We have been in the US for more than 4 weeks. Matt and Maria really benefited from attending school. They can read about 100 to 150 words now. They are really trying to communicate in English. When Tom tries to speak Russian to them, they tell him, "No. Only English." We hope they retain their native language skills but are thrilled that they want to speak only English. At this time, Matt will speak Russian to Maria when he wants to make her angry. When he turns to her and starts speaking in Russian, we immediately tell him, "Be nice."
This past weekend, we traveled to Chicago to visit Tom's sister and her family. Maria and Matt did not understand cousins until now. Even though they have met Cindy's sister and her family, they did not understand the word cousin. Now they are speaking about their cousin, Stephen, who is close to their age. We also visited China Town and ate at a wonderful resturant. They did not like several of the dishes, but with time, they will. They like traveling and living a hotel, which as a pool. They are sad that we need to leave tomorrow.
Yesterday, we took them to the Shedd Aquarium. This is the first American Museum/Aquarium experience. They handled it better than they did in Ukraine. Their attention span is slowly growing longer. This is a good sign.
School ended last Thursday. Matt won a medal in a basketball contest. We do not know excactly what he did to earn the medal, but he is very proud. Maria and Matt just enjoy the school and were a bit sad that it was the end of the year. Little do they know, that summer school may be in the cards for them. We are still waiting to hear about this.
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