Week 3

What a stressful week! We had the chaperon from Russia stay with us for about 6 days. Laina was not liking that. She was very nice and spoke English well, so we were able to find out a lot about Russia and a little about Laina. But, having a stranger in our home and feeling like we were being evaluated, was difficult. And of course, Jeremy was at his worst, going through his own emotional stuff.

We went into NYC and checked out the sites. We also met another host parent and host child (Ashleigh and Irina) and went to the Museum of Natural History. It was hot, but we had a great time.

Laina told the chaperon, Victoria, that she has been to America before, when she was 7 1/2 years old. She also told her she has no siblings and has been in the orphanage (or "house" as they call it) since she was 4 years old. She was there because she had to be hospitalized because her grandmother "hurt" her. She said her mother works as a head cashier in St. Petersburg and comes to see her often at the orphanage. Victoria said she doesn't entirely believe her because she would not have been place in the house if her mother was not the one neglecting or abusing her. Many children create fantasy parents or glorify their parents. I did believe that she was physically abused because one time I had raised my arm up quickly and she flinched. I knew then that she must have been abused. Also, I was able to get my hands on her passport and it confirmed that she had been her the winter of 2007 and went to Texas. It was through another hosting organization. Her picture is adorable. She has pigtails and looks a little sad in the picture, but so cute.

We celebrated her birthday and had a small party for her. Many people from my work were so wonderful and bought her gifts. She didn't quite understand what was happening, especially since they don't celebrate birthdays really. They celebrate "name" days. But she knew the "Happy Birthday" song! She had a lot of fun opening her gifts and of course, singing and dancing for all of us.

Sometimes she gets mad at me, and I have no idea why. This is when the difficulty in communication comes in. It may be because she wanted to sit by me, but someone else did. Or that she wanted to do something, but I couldn't understand what. She gets alittle pouty and folds her arms, but soon gets over it (you can see in some of the pictures at the zoo, she's alittle pouty.)

I spoke with Ashleigh about Irina's English (which is very good). She said she just talks in English to her all day and describes what she is doing. So, I decided to do the same thing, and boy has Laina's English improved. She usually understands what I am saying. I told her to clean her room, and she knew immediately what I was saying. She quickly said, "No." But later, she took my hand and showed me her room, and it was all cleaned up.

She nows calls me Mommy.