Max Jardon playfully points to himself on the basketball banner at Wyoming Area. Jardon, an exchange student from Belgium will be returing home at the end of the school year.
                                 Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch

Max Jardon playfully points to himself on the basketball banner at Wyoming Area. Jardon, an exchange student from Belgium will be returing home at the end of the school year.

Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch

<p>Belgium exchange student, Max Jardon, stands with International Student Exchange USA coordinator Bonnie Witkosky in the hallway at Wyoming Area High School where Max attended.</p>
                                 <p>Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch</p>

Belgium exchange student, Max Jardon, stands with International Student Exchange USA coordinator Bonnie Witkosky in the hallway at Wyoming Area High School where Max attended.

Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch

<p>At 6’3”, Max Jardon, a foreign exchange student from Belgium, spent many hours of his senior year on the basketball court while at Wyoming Area. Jardon will be returning to his native home on June 14.</p>
                                 <p>Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch</p>

At 6’3”, Max Jardon, a foreign exchange student from Belgium, spent many hours of his senior year on the basketball court while at Wyoming Area. Jardon will be returning to his native home on June 14.

Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch

PITTSTON – Max Jardon, set out on a journey on Aug. 26, 2022, that would take him 3,735 miles away from his hometown in Namur, Belgium, finding himself in Exeter, Pennsylvania, at the age of 17 years old.

Jardon has been away from his family and friends the entire time as an international exchange student. It hasn’t been the easiest decision of his young life, but it was one he knew he wanted to do.

Leaving everyone and everything near and dear to his heart, including a girlfriend at the time, would be challenging and now that he’s closing in on completing his senior year at Wyoming Area, he’s found the decision to be rewarding.

As a part of the exchange program, a student cannot leave the country to go back home and no relative or friend can visit while a student is here.

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“It’s been amazing and a lifetime experience,” Jardon said. “I’ve been at the best school I could image, the best friends and the best basketball team. In the beginning, I was really afraid because I had to leave my family and friends, my sports teams, and I didn’t know how it was going to be here. I’m really, really glad and everything is going extremely well for me.”

His family has been his biggest supporter encouraging him to do the exchange program through International Student Exchange USA (ISEUSA) to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the program.

“On the other side, my friends would tell me they would miss me, and I had a girlfriend at the time and that was pretty hard making it more difficult for me,” Jardon admitted. “I thought about it a lot and took my time to see the positive points and the negative points and I realized it was more positive so I took it.”

Jardon said he had a few choices to as a destination such as the United Kingdom and Canada, but he ended up in Greater Pittston.

When comparing winters in Belgium and in Pennsylvania, he said they are pretty close with Belgium having only a week or two of snow for the season. Jardon managed to have a mild winter in Northeastern PA making it all the more comparable.

For the entire school year, Jardon spent it with the Christopher and Rebecca Tomlinson of West Pittston. Jardon refers to them as host mother and father. He also has a host brother Hayden, who also attends Wyoming Area as a sophomore.

“The are adorable,” Jardon said. “They are patient and they take their time trying to understand my accent because it is not easy. They take the time to make sure I am comfortable.”

Jardon speaks in a French accent that could be difficult to understand at times.

His host brother, Hayden, has been a steady companion spending a lot of time together initially. Today, Jardon’s friends circle has vastly increased over time.

While at Wyoming Area, Jardon, who stands at 6-foot-3, participated on the varsity basketball team where he got to see playing time with the exception of when he was down for an injury.

Since Jardon has been in the USA, his host family has taken him to Hershey Park, played mini golf and took him to Philadelphia to see an NBA game featuring LaBron James. They plan on going to Boston to see a Celtics game.

Even though Jardon has been in the U.S. since August of 2022, he entertained the idea of attending college in the states, but has decided to attend college in Belgium mainly because college education is free in his country.

When Jardon, who speaks three languages, returns to Belgium, he will not have to repeat his senior year as many exchange students do because he already completed his high school studies prior to coming to America. He had the opportunity to repeat his senior year through the exchange program.

“So next when I go back to Belgium, I will just go to college,” Jardon explained. “I will probably go to college in Brussels as a business marketing major.”

Jardon is not exactly sure what to expect when he returns to his native country.

“I haven’t missed the person like my mom or my dad, I miss moments with them,” Jardon admitted. “I miss doing things with my friends and my family. I’ve been able to do video chat so it is not like I have not seen them.”

Jardon said he is looking forward to rekindling his relationships with his friends and possibly restarting his relationship with his former girlfriend. Only time will tell.

Jardon will depart for Belgium on June 14 in hope of returning to visit America in the future.

If a family is willing to host a student for the 2023-2024 school year through ISEUSA, contact Bonnie Witkosky at 570-417-3418.