%E2%80%9CMy+cousins+definitely+%5Bhelped%5D+because+I+had+really+bad+speech+coming+here+so+I+had+to+adapt+to+the+jargon+from+the+United+States.%E2%80%9D

Valerie Benzinger

“My cousins definitely [helped] because I had really bad speech coming here so I had to adapt to the jargon from the United States.”

Closer to family

In the streets of Ireland, a girl formerly from Nigeria stands to observe the new culture around her, the new people, the new everything. While most of her family is far away, she still takes the time to enjoy her surroundings and get to know Europe, her soon-to-be new home.

Junior Jessica Chibuzor left Ireland recently to be closer to her family in the United States since none of her family live in Ireland. Her family has been supportive of her move closer to them.

“We left Ireland 3 years ago,” Chibuzor said. “We wanted to stay closer to family in the United States cause most of our family lives here.”

Although she lived in Ireland, Chibuzor is from Nigeria, which is where a lot of her family resides. When she moved she only got to see her family during holidays or special occasions.

“I’m from Nigeria but I lived in Ireland for 8 years,” Chibuzor said. “I have family in Nigeria but we don’t see them a lot. They only came over for Christmas. We were the only ones in Ireland.”

When first moving here, she struggled with adapting to the new language and lifestyle, but those quickly went away with the help of friends and family around her. After moving past those obstacles, Chibuzor quickly made friends around Lewisville.

“We had people who helped [my family] and supported us,” Chibuzor said. “My cousins definitely [helped] because especially I had really bad speech coming here so I had to adapt to the jargon from the United States.”

When she first came to the United States, Chibuzor had to become used to how people acted differently here compared to Europe. She soon adapted to America and made friends.

“[Americans] are up a notch and in Europe we are laid back,” Chibuzor said. “We have our own problems but it’s not as big like the political [events] going on here. People in Texas are really nice and everyone is really friendly and has this friendly vibe, so it was easy to make friends.”

While excelling in school, she has made lasting friendships with her teachers and students alike and has built great bonds with them. Chibuzor’s teachers hope for the best for her.

“Jessica is wonderful in class and always eager to learn,” Spanish teacher Sonja Terrill said. “I’ve always enjoyed Jessica’s enthusiasm for learning and kindness.”

When she first met her cousins, they instantly became close friends and would soon be each others go to person when Jessica moved to the United States.

“Instantly Jessica and I had a connection, we were like 8 years old and it was our first time meeting each other,” sophomore Joy Ekechukwu said. “We would run around the house, and we’d tell each other secrets like normal friends do and she was super funny and nice.”

Although she has friends and family in the United States, she still misses Ireland and will not forget all the memories she has made and shared from her time in Europe.

“I remember little things in Nigeria and in Ireland, I definitely remember [celebrating] Christmas there,” Chibuzor said. “It was really fun because we would think it would snow, but it [wouldn’t.] It’s kinda like [in Texas,] but the Christmases there were magical.”

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