have been playing soccer since I was five and it’s nice having (sports activities) be a choice,” says Ashraf, “If I don’t want to play sports, I could choose to sit around and hang with my friends”

When asked what the greatest difference is between rural Wells and bustling Hamburg, Ashraf said it is definitely the size of the town.

“But in a good way,” he says. “It’s a nice community. Everybody helps out one another. It feels like a big family more than a small community. You realize you don’t need as much as you thought you did. If I need something, I know exactly where to find it, and having made a lot of good friends, it’s easy to not get bored. Wells has all you need.”

Ashraf said he enjoys watching movies with friends at the Flame Theater in Wells and “just hangin’ out” with friends and Miller. Ashraf is also very eager to take trips out of town.

“We just went to the Mall of America last weekend,” says Ashraf.?”It was awesome. It was really big. The park inside the mall was huge. I was really impressed with it. I could’ve spent a few more hours there.”

With a laugh shared across the table between Ashraf and Miller, the question of transitioning to American life was brought up.

“The hardest part for me is missing my friends and family back home. It’s just remembering that one year over here is one year without them over there. I will just have to come back and start in again,” Ashraf explains.

“My friends and family will have adjusted their lives without me for a year, and I without them for a year, especially with friends,” he adds. “Some may say it’s a loss of one year, but for me, I gained a year. A full year of new experiences, and I’m okay with that. The good thing is that it was really easy for me to integrate into the community. I made a lot of friends very quickly.”

Ashraf’s greatest goal is to ultimately become a pilot and living in the United States for a year only helps him achieve that goal.

“It’s hard in Germany, to become a pilot,” he says. “It’s expensive, it takes a lot of education and practice, and there’s a 90 percent failure rate when people take their exams.”

These tough statistics have not stopped Ashraf at all.

“I’m determined. I’ve got plenty of time,” says Ashraf.

Ultimately, Wells, though miniscule compared to Hamburg, has made a profound impression on Ashraf, and he is eager to continue the year with John Miller and his many friends he has made at USC schools.