English! The other day Tetyana was trying to tell me that if she called the orphanage and talked to Sasha (her best friend) she would say "hi, Sasha. It's me Tetyana." and he that wouldn't understand her because she is speaking English and he speaks Ukrainian. She said that the Ukrainian words are "out of her head". It is amazing that in almost 2 months she is speaking so well and is already forgetting her native language.
We really wish she could hold on to it but there isn't much of a Ukrainian community here. We have several DVD's that are dubbed in Ukrainian and some other CD's and books. But I think if she doesn't converse with someone on a regular basis she will be able to retain it.
When we first got home it was easy to talk about everything in front of her because she didn't understand. Now we have to spell because she understands just about everything we say. For instance, tomorrow we have to take her for her second round of shots and I have forbidden Luke to even say the word 'doctor' until we pull into the parking lot. She will know exactly what is going on as soon as we get to the parking lot!! Poor thing will have such anxiety as soon as she sees the office. Luke is having some warts removed (what is it with boys and warts?) and is going first. Maybe her helping him feel better will help her forget about the shots for a bit.
It should be a fun day for me and the kids all around tomorrow! We are going to see Kung Foo Panda afterward so maybe a little popcorn and candy will help ease the pain.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Our Family Photo's
5 comments:
Halle Grace is forgetting, too! It's so sad. Yesterday at the water park, she understood the Russian lifeguard, but all of her responses to her were in English. It's a milestone though, right? :)
We're heading to the lake with some friends tomorrow! Can't wait...
It looks like your family had an incredible weekend at the lake. FUN!
I have had mixed feelings about the language transition too. On the one hand, it is SO much easier to communicate, resolve problems, etc. now that she can speak so much English. On the other hand, it's kind of sad to see them lose their native language.
Good luck with the doctor appt!
It's so sad to have them lose that language isn't it? I already miss the days when Maddie would speak in her little Russian accent. She's not speaking any noticable Russian anymore, but we can't quite understand her English yet either.
Sigh.
We'll get it one of these days.
If it's okay with the doctor, see if you can pop a piece of hard candy into Tetyana's mouth just before she has the shots - the distraction of the sweet taste really does fool the brain into perceiving less pain! Luke might appreciate the "spoonful of sugar" treatment, too. I think it has to do with the brain's synapses getting crossed. Still works for me, btw! Hard candy works better for me than do candy bars, for some reason - any flavor is okay. And if the doctor can deaden the shot area with cooling spray, so much the better.
Best wishes from Susan in Ky, cousin to two from Ukraine
We were only home 6 weeks when my son refused to engage with anyone in Ukrainian and he was already starting to lose some of his Ukrainian then. Just for the fun of it, we had his beloved translator try and speak to him a few weeks ago in Ukrainian. We'd been home about 10 months at the time. There was not even a trace of it left. My son didn't even recognize "yes" or "no" anymore. Oh, wait...there is still one thing he recognizes...and that is "I love you." It's now our secret code. I can say it in front of his friends and they have no idea what I said...but my son does :-)
Post a Comment