Well, since you klicked the „about me“ button let me tell you a little bit about me… Even though I grew up in Germany - and still am in Germany
- I learned early in life to know and love the USA because my family on my mothers side is from New Jersey. Soon I developed a love for the
southern states and I spend a lot of time in Mississippi until I discovered the cowboy lifestyle. Naturally I was drawn to typical cowboy states
more and more and today I call Oklahoma my “home of choice”.
Christian Cowboy and Football Coach
I am best defined by those three words in the intro: Christian Cowboy and Coach. First, I am a bible-believing Christian. You can read why this is
so important to me in the section “Jesus”. I am also defined by todays Cowboy Lifestyle. And btw: The Cowboy lifestyle goes hand in hand with
the Christian lifestyle and there are many Christian cowboys in the United States. It is common to open rodeo events with a christian prayer and
rodeos usually host cowboy worship services on Sunday mornings. And there are quite a few Cowboy Churches in the USA, especially in the
typical cowboy states. Those churches minister especially to the cowboy culture, their worship is country and some even have their own rodeo
arena for practices or to put on their own rodeos As a modern day cowboy I have not much in common with the so called “wild west”. You can
read more in the section “Cowboy Lifestyle”. Even though I retired from Bull Riding in 2015, I am still a cowboy because “once a cowboy – always
a cowboy”. But after ending my bull riding career I was drawn more and more towards my other love in sports – football! Besides loving the
cowboy way, it had been a longtime dream of mine to be a high school football coach. This dream came true (at least a little bit) by becoming a
youth football coach here in Germany (youth football is the equivalent to high school football over here). The German sports system is very
different from the one in the US so I had a dream and a vision to bring real American football to German teenagers. It wasn`t easy, you can read
all about my experiences as a coach in the section "Football" However coaching real football is not possible for very long over here for various
reasons. So I am planning to return to the rodeo circuit in the future. Not as a rider - but let`s see what God allows me to do…
So besides the cowboy way and football, what else do I like? Well I like to watch NASCAR and Indycar on TV on ovals, there is just nothing like
cars going three-wide into a banked turn...I have been the owner of renewable tickets for Talladega since 2002 and it is always a great
experience! I will explain more about NASCAR in the "My USA" part of the website. I am also very interested in Martial Arts / Self Defense.
Music is also a big part of my life! As a cowboy my favorite music is - of course - country music. I listen mostly to positive mainstream country
and Christian country. I have been listening to Texas and Red Dirt country lately too though! And just like with the cowboy lifestyle: Country
music is not what Europeans generally think it is, for more read my section "Cowboy Life". I do not have a favorite singer because there are a
lot of great ones out there, usually songs by Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Craig Morgan, John Steed, Chris LeDoux, George Strait, Kenny
Chesney and Aaron Watson find their way onto my PC... The best concert I ever saw was without a doubt Kenny Chesney in Cheyenne 2009.
The show was great and everybody in attendance sang along every to single song! It was just amazing! You`ll find more information about
countrymusic in the section Cowboy Life
Kenny Chesney at Cheyenne Frontier Days
Brad Paisley at Rodeo Houston
George Strait at Cheyenne Frontier Days
I also love me some good food every now and then...but who doesn`t?!?. Being a cowboy, I love my steak - that is for sure! But I also love
many other types of food: Southern food in general is pretty good, but I also love chinese stuff like fried meat balls and their type of noodles...I
guess you can say I like fried stuff...Speaking of fried stuff...I had the best chicken fried steak ever in Guymon, Oklahoma. So if you are ever in
that area make sure to go to Cactus Jacks Roadhouse and get you one lol
Many people in Germany consider hamburger and hot dogs as typical American food. Or cheap fast food in general. Well that might be true
BUT: First off: There are really good fast food restaurants in the US (the ones usually known here in Germany are on the lower end in the U.S.)
Also: America has far more to offer than just fast food!I love typical American food like steak (beef in all sorts of flavors), turkey, country ham,
fried chicken and chicken wings are also pretty tasty! I am not talking about what many Germans consider chicken wings, instead I love Lemon-
Pepper Wings and Buffalo WIngs (here they confuse BBQ-Wings with Buffalo Wings - Buffalo is a special sauce much different from BBQ
sauce though). I also love Louisiana food! And yes, American pizza is also great! (American pizza is also not what german pizza brands want
you to believe). I also enjoy BBQ (not to be confused with grilling) from a smoker. So people who only know Hamburger and Hot Dogs are
missing out on much better American Stuff!!! Don`t believe me? You should come to one of my parties! My friends know how to cook, smoke or
fry the American way!
My favorite restaurant: Cactus Jacks - Guymon, Oklahoma
So how American can you be in Germany in regard to the lifestyle? Oftentimes it certainly is not easy for American minds like mine, many
things are different in Germany. Even typical American things: "American" Football over here is not even real football, Country Music is viewed
as something completely different, my cowboy lifestyle is confused with the "wild west" and American food is dismissed as "fast food" because
even so called "American Restaurants" in Germany usually do not offer typical American food. Even what American chains like Dominos or
Pizza Hut offer over here is different and does not come close to the great taste in the U.S.! And even my favorite drink, Dr. Pepper, is not
even Dr. Pepper, it tastes completely different! So what can you do when you are an American in Germany? Or when you you lived there and
miss it so much?
I am blessed with quite a few friends here in Germany who value the American way just like I do. Some are American, some are former
exchange students who miss America pretty much! I guess it is hard to understand how much you can miss it - unless you have lived there
yourself!
During the summer time my friends and I get together for BBQ`s and summer parties to celebrate our American lives as authentic as possible.
Our most important events are Independence Day and Memorial Day. We also host a Louisiana Theme Party each August as we all love
Louisiana food and lifestyle as well. Here are some photos from our events:
Independence Day Celebration in Germany
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Cowboy Party
Independence Day Celebration
Louisiana Party
Louisiana Party
Friends
Independence Day
Summer BBQ
Owning an American car or truck is certainly a big part of America in Germany. My friends and I own American vehicles not because they are
special here but because they are normal to us! And just like in the US, we love country tailgaters. We just drive out into the country / the
woods and have a little fun on friday nights...
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I am an Oklahoma Sooners football fan and I watch every single game over here in Germany. A couple of other friends are also OU fans,
so I usually do not have to watch by myself. Our circle of friends also includes Texas Longhorn, Louisiana and UCLA fans, so they also join us
often to watch the games. And of course we celebrate each game with plenty of typical American food and drinks - just like our counterparts in
the USA:
Besides watching College Football we also like to watch racing and rodeo on TV. Usually we watch the Daytona 500 in February and the Indy
500 (as part of our Memorial Day Weekend BBQ). You can learn more about my NASCAR and Indycar experiences in the "My USA"
section...We also watch Rodeos, usually the PBR Finals or the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
Thanksgiving means a lot to us as well. And despite all the turkey, ham and football (the only NFL games I watch during the year besides
the Superbowl) we don`t forget what Thanksgiving is all about!!! Traditionally we play a little backyard football, then watch the parade, eat turkey and ham before we watch the NFL games
I think Europeans are also opening up more and more to American style Christmas decorations. I love winter decorations and all my
Christmas stuff goes up the day after Thanksgiving. The reason for the season is Jesus, not decorations! HoweverI like to counter the
dark and "depressive" German winter with a combination of Christmas and Winter decoration:
When you miss the USA, you can also try to arrange your home to make it look as American as possible. I don`t mean cheesy stuff but like a typical home in the US looks like...of course that varies by region or interests...here are a few impressions from my home and ranch house
For more info go to the "My USA" page...