A year of American bliss for German exchange student

In the beginning of June, Julia Rücker returned home to Hannover, Germany. After a year of living with Neil and Angel Przybilla of Royalton while attending Royalton High School, the departure was bittersweet.

While she looked forward to seeing her German family and friends, the reality, Julia said, is that one’s host family becomes family. Throughout the year, she’s also made many American friends whom she knew she’d miss seeing.

Julia said it was her grandpa Ronnie who inspired her to become a foreign exchange student in the United States.

“He used to tell me all about America,” she said.

As American soldiers were stationed in Ronnie’s hometown, growing up, he got to know several of them. He also traveled to multiple states in the U.S., Julia said.

A second reason that motivated her to become an exchange student in the “Land of the free, home of the brave,” was the opportunity to improve her English skills.

“I love the language and really wanted to get better at it to be able to have normal conversations in English,” she said.

Julia said she also figured being on her own away from her family and friends would help her mature, gain new experiences and become more comfortable with facing new situations. Although her parents, Oliver and Diana, knew they would miss her, Julia said, they were very supportive.

Julia flew in to New York City, July 19, 2023. During the first week or so, exchange students from across the world stayed together at the exchange program’s “welcome camp.” It allowed them to recoup from any jet lag they may have had, meet new people, start getting immersed into the English language and learn what they could expect from high school.

“They had a couple of 100 students or so there. They all came in together at one time. There were exchange students from places like Italy, Spain, Greece and from wherever,” she said.

Julia was matched with the Przybillas. Having previously had a German exchange student before, Angel said she and Neil searched the agency’s database for available exchange students from Germany. Two things they look for particularly when searching, she said, is if they have any food or pet allergies.

Since Angel owns Angels Heavenly Treats and bakes a lot, a variety of foods and ingredients are present in their home. They also have three dogs and one cat.

In the database, the Przybillas were able to watch a video Julia had made about herself, as well as a photo of her. They had a feeling from the get-go that it would be a good fit — and they were right, they said.

Although Julia was thrilled about her new adventure, there were times she also became very homesick. Prior to her arrival in Minnesota, she also communicated with the Przybillas from November 2022 to when she arrived in Minnesota, July 19, 2023.

Julia’s mom, Diana, said her daughter being gone was definitely a change for the Rücker family, as well. Used to hearing her daughter calling for her — “mom” — the silence that followed was a reminder of her absence.

“It took a while to get used to it,” Diana said.

Prior to school starting for the 2023-24 school year, Julia started playing volleyball. It helped her to know some of the students before school started, Angel said.

During the school year, she also played softball and was the light operator for the drama clubs.

During Julia’s year at Royalton High School, she studied a variety of subjects, including human biology, college algebra, personal finance, American and world history, exercise science nutrition, life skills, fitness for girls and English literature.

Looking back, Julia said of all the subjects she studied human biology was by far her favorite.

“It was a really fun class,” she said.

Julia said being immersed into the American school system has prepared her for future studies. Her goal is to one day study forensic science at the University of Syracuse.

“Being taught in English has helped a lot to get more used to the language,” she said.

Reminiscing, Julia said the students and the staff at Royalton High School were very welcoming and helpful. That made her experience even greater. She also had the experience of going to prom, which is an American concept.

Although Julia didn’t officially graduate from Royalton High School, she had the honor of walking across the stage and shaking the hands of different staff. What made the experience even greater was that her mom was able to fly to the United States to watch her “graduate” and spend time with the family.

During her stay in the United States, Julia has had the opportunity to travel to a variety of places. Some of those places include a road trip to the Gulf of Mexico, Hoover Dam (a hydro-electric, concrete arch-gravity dam of the Colorado River on the border between Nevada and Arizona), Grand Canyon (Arizona), Las Vegas (Nevada) and Bentleyville in Duluth for the famous Tour of Lights (a large, extravagant Christmas lights display).

In addition, Julia had the opportunity to attend two Twins games, one of which her mom attended too. Before Diana returned to Germany, Angel said she borrowed her son’s four wheeler so Diana could go four wheeling. It was her first time and Julia’s second time.

“(The first time) Julia and I went four wheeling to Spider Lake in Pine River (Cass County),” Angel said. “(The second time), we did take a four wheeler and a friend’s side-by-side and rode the Soo Line Trail to Genola to have supper, then came back.”

During Julia’s stay with the Przybillas, she and Angel went riding at Mielke Farm in Sobieski.

Together, many memories have been made. Looking back at the year spent with the Przybillas as a foreign exchange student, Julia said it has been an experience she will never forget. It has been a year of American bliss.