Petra Clark’s Story

Write down a few facts about yourself (family, job, whatever you like)

- 62 year young women, immigrated almost 20 years ago to the US from Germany

- Retired in March 2022 , worked for over 40 years as a Travel Agent

- Live in Huron with my husband Terry and our Akita dog Boo

- Enjoy workin in my kitchen, trying new recipes, like home cooking

- Baking bread, german soft pretzels, cookies and cake

- Love riding my bike if weather permits

- Started feeding squirrels and birds in the backyard and have joy watching

- Planning to start gardening and grow my own fruits and vegetables

- Still have family in Germany and usually travel back home once a year

- Monday to Friday working out for 25 Minutes with Classical Stretch on Public Television

early morning

- Enjoy long walks, sometimes even in cold weather and snow

- Try to live a healthy lifestyle and take good care of my body

What country are you from?

Germany, city called Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate. Kaiserslautern is located in former West Germany.

Things about Germany

Germany is a country in the western region of Central Europe.

Our Capital City is Berlin.

From 1961 to 1989 Germany was divided into East & West Germany. And we got reunited again in 1989. The city of Berlin was even divided Into East & West Berlin. There was a wall going through the city. People living in the East were not allowed to exit and visit relatives or Friends in West Berlin.

Germany has been called the “Land of Poets and Thinkers.” Germans are famous in all forms of art, but particularly classical music. Germany's famous composers include Bach, Brahms, Schumann, Wagner and Beethoven.

Oktoberfest in Munich (every year last weekend in September, for 2 weeks)

Is the largest Beerfestival in the world. People from around the globe are visiting This event.

Germany is known for it’s Beer, Wines, good food (Sauerkraut, Bratwurst for example)

German people don’t go to grocery store only once a week. We usually go and buy Everything fresh, every day. .

Variety of breads, delicious soft pretzels.

Farmer’s markets. Bakery where bread is still made by hand, butcher shops, Coffee shops, small family owned businesses instead of large mall with chain Stores.

Cobblestone streets, framework houses. Towns with medieval walls still around (for example Rothenburg o.d. Tauber)

Old castles along the Rhine River, King Ludwig Castle in Neuschwanstein (Bavaria), Heidelberg Castle.

Bavarian Alps are breathtaking

Outstanding public transportation system (Trains, Busses) Famous Christkindl Market in Nuernberg.

Germany is like a huge open air museum.

Why did you move to the United States?

For 2 Reasons:

Reason 1: While working at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany at the Travel Agency for the Military I met a guy who was actually from California, Ventura County. He was only for one month in Germany, his duty station was in Point Mugu,CA.He invited me to visit him when he is back in California. And that’s what I did, several times I traveled back and forth. We fell in love, he asked me to marry him, and the rest is history.

Reason 2: Not only did I fall in love with my husband, but also with the always warm, sunny weather in California. Strawberries were growing all year, and I always dreamed about living in a country where the sun is always shining. Winters in Germany are not as harsh and long like hiere in SD, but I was not a big fan of the cold season. I really thought that my husband was God sent and my dream came true.

How long have you been in the USA?

On 1 September 2024 it will be 20 years!

We moved from California to Huron for political reasons, we consider ourselves Political refugees. When the so called “Pandemic” started, my husband and

Myself we didn’t really trust the propaganda of Main Stream Media. It didn’t set too well with us that Government was forcing everyone to get this MRNA “Vaccination”. We are very well educated and knew that this is not your old fashioned vaccination,without any side effects.. What they tried to push in people’s arms was only “emergency approved”, didn’t go through a long process of getting tested And it is changing peoples DNA. And the fact that the pharmaceutical industry wasn’t going to be held responsible for any side effects, that made us very suspicous that something is not kosher here. In our eyes this was a hoax, government, main stream media, they were all lying to us. Because I was working for the US government, and It was decided, that everyone working for the government needs to get “Vaccinated”

