Hays ? IFYE stands for the International Four-H Youth Exchange. Some say it stands for “I follow you everywhere.”

And that’s just fine with Matthias Gfeller.

The 25-year-old Swiss native is living on a farm near Victoria for three weeks this summer as a participant in IFYE, an international program in which young adults travel to other countries to learn about their culture.

Gfeller listed that he’s “interested in the everyday life on a farm, how they work,” on a special study interest on his application.

He’s getting his wish, and then some, in Kansas.

Gfeller, who is staying with four different families throughout the state during a three-month period, arrived in Ellis County recently, just in time for the county fair.

Back home, he is a member of the Young Farmers Club, a program similar to that of 4-H in the United States, but he never had attended a county fair before.

While following around his hosts — Mike and Stephanie Eckroat and their children, a 4-H family — Gfeller, in just a week’s time, experienced his first sprint car races, his first rodeo, his first county fair and his first combine derby.

“Everything is a first,” he said, adding he is glad. “I like trying new things.”

Gfeller even ate his first corn dog.

“We have ice cream on a stick, not hot dogs on a stick,” he said.

Gfeller’s first rodeo was a special one.

Mesa Eckroat, the oldest of three children in his Ellis County host family, was crowned the 2010 Ellis County Rodeo Queen.

“Cool,” was Gfeller’s reply, which he could be heard saying often.

Gfeller really thought it was cool when he was able to carry on a conversation in German with Leo Dorzweiler from Catharine, a member of the Ellis County Volga German Society.

“Swiss-German is my mother language, and I could understand (Dorzweiler),” Gfeller said. “Not everyone speaking German I can understand.”

Gfeller decided he would have to brush up on his English because he wanted to visit America.

By the time he had covered his mandatory nine years of school, followed by an extra year of schooling and apprenticeships in carpentry and farming, as well as a stint in the military, Gfeller had turned 25 in January and chose to learn more about his chosen profession of farming in another country.

He was familiar with the IFYE program — both his parents participated in it when they were young, and the Gfellers have been an IFYE host family.

Gfeller has traveled abroad, to Finland, France and Spain, as a tourist.

He said he chose the United States for his IFYE country because, “I’m looking for other ideas and opinions to manage my own farm in Switzerland.”

His father’s farm is 60 acres, above average size for a Swiss farm. He laughed at the thought of just a section of land in America equaling approximately 640 acres.

“Everything is bigger in America. Wow,” he said. “You could take 5.5 Switzerlands and put them in Kansas.”

Gfeller said he didn’t know much about Kansas except “that it was flat.”

He has learned so much more in his short stay in Kansas, where he will stay until October.