Rwandan student moves cattle, watches rodeos, falls in love with Gothenburg
By Laurent Ikuzwe
Rwandan undergraduate student
In the middle of a global pandemic I fell in love with life in rural Nebraska thanks to a fantastic, regular Nebraska family. For an international student living on campus, sometimes it can feel like you are living in a bubble. You meet the same people, eat with the same people, and sometimes pass a whole week without speaking English. Sometimes you keep the same beliefs and mindset you arrived with when you came to America. Coming from Rwanda, the only news we would hear on the radio or see on TV about the United States were stories of civil unrest, violence and racism. This was the image of America that the media portrayed, especially rural America.
You can likely understand how I was feeling the day I heard that my internship in the summer of 2021 was relocating me to Gothenburg — a city in central Nebraska home to 3,500 people. This was the first time since I arrived in the United States in fall 2019 that I had the chance to leave campus and experience the United States.
I was anxious on my first day in Gothenburg, based on all the stereotypes I had heard. I was asking myself how an African Black guy and an Arab from the Middle East were going to survive a summer in rural America. I was sharing this experience with Ahmed Al-Rawahi, an engineering student from Oman.
My anxiety, or part of it, went away when I met our two supervisors: Deb Egenberger and Nichole Hetz. Deb is the executive director of the Gothenburg Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Gothenburg Improvement Company. She welcomed us to a little house in downtown Gothenburg. There was a warmth about her that made us feel safe and at ease.
Thanks to Rural Prosperity Nebraska, I was going to spend my summer in an unknown place but it would soon bring magic to my life.
The first thing we had the opportunity to do was “move cattle.” I wasn’t sure what this meant. I am a city guy, born and raised in an urban environment of nearly 2 million people. We don’t have cows. Going to a farm, separating calves and their mothers, loading them up and bringing them into a pasture for summer was a whole new experience for me. I was scared of any injuries I might incur, but I had fun. I then experienced my first country concert at the Gothenburg Fireman’s Ball.
However, the pinnacle of my Gothenburg summer was the Fourth of July. The whole weekend was amazing: people setting up their American flags, small events, barbecues and other gatherings. The biggest event of the weekend was the Pony Express Rodeo. I spent it with the Egenberger family, and it was all fun. I loved seeing barrel racing, calf roping, bull riding, and my personal favorite: steer wrestling. Seeing people trying to take down cows was a fun sight. This marvelous day started with a fantastic barbecue and ended with exploding fireworks. Most of the town was gathered at Lake Helen watching fireworks in the skies and enjoying the night. For me, it was a moment to appreciate those people that never knew me and readily welcomed me.
After July 4, I was seduced by this city as each and every activity I was introduced to was full of love and joy.
I learned how to fish, milk a cow and grill a steak. I visited dams, wineries, breweries and a world-class golf course. I learned so much. Whenever I close my eyes, I can still feel the breeze of Lake Helen as I sat on the banks of that small lake looking into the nothing, enjoying the beauty of the unexpected. As it once served as a stop for messengers through the Pony Express, I was lucky to stumble on that little town in the middle of Nebraska.