I had no choice but to quit my job. The governor of CA developed into a dictator, closed everything for much longer than any other state, the mask mandates, school closures, business closures, couldn;’t see a doctor or dentist, he gave everyone except himself and his family a hard time. We couldn’t take it anymore and decided to that reason to leave and move to a state where people still can live free. Because we love what the SD Governor Kristi Noem was doing during the Pandemic, she let the people decide what they wanted to do, that’s why we picked SD. Actually we wanted to buy in Rapid City or Sioux Falls, but buying a house from out of state was difficult in these areas. My husband found a cute little house which I liked as well here in Huron and we decided To go for it, at least using it as a jumping board, if we don’t like it we can always move Somewhere else later. But it was important for us to exit the blue state of California. We feel a lot safer here.

Differences between Huron and Country I am from:

Opening hours of businesses & stores, in Germany stores are closing

Around 1 or 2pm on Saturdays, Sundays closed completely.

In my Country we usually have one church especially for a city the same

Size as Huron, for each confession. Usually one catholic church and one Protestant church. I have never seen as many churches in one city like

Here in Huron. Every time I ride my bike around town, I see a church at almost Each corner.

We have Farmer’s Markets usually twice a week, all year round. Thursdays & Saturdays. Here in Huron only from June to September.

Gnats & Mosquitoes in Summer, that is something I never experienced Before. Not in Germany, not even in countries like Italy, Spain, Greece, etc.

Severe Windstorms, Tornados.

From one minute to the other the weather changes here sometimes so quickly.

Huron is a very small rural city, and you don’t have too many choices.

If I want to go to a store like Costco or Sam’s Club or my favorite german store Aldi I need to drive about 2 hours one way.

Have to order a lot from online, causing lots of returns if I don’t like it or it doesn’t fit.

It’s difficult for me to fly somewhere from Huron. Shuttle Service to closest airport is limited and expensive and to fly to Germany for example I cannot catch a nonstop flight.

Difference between any store in the USA, not just Huron and Germany is the fact

That stores have very generous return policies. In Germany you wouldn’t be able

To return something to a store if you started using it. But that’s the only way you can Find out if you like it or not. That is something I appreciate a lot about living in the USA.

Culture shocks when I came to Huron:

Actually I didn’t really experience any major culture shocks. Since I have been living in the US for quite some time already. Majority of the people living here in Huron are from Europe, Most of their last names are German, as a matter of fact.

Or they are from scandinavian countries, like Norway, Denmark or Sweden. I see that there are a lot of people living here in Huron

That are from Southern American countries, and from Thailand(Karins?), But I never had any contact with these people. When you go to Walmart on A Sunday you can see a lot of them. Other than that, I feel like there is not Much difference in culture here in Huron,SD.

Things I am missing about my country:

German Soft Pretzels

German Hand Cheese (Harzer Roller) -not available in stores because it is a fermented Product .

Real Bakeries& Butcher stores. Where everything is still hand made and not from a machine.

Medical Pedicures- In the US when you get a pedicure done, they focus on making your nails look pretty with the polish and the way the shape of your nails look, rather than taking care of the health of the feet. In Germany they are removing corns, take care of Ingrown toe nails, calluses, etc. They are using high tech equipment and I have never Seen anything like this here in the US. I prefer that my feet are healthy, don’t care for Any nail polish or fancy nails.If I ever have a corn or ingrown nail I am forced to see a Podiatrist and it’s expensive.

German Cosmetic Products, the standards for safety and the ingredients used in these products is much higher than here in the US. In US cosmetic products there are a lot Of chemicals used that would not be allowed in Germany.

“Made in Germany” products are hard to find or extremely expensive in the US.

Gluehwein at Christmas Time (a spiced red wine, heated up in a pot, drink it hot) Nice to enjoy at a Christmas Market, when it is cold outside.

What I do not miss about my country?

I don’t miss what is going on these days with the politics in my country.

It is pretty much a copy of what’s going on here especially in the “Blue States”.

