The 2024 Crister S. Garrett Scholarship Cohort: Nadine

neues

16. Juni

All four scholarship recipients have now completed their projects. Charlyn spent a year at Mount Holyoke College, and Terence completed a four-week English language course in California. Alexandra went on a research trip for her dissertation, and Nadine spent a year abroad at an American high school.

In this last blog post of the 2024 cohort, we’re sharing Nadine’s experience at the Central Catholic High School in Grand Island, Nebraska.

Find out more about the CSG Scholarship here.

Nadine’s experience in Grand Island Nebraska, supported by the CSG Scholarship

As I sat on the plane heading to the USA, I wondered what my next nine months would be like and what my new family would be like. I was very nervous and full of excitement when I finally saw and met my host parents and my ten-year-old host brother for the first time at the airport in Grand Island, Nebraska. They had made a welcome sign for me so that I could recognize them right away at the airport. Even though I had only seen them through phone calls before, I immediately felt welcomed into the family.

I still had to get used to the different way of life in the first week. It was especially interesting when I went to Walmart or Sam's Club for the first time. The huge selection and packaging were definitely new to me, but after a while, it became a normal part of everyday life. This meant I could start my year abroad as a senior at an American high school.

During my first days at the private Central Catholic High School, I had to get used to the new school system. To be honest, at the beginning, I didn't really know where to go for each lesson, and I asked several times where my next classroom would be. What is very interesting for me is that you have a wider choice of subjects in school here than in Germany. For example, I could take anatomy, weights, and choir as normal subjects. The best thing we did in class for me was dissecting a heart and a brain. The school uniform, weekly masses, and different Catholic holidays were also new to me, and it took me a few weeks to get used to them.

However, the hardest part was remembering all the new names as I met someone new every day. This became easier and easier, and after the first two months, I knew quite a few of my classmates. Above all, the different sports helped me to get to know new people. My fall started with volleyball, followed by basketball in the winter, and in the spring, I participated in Track & Field throwing events. That's how I made most of my friends. I already miss the track meets at the different schools.

At the end of the year, my graduation was also waiting for me. I celebrated my graduation party with my girlfriend, and we also had a mass dedicated to the seniors. Compared to my graduation in Germany, it was a bit different, but definitely the same.

I tried to do something with my host family every week at weekend. Whether we went on a trip to the zoo in Omaha, went to the pumpkin patch, or did puzzles together, it was always great. Especially on the various holidays, such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter, we always did something together. I really enjoyed dressing up for Halloween and going trick-or-treating. Thanksgiving was also new to me. We cooked a lot of food together as a family and spent the evening together.

My highlights were not only the various sports games and events, but also the trips I took within the USA. I visited Minneapolis, Las Vegas, Nebraska, and South Dakota with my host family. I went to The Mall of America, New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco with my exchange organization. Through the organization, I was able to meet many other exchange students from different countries.

As the end of the school year approached, the seniors at my school had some special activities, such as Senior Assassin, where you have to shoot each other with water pistols, or Senior Skip Day. The two big events at the end of the year were Prom and our graduation. It's relatively similar to the stuff you always see in the movies and it was a lot more fun than I expected. The best part about it was definitely after Prom where we could do bowling, go-karts, laser tag, and other fun things. The last week of school flew by so fast, and our graduation, which first seemed so far away, was finally there. During the last few weeks, I did a lot of activities with my friends and host family. I still can't believe how quickly the time went by and what I was able to experience in those nine months. I am grateful that I had this chance and that such nice people took me in, which I will miss very much.