By Vanessa Pazurek, Crailsheim exchange student to Worthington
Hello Worthington! I am Vanessa Pazurek, the exchange student from Worthington’s sister-city Crailsheim, and I’m happy to tell you some more about my adventures here during my year in America.
May and June were two very busy months for me. May 15 was finally our graduation day! It was a great experience for me to be a part of the real American graduation, what we Germans usually only sees in movies. I really enjoyed my one and only high school year here in Worthington. I earned many different experiences that I will remember forever!
The weeks after were packed full of graduation parties. We don’t have graduation parties in Germany, but I was pretty lucky to get my own party here in America. Thank you to everyone who made this possible! This was a special day for me because my German parents also came to my graduation party. My parents were happy to meet all the people I got to know during my year here in America. We spent a few days here in Worthington and visited each host family, so they got to see what I experienced. My parents were so thankful for all the love and care given for their daughter. And I was able to present them my great driving skills, because I passed my driving test three days before my 18th birthday. My mum and my dad had never seen me driving a car before. In Germany, you have to be 18 to drive alone.
After I showed my parents where I lived for one year, we left Worthington and started our vacation trip for the summer. We flew from Minneapolis into Chicago and spent there a few days. The following City we visited was New York City (my dream since I am little came finally true!), where we met my sister Madeleine. The whole Pazurek family was reunited for a few days after almost one year without seeing each other.
After we enjoyed New York we rented a car and drove to Washington, D.C. On the way there we also visited Baltimore and Philadelphia. After almost two weeks, it was time to say goodbye again to my parents. My dad is a teacher and the school in Germany is still going on, so he had to go back because the vacation was about to end.
After I spent time with my parents I was able to visit my sister Madeleine in Cleveland, Ohio. She lives there since April and works as an au pair. I visited her during the time of the NBA finals, so I was able to see the stadium and all the fans waiting for the game but sadly only from the outside. It was hard to leave my sister again, but I’m already looking forward to see her in about one year.
Then, back in Worthington, it was finally my 18th birthday! That’s like the 21st birthday here in America. My friends planned a surprise birthday party for me, what I would have never thought earlier this day. It was a different birthday, but for sure one I will never forget!
One day after my birthday, my host sister Skyla and I left to California to visit her aunt and uncle who live in Sacramento. We spent 10 days there and were able to see all the different parts of this state. We went to Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Franci sco, to the desert and Sacramento. Every city was different but pretty in its own way. We had a lot fun in this awesome state! I have to admit that California is my favorite state. But I still haven’t seen all of California yet, and I’m already looking forward to the next time I can go there.
After Skyla and I came back after another great trip, the Johnsons took me to another race that my host brother Dalton was a part of. Since I am here in America I already went to a few races, but it’s a different feeling when you actually know the person who is racing. My host brother won third place and did a good job!
Then I had to pack my suitcase again. On the last day of June, I moved to my last host family, the Shreiners. My last adventure in a new host family started. Now I have a new host sister and a new host brother. I’ve already known this family pretty good before I moved in.
I spent my first Fourth of July weekend with the Shreiners. On Friday we went to a friend’s house in Spirit Lake, Iowa. We came together and went on a boat trip to watch the pretty fireworks at night. That was pretty cool! Then it was finally July 4, and we came together with friends and family and enjoyed the beautiful weather on the lake in Worthington. I got to drive a Jet Ski for the first time in my life; that was really cool. In the evening we watched the fireworks, and a fun day ended.
Now I will try to finish my bucket list with the last things I would like to do, since my last month in America already started. Since playing golf is pretty common here in Worthington and I had always wanted to try it, I had to do it. I have to say I’m not the best player, but it was a lot fun!
I hope everyone enjoyed reading my letters throughout the year. If you are interested in hearing about my personal highlights from my exchange year here in Worthington, saying goodbye or exchanging some memories, come and join the new exchange student Skyla Rautenkranz and I July 22 at Chautauqua Park in Worthington, during the City Band concert. We both will leave to Germany at the end of this month. I will have my goodbye speech at 7:30 and I would be happy to see you there!
I hope everyone had a great July 4 and is enjoying the summer weather here like I do!
