From Dusseldorf to Farmstead

Stefan Graeber came here from Germany years ago as a foreign exchange student and fell in love with Southern culture. Now he calls Alabama his home.

Words by Stephen W. B. Rizzo | Image by Blakeney Clouse 

Not many people travel 4,589 miles to find their home.

Nevertheless, that’s what Stefan Graeber did when he left Germany. “When I first came over, I didn’t plan on staying forever and becoming a citizen,” Stefan says. “But one thing led to another and before I knew it, I was here for good.” 

Stefan’s journey to the Farmstead community began thousands of miles away in Dusseldorf, Germany, several decades before he was an accomplished civil engineer for Jefferson County.  

In 1987-88, his junior year of high school, Stefan’s parents decided he should participate in a foreign exchange program. When he was randomly matched with a family living on Smith Lake in Curry, he had no idea of the affect it would have on his life. 

Initially, there were the usual “new kid in school” hurdles he had to overcome. There was also the language barrier. “Coming to Curry High School, speaking a different language, you kind of stick out like a sore thumb,” Stefan says. “I made lots of good friends. Staying here, living with somebody else, in a different culture and [speaking] a different language was really a great experience.” 

As Stefan settled in to his new home, he was amazed at how different life in rural Alabama was from Dusseldorf. He was fascinated at how easy it was to go hunting, fishing, and boating, activities that were not as easily accessible back in Germany, “I was fascinated that you could just go to Brown’s Grocery and get a hunting license,” he said. “Also, golf was kind of an exclusive sport in Germany. Here, you can just pay a little and you can play. You didn’t have to be a member of a country club.” 

It wasn’t just recreation and sports that he noticed. People were different as well. “I really liked the friendliness and openness of people being so nice,” Stefan says. “People were family oriented.” 

When the school year ended, Stefan returned to Germany to finish his education, visiting his host family and numerous friends during the summers. After high school, he served in the German military and attended university there. He then returned to Alabama and stayed with his host family while attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

Stefan continued forging new connections, and gradually he began making Alabama his home. “As I got close to graduation, I was already working with a local engineering firm,” he explains. “Then one of my professors got me a position with a German company. After you graduate, you can stay in the country and work for one year, then you must return home, but the company helped me get a work visa [to stay in the country].”

“When I started working over here,” Stefan adds, “there was a strong economy. It was not as strong in Germany. I thought, right now, I’m in a good place. It was fairly easy to get a good paying job, and friends of mine in Germany who graduated with a degree had to look more to find a decent job.” 

Finding a job was the first of many other milestones in Stefan’s life. He later met and married his wife, Christa, and together they have three children: Mattie, Sam, and Sydnee. In 2010, he reached a watershed moment when he became a naturalized American citizen. 

While Stefan sincerely loves living in Walker County, that doesn’t mean the transition has been easy. He admits he misses the food of his homeland, particularly sauerbraten, a traditional German roast made from heavily marinated meat. His native tongue has also become less familiar, since he rarely has opportunities to converse in it anymore, but a visit to Germany soon remedies both ailments.  

Of more consequence, managing family relationships across two continents is difficult. His mom does not get to see her grandchildren as much as she would like but does come to visit every year. Other family members visit occasionally, but distance is a factor. 

Rural Alabama is also a rather different environment than the city of Dusseldorf. “Everything is closer together, more easily accessible,” Stefan says. “You have the theater and you have restaurants. It’s an urban lifestyle, where here things are a more rural lifestyle.” 

“I like it here! It fits me well,” he is quick to add.

Stefan muses about his experience as a foreign exchange student and eventually an American citizen. “Being exposed to another culture, hearing different ideas… really broadens your horizon and makes your life better,” he says. 

He also admits he has taken parts of his German upbringing and the American culture and “mingled them.” He may miss sauerbraten, but he likes Southern cooking as well. 

And what about sports? 

“Roll Tide!” Stefan says. “I love football and the whole experience.”

Yes, 4,589 miles from where he began, he seems to be fitting in just fine. 78