Once Upon A Time

[KGSodie 0]

I finally got around to writing a blog entry for our site, and I thought I'd at least copy it here, by way of updating everyone. Cheers!

Kevin

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I know I still owe the complete writeup of the immigration processing through Atlanta as well as the full story of our travels that day, but my notes are all handwritten and I don’t have them with me at the moment, so that story will have to continue to wait.

Natasha and Vika have been here in Omaha for about three and a half weeks now, but it only seems like 2 or 3 days. Our first order of business upon their arrival was to get Vika enrolled in school, so that she could get back to a normal life with other children, after being cooped up with only Natasha and I for a month. I had already done all the research and obtained all the forms, and knew in advance which school Vika would attend so it was a relatively easy thing to get her enrolled. The school district I live in has an ELL program (English Language Learners), which I’ll describe shortly. We had to register Vika at the school she would otherwise attend, and in fact the bus she rides picks her up and drops her off at this school, and takes her to the ELL school a short (1 mile from our house) distance away. This bus is only for ELL students, so is very sparsely populated with children with whom Vika is now familiar.

We submitted all the forms and only then discovered that because Natasha and I aren’t married yet, there was another form we had to submit for a ‘two family household’. Just a small hiccup, and then Vika was able to start school the following Monday. We print out the lunch schedule for the week and then mark Vika’s selections, and then she takes it to school on Monday and gives to her teacher so she always gets what she wishes. Because the drinks at school are always served cold, and that’s a big no no for Natasha and Vika (and Russians in general, I believe) we send in a bottle of juice with Vika every day, at room temperature of course. Vika really enjoys her class (they have a pet rabbit!) and her teacher, and has made several friends already. Natasha and I visited the school before Vika started, and on her first day of class, and got to speak with the secretary, principal, her 4th grade teacher, as well as the ELL teachers (there are 2) and the school librarian.

Speaking of the ELL program, I’ve read many good things about it though visiting with the teachers wasn’t as impressive. It does seem to be well thought out, though. They have no teachers that speak Russian, or any particular language other than English, so the English lessons are done in a language neutral way. They have a laptop with language translation software that they use if they get stuck, and the normal classroom teacher will call upon the ELL teachers to bring the laptop if there is a communication problem with Vika. She spends 1 to 3 hours a day in the ELL classroom learning English, and the rest of the day in her normal classroom with all the other children. They also have Russian interpreters on contract and available by phone for sticky situations, and the library has a small selection of Russian books available. But mostly it’s just total immersion, and Vika’s English improves noticeably every day.

Vika reports that she does a lot of math (probably pretty hard to study history or science or anything else yet) and that it is all very easy for her - things she says she learned in 2nd and 3rd grade. After the summer, we’ll assess her English skills and speak with her teachers and possibly try and move her up to 6th grade (skipping 5th grade), which would be more age-appropriate for her since she’ll turn 12 next year. I think the main reason they placed her in 4th grade this year is that it is so late in the school year, and that is the grade she attended in Russia, even though the grades don’t match up precisely between the our countries. But the important thing is Vika likes school and is doing very well.

Last weekend we all visited my Mom in Kansas, about a 3 and a half hour drive from Omaha. ‘All’ included me, Natasha, Vika, Anthony, Maria, my brother Kent and his wife Melanie and their daughters Katie and Marissa. Katie is 19, the same age as Maria (they are very close) and Marissa is 12 and gets along fabulously with Vika, so visits our house often. We had a wonderful time, and Natasha and Vika enjoyed meeting my Mom and step dad Loren, and all the wonderful home cooking. We had sausage, eggs, hash browns and biscuits the first day for breakfast, and all ate heartily. Dinner the next day was steaks, prepared with a honey teriyaki glaze and marinated for at least a full day. They were HUGE, so Natasha and Vika cut one in half to share. Vika enjoyed it so much that she finished her portion, and then took some more from Natasha! Higher praise from Vika does not exist when it comes to the culinary arts.

Saturday night we all played hide and seek in the dark, with Marissa and Vika each having a flashlight. My Mom lives out in the country with a few acres of grass and buildings, and it’s just ideal for such play. We ran around and laughed and generally had a very good time.

Sunday lunch was tacos (my favorite!), and we played some frisbee out in the yard. Vika had not seen a frisbee before but enjoyed learning how to catch and throw one very much. Natasha mostly just squealed and ducked whenever it came her way, but (perhaps surprisingly) could throw one pretty well.

We also spent several hours looking through old photo albums, playing the game “let’s all guess which one is Kevin and which one is Kent”. I was almost never right, though Natasha did pretty well with her selections! My favorite part of this game was when we looked at the photos when we were still in the hospital, laying on the bed next to Mom. No one, of course, knew who was who so we decided to attack the problem logically - since Kent was born first, we assumed he’d be pushed further away by my birth, so I must be the baby closest to Mom. There was an argument made for this to be Kent, though - since he was born first, he would have landed closer to Mom. So I suppose the issue is still surrounded by some controversy….

