Home Six Months

Today hits the six month mark that Alex and I got on a plane in Kyiv to head to America.  Home!  While Alex was so happy and excited to be home she also had a lot of anxiety and homesickness about leaving Ukraine.  She really missed, and still misses, her friends.  After she started school it really hit her that this new chapter in her life wasn't going to be completely easy.  Always before when she had been here on hosting it had just been a big vacation for her.  Entering school was a harsh reality check.  She was only in 8th grade for 2 1/2 months before the summer break.  I don't think she was really all that crazy about it.  She started high school on August 1.  We are now five weeks into the school year.  Overall, she is doing amazingly well.  Her classes include: English Lit, Health, Physical Science, Algebra 1, Algebra Support and  Food & Nutrition.  Her main struggle is with taking tests.  She had never taken a test in her life before starting school in America so she had no idea how to prepare for them.  I had a conference with her English Lit and Algebra teachers as well as the 9th grade counselor.  They were awesome!  They obviously want Alex to succeed.  Her English Lit teacher ordered her an English/Russian word to word translation book that Alex can carry with her to every class.  Alex gets an hour for lunch and half of that is spent with her Algebra teacher receiving additional tutoring.  The Algebra teacher even called me this last Friday to touch base and let me know that she has seen remarkable improvement in Alex' classroom work.  Both teachers were so impressed with Alex' drive and desire to do well.  She comes into each class and sits front and center.  She asks questions and participates in class discussions.  She *wants* to do well and succeed and it shows!  So proud of this girl!

The school that Alex is going to is a new one.  Last year was its first year with students so they are still building some of their programs.  This year they are starting a dance team that will perform at half-time of (boys?) basketball games.  Tryouts begin the week of September 12.  Alex is trying out.  As her mom I want her to make the team for all the usual reasons: I think she's awesome and would be perfect for the team!  :)  But in addition to that, if she makes the team I think that will be another step for her to really cement herself into school life.  She is making friends, but it is a slow process.  Being a part of a team at school will help her to feel like she is a part of something and not out there on her own.  And if she doesn't make the team then that is just another life lesson.  She was a superstar at her school in Ukraine.  Here she has to go out of her comfort zone.  Not a bad thing, but not an easy thing!  So...wish my kid some luck, will ya'?  :)

In the last six months we have definitely had our ups and downs.  The first few months weren't easy for any of us!  Now I can say that most of our downs are typical of any relationship between a 16 year old girl and her parents!  (Me: Alex, your music is a little loud...can you turn it down?  Her: (pout) It's NOT loud!  I can barely hear it!)

Ukraine will always be her homeland.  But for all of us, her home is here!