We have a problem with illegal immigration, thousands and thousands of people

Are pouring in our country, they get a lot of free money, don’t work, and the

German government is not supporting our retired german people, they are going

Crazy these days telling people that there’s a “Climate Change”, another hoax

To control people, etc.The fact that Germany is taking care of every other country and it’s citizens but not for their own people. (Sending billions of money to countries like Ukraine for example) The german retirees need to collect plastic bottles on the street to get some money so they can buy food for themselves. They worked for so long and always gave about 40-50% of their paycheck to government, and when they retire they are supposed to get support from the government for the rest of their live. But now this money goes to foreign countries. So wrong! Don’t miss this at all.

Other than that, I do get homesick sometimes, especially around the Holidays like Christmas and New Years Eve. That’s the worst.

Things that are unique growing up in Germany:

No speed limit on german Autobahn! (speed limit only in certain areas which appear to be more dangerous), but most of the time one can drive as fast as the car can.

On your first day of school, around the age of 6 years, first class, you are Getting a so called “school cone” looks like a huge ice cream cone, filled With chocolates, candies, things that kids like to eat.

Around the age of 14 or 15 teenagers usually go to dancing school to learn Standard dances like the walz, rumba, samba, cha-cha, slow fox, foxtrott, Tango. Ends with a Ball, where you bring your parents and you pick a

Dance partner for that specific evening. You get to wear a very nice evening Dress. Special event in a teenagers life. Not sure if they still do that nowadays. That was during my time very common.

Huron is such a small town, stores like Walmart, Coborn’s, Runnings and Lewis

are stores where people meet and you always run into the same people.

Wish Walmart would have a little coffee shop close by, so when you meet someone You wouldn’t have to stand in the aisles and disturb other customers if you just want

To talk a little bit. The clerks in the local stores are very friendly, like to talk with the customers, it’s nice to know they take their time and don’t rush you. They listen to you if you are having a bad day, they are happy for you if something good happened to you, it’s like they are a part of your family. Never had an experience like this living in California. Too many people living there, stores always crowded and everybody had to rush. I love this small town feeling. And you wouldn’t necessarily need a car to get from A to B. Everything is pretty much in walking distance, which is a good thing, especially in the winter during snow and ice.

When we moved over here, people in Huron made us feel very welcome.

Any business we had to deal with, like local Banks, City of Huron admin office, N.W. Energy, etc, everybody was extremely friendly and we experienced outstanding customer service.

When moving to Huron you should ask yourself if you can live in a small

Community where you are limited when it comes to choices, for example with grocery stores, clothing stores, pharmacy stores like Walgreens or CVS, etc.

If you don’t like driving long distance to shop at a big box store, this is not the place For you. A trip to Sioux Falls takes average 2 hours one way, you will be gone

Almost a whole day if you want to hit several stores in the big city.

Also if you need to get a lot of special medical treatments done, you might have

To schedule appointments in Sioux Falls with a specialist. And driving long distance is not always possible. You are very limited in the harsh winter month. If you are a frequent traveler you are not very close to the next international airport. The regional airport in Sioux Falls is 2 hours away, and your choices for switching planes are pretty much limited to Denver or Chicago. Two of the worst airports to change planes in the USA. Don’t plan any travel between November and beginning of May, you won’t be able to get out of Huron due to the weather.

Huron is a great place to live if you are interested in fishing & hunting. Immigrants from all over the world are very welcome here.

Should be easy to find a job in Huron, almost every store we go to is hiring. Huron is also a good place to start a handyman business, or if you like to

Do do yard work or snow removal. If you are good at what you are doing

You will get a lot of customers, since handymen in Huron seem to be rare

Or overwhelmed with jobs, and you have to wait for a long time to get something Repaired. When moving here you should be able to have some handyman skills Especially if you are a home owner. That;s one of the more negative aspects of Living here. Getting service for any home repairs doesn’t happen quickly.