StoryCorps: Ulrike Stroszeck's romantic arrival

Ulrike Stroszeck came to the United States from Germany to marry her then-husband, who was 22 years older than she was. Here, she speaks with her son Ian about him and her first arrival at the Toronto airport.

Ulrike: I came to this country in 1980 when I was 18 years old. I came to marry a concert violinist that I had met in Germany during a concert. He was actually Chilean, but naturalized American, and he lived in Buffalo. So after we wrote to each other for about a year back and forth, and he came to visit me once, I married him. And I barely knew him (laughs).

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Of course, I had this whole romanticized idea about what it is, first of all, to be in America. You know, you have all these movie ideas. Second, I also had a very romanticized notion about what it is to be married.

Ian: So what was your first big experience when you came to this country, besides the airport? Something that threw you off guard, I guess.

Ulrike: Well, the biggest thing was, the very first impact, was he had a string quartet play for me at the airport. He had his students ready to play for me. I was like, 'I'm an 18-year-old, and these students are probably three or four years older than me.' It was kind of strange. He was good at organizing things like that. It was totally impressive. And of course at the Toronto airport, everyone was like, 'Who is this person?' I had no idea. I had one suitcase, that was it.

Then the next thing, coming out of the airport, was this huge car. It was not a new car, but I had never even seen a car that size. It was a Chevrolet Impala of the hugest variety. It was like a boat. I thought, 'OK, we're going to swim here.'

Share your story

These interviews are provided courtesy of StoryCorps.

The Rochester Public Library is inviting all Rochester-area refugees and immigrants to share their stories through the StoryCorps @ Your Library project, which runs through October. It does not matter how recently the person arrived in the United States.

Typically, the interview is conducted as a conversation with a friend or family member.

To schedule an interview, find out more about the project or learn how to access interviews, call Sarah Lydon at (585) 428-8397, email sarah.lydon@libraryweb.org or contact the library branch directly.