“We love the ranch,” Sieger and his family agreed. “The ranch here is great.”

But the dressing was not the most important thing they found in Weston.

Sieger lived with Heidi and Jim Sullivan while attending West Platte High School during the 2023-24 school year. What began as a nine-month exchange placement developed into a relationship the two families now describe as family.

“This is my third time being back,” Sieger said. “I really love it here. I like Weston and the people here. I have lots of good friends — my host family, of course.”

When the Netherlands was scheduled to play a World Cup match in Kansas City, Sieger’s father saw more than a soccer game.

“My dad said the chances of the Netherlands playing in Kansas City were pretty small,” Sieger said. “So when they actually got to play here, my dad was like, ‘Well, we have to go. I mean, it’s your second home.’”

Sieger had not known in advance that he would be placed in Weston. As an area representative for International Student Exchange, Heidi Sullivan helps match students with volunteer host families based on shared interests and compatibility. The students do not choose their American destinations.

Sullivan said students placed in smaller communities often become more visible, have greater opportunities to participate in sports and activities and are more quickly absorbed into school and community life.

Her family has hosted eight exchange students, but Sullivan does not consider them temporary guests.

“I really feel like these are my kids,” she said.

At West Platte, Sieger’s introduction to American life began almost immediately.

Miles McHenry and Gunner Smith met Sieger at the beginning of their senior year. On his first day, they took him fishing at Smith’s pond.

“We tried to think of the most American thing to do with him,” McHenry said. “He loved it.”

Their first impression was that Sieger was tall. Their lasting impressions went deeper.

“He’s just a great dude,” Smith said. “I had physics with him, and he was just a super smart kid.”

Smith described Sieger as culturally knowledgeable and eager to embrace his new surroundings.

“He’s really very culturally versed,” Smith said. “He really enjoyed our culture, so that was really cool.”

The exchange worked in both directions. McHenry said he noticed Sieger’s politeness, confidence and ease when speaking with adults.

“It was his mannerisms and his politeness and how he holds himself very confidently,” McHenry said. “The way he can interact with adults — he’s super good with parents.”

McHenry even picked up one of Sieger’s table habits: using a fork and knife.

Sieger also embraced West Platte traditions.

Bailee Giger taught Sieger for two class periods, while her husband, Mitch Giger, taught him for two others. She said Sieger did not take long to become part of the school community.

“I think he fit in right away,” Giger said. “He created a large banner for our student section that hung in the gym for quite a while. He really embraced school spirit and the American high school experience.”

McHenry also remembered Sieger’s enthusiasm for the student section, where West Platte students gather to cheer during basketball and volleyball games.

“He had a lot of school pride, which was cool,” McHenry said. “The foreign exchange students always loved the student section because that’s what they see in movies and stuff.”

The relationships did not end when Sieger returned to the Netherlands. Each time the Dantuma family comes back to Missouri, they also make time to visit the Gigers.

“It’s really fun to see his two worlds collide — his Weston/Kansas City family and Dutch family,” Giger said. “We’re always honored when a student wants to come back and visit us, especially when they bring their family.”

Sieger has returned several times since completing his exchange year, including visits for homecoming and Christmas. Sullivan said she expects the relationships to continue through future visits, vacations and family gatherings.

The connection also became reciprocal. Sullivan’s son Emmett stayed with Sieger’s family in the Netherlands while studying in Europe. Sieger’s family later traveled to Weston, attended his West Platte graduation and met more of the Sullivans’ extended family.

Those return visits reflect how thoroughly Sieger became part of the community. He arrived as an exchange student from the Netherlands but left with relationships that continued drawing him back long after the school year ended.

The family’s latest return came as Kansas City welcomed orange-clad Dutch supporters and Americans eager to join the celebration.

“You’ve got people so interested, asking all kinds of questions, dressing up in orange themselves,” Sieger said. “It means a lot to us that we’re being so welcomed here.”

Smith also traveled downtown with his father to experience the Dutch celebration. He said they immersed themselves in the orange-clad crowd even though they had not previously followed the Netherlands team.

“It was such a cool experience,” Smith said.

McHenry said the region’s support for the Dutch celebration reflected American culture.

“I think it’s a true testament to Midwest hospitality, how we just took them in and wanted to be like them,” he said.

Claudia Dantuma, Sieger’s mother, said that hospitality extended beyond the World Cup festivities.

“What I like the most is the hospitality of the people,” she said. “They want to do everything for you.”

The family described encounters with strangers who did more than offer directions. Some volunteered to guide them, shared phone numbers in case they needed help and even extended invitations for drinks or a barbecue.

The Dantumas will eventually return to the Netherlands with photographs, World Cup memories and stories from another American road trip. They may take some ranch dressing, too.

But the most enduring thing Sieger found in Missouri cannot be packed in a suitcase. It is a family, a school and a small town that still welcomes him home.