Last year about this time I didn’t know that Nebraska existed. Now, I call it my second home. Realizing that I leave in a couple weeks made me also realize that I am currently living my dream. But sadly everything is coming to an end and so is the dream.

On Friday, May 28, 2021, I received a call. It was my last day in my German school and I just came home. It was a sad morning and a sad week of seeing all my friends for the last time. This call saved my whole week. It said, “You have a host family in Alliance, Nebraska.” The first thing I did after ending that call was look up where Nebraska was located. I was surprised to see that it was in the middle of nowhere.

Since that day a lot of things have happened in my life. I’ve been on a plane for the first time, lived with strangers who now are my second family, built friendships, got new teammates in volleyball and track, been a manager for girls basketball, and experienced many, many more things. All of these things would not have happened back at my home. One of my favorite things I’ve experienced would be all the bus drives to volleyball and basketball games, track meets and FBLA competitions. My favorite things also include any overnight trips, doesn’t matter if it was with my family, with the volleyball team, the basketball team or with the FBLA chapter. Those trips and hanging out with friends brought me a lot of memories and experiences that I will never forget. 

I’ve learned so many things during my exchange year. One of them was that being German becomes your personality. I’ve had a handful of people ask me if we speak German in Germany or if we speak English. Once I got asked if we learn the history of Germany. I got a little bit tired of those questions and decided to make a joke saying that we learn Japanese history and everything is in Japanese. I made this joke not knowing that the person would actually believe me for quite a while.  I also once got asked if I could count American money. Those are just some of the funny but kind of tiring questions. There are many other things that I get asked on the daily about being an exchange student.

I realized a couple days ago that I only have a certain amount of time left in Nebraska and if I’m honest, I have no idea when I’m coming back to visit or even if I can come back. Nebraska is my second home and my host family is my second family. My host sisters have become my sisters. Leaving all that, my entire second life behind and possibly never seeing it again is a fact I didn’t want to realize. I have so many memories here and I don’t want to leave it behind. But sooner or later I have too. I will never forget this year. Thank you to everyone here in Alliance, Nebraska for making my exchange year unforgettable.