Today Natasha and I went down to the social security office to apply for her card. We had filled out the form several days ago, and this morning we printed it out and Natasha signed and dated it. We collected her Russian birth certificate since the instructions said they would need to see it (they never even asked for it, though), and we decided to bring along the official notarized English translation too, just in case (also not requested while we were there). I was surprised at the efficiency of the Social Security office here in Omaha, which I had never visited before. There was a touch screen kiosk set up right inside the door, where we were able to state the reason for our visit, and then a numbered ticket printed out for us. We didn’t even make it to the chairs to sit down before our number was called (there were 6 windows, all staffed, and only 1 other person there). We went to the instructed window, number 6, where our office worker was blind. Her computer was very cool, and spoke everything she typed. The office worker for the adjacent window did all the visual inspection of the documents. First, she looked up the rules for K-1 visas and verified correctly that a SSN is authorized for this visa class, and that employment status is granted. They typed in all the data from our form (why we can’t just fill out the form online so it transfers automatically to their computer is one of those questions that often comes up in such a technology driven country as the USA), and then printed out a summary for us to review. They had spelled the maiden name of Natasha’s mother incorrectly, which we alerted them to (though they didn’t seem too bothered by it) but they instructed us to pay special attention to the spelling of Natasha’s name and our address. These were correct, so Natasha signed and dated this document, and they told us we’d receive her card in the mail in 7 to 10 business days. We were there a total of perhaps 5 minutes. I don’t like dealing with government offices, because so often you are confronted with ill tempered workers and illogical procedures, but our experience with the social security office was surprisingly pleasant and efficient.

After we receive her SSN card, we’ll go down to city hall and apply for our marriage license. No blood test is required, and the process is pretty simply and straight forward. Then we’ll call some of the judges on the list they will provide and select one who is available for our selected wedding date, May 9. We still have to select a venue too. Natasha would like a park, but pocketbook allowing I’d like to call the botanical gardens and see if a spot on their grounds is available. Details and photos forthcoming, I promise!

The past three and a half weeks have gone by so quickly, but we are all doing very well. Anthony, as I predicted, is relishing his new role as big brother, and plays games and generally goofs off with Vika regularly, which she enjoys very much. Maria is more reclusive, being a college student and all, but has volunteered to help give rides to Natasha and Vika on those rare occasions when I am stuck at work and unavailable. It’s all been very mundane, and ordinary - just routine, family stuff - and so very very wonderful precisely because it has all been such routine, family stuff. Life is good, and we are all very happy together.

So our fairy tale is going very well, with only rare appearances by an evil queen or ogre. Our happy ending is assured, we are all confident, but it is not the happy ending we await, but rather it is the journey we are on together - happy and sad times - that we cherish and savor, day by day.

[mox 298]

It’s all been very mundane, and ordinary - just routine, family stuff - and so very very wonderful precisely because it has all been such routine, family stuff. Life is good, and we are all very happy together.

And that's what it's all about, really. Kevin, it's so great to hear from you. I've been thinking about you all a lot, I'm elated that you're all together now and doing the stuff that families do. Congratulations to you all!!

[KGSodie 0]

It’s all been very mundane, and ordinary - just routine, family stuff - and so very very wonderful precisely because it has all been such routine, family stuff. Life is good, and we are all very happy together.

And that's what it's all about, really. Kevin, it's so great to hear from you. I've been thinking about you all a lot, I'm elated that you're all together now and doing the stuff that families do. Congratulations to you all!!

And what's the latest with you and Nadya, Mox? I figure if you just give me the capsule summary, I won't have to go scouring the forums for it all!

[Jeraly 4]

Yay! Kevin!! So happy to hear from you!!

As for Vika - make sure you stand up to her teachers - sometimes teachers appear to think that children who have English as a second language are also stupid - it was one of the complaints I found when speaking to children with EAL during my degree

[KGSodie 0]

Yay! Kevin!! So happy to hear from you!!

As for Vika - make sure you stand up to her teachers - sometimes teachers appear to think that children who have English as a second language are also stupid - it was one of the complaints I found when speaking to children with EAL during my degree

Good advice, and something that hadn't entered my consciousness. We'll evaluate what we think is best toward the end of the summer, before school starts again.

Thanks!

[mox 298]

And what's the latest with you and Nadya, Mox? I figure if you just give me the capsule summary, I won't have to go scouring the forums for it all!

Not much to tell at the moment. We're still waiting on our interview, May 14. All the paperwork's been completed, it's just a matter of getting her to Moscow and getting it done with. I will *not* be purchasing plane tickets in advance. :D

[Jeraly 4]

Yay! Kevin!! So happy to hear from you!!

As for Vika - make sure you stand up to her teachers - sometimes teachers appear to think that children who have English as a second language are also stupid - it was one of the complaints I found when speaking to children with EAL during my degree

Good advice, and something that hadn't entered my consciousness. We'll evaluate what we think is best toward the end of the summer, before school starts again.

Thanks!

No probs - just reminded me when you said how easy she is finding the math