So far, the U.S. is treating him well. He still has to be careful with his accent. Some in Columbus simply don’t understand him. He has to tone it down a bit.
“Just imagine like you’re speaking in a job interview,” Ndiweni said.
He had to serve a suspension to start the season due to the fact that he made a professional appearance. However, since his debut on Sept. 29, things have gone well. The Buckeyes won the NCAA Tournament last year. This campaign, though, they have struggled.
But Ndiweni has gotten minutes here and there. He found the back of the net for the first time on Oct. 10 with a tidy finish from a tight angle against Indiana. There are still some teething issues, but Ndiweni has settled just fine - and has started four in a row.
He says he’s enjoying taking classes. Ndiweni took one A-Level in the UK, and got an A* in Business (the highest mark you can get in pre-university testing in the English school system). Being back in that routine for the first time in three years suits him just fine.
“School's not actually that bad,” he said. I actually enjoy going to school. I enjoy learning. That's one of the other reasons why I wanted to come here - to get an education. You just never know what happens in life, even after football.”
He’s also still a bit starry-eyed by the vibe of it all, strolling around the campus of one of the biggest state schools in the country.
“Going to school, it's just different. When I first got here, I was like, ‘This is a movie. It's just like the movies that you watch in the UK’,” Ndiweni said.
But Ndiweni is clear on one point: he still reluctantly calls it “soccer.”
“It hurts every time. But I have to,” Ndiweni said.
He misses a Sunday roast. He craves a jacket potato with cheese and baked beans, too. The rest of the team make fun of him for English food. He doesn’t care. And there have been parts of Newcastle’s Champions League schedule that he’s been unable to watch, as Ohio State’s training clashes with the midweek fixtures.
Yet the team has been welcoming. There are Everton fans, Chelsea fans and Liverpool fans. They understand the game, and get British culture, at least to a degree. That has certainly helped. “Within the team, the culture is similar to English culture. They all support English teams,” he said. “I’ve got one teammate and he supports Everton. I'm like, why would you support Everton in America?”
And still, almost every day, he gets asked about playing for Newcastle. By now, he doesn’t mind it. That’s because he thinks about it too, and how, now, he might just be on track to return.