Я не понимаю

When I was in 7th grade, I was in the girls’ chorus at school. One of the songs we learned and performed was “Love in Any Language”. The song begins with singing “I love you” in 5 different languages. As we were learning it, I remember that I struggled most with the Russian version.

That was nearly 19 years ago (wow, I feel old). It’s amazing to think back now, and realize that I was learning to say something very significant in my son’s native tongue!

Well I’ve been trying to learn a little more than just the one phrase in Russian. The first step was learning the alphabet –the Cyrillic alphabet is used in both Russian and Ukrainian. I think some of the letters look more like hieroglyphics! But I made it through that phase.

Now I’m listening to my Conversational Russian CDs on my way to and from work every day. I repeat the words over and over, hoping that at least a few of them will stick. It’s a challenging language, to say the least. But at this point I can introduce myself, ask directions, go shopping, check into a hotel, order at a restaurant, and talk about public transportation.

Yes, I can say all of these things, without too much effort. But understanding the responses I get will probably be a different story! At least I’ve learned to say, “I don’t understand” and “repeat, please”. Those will become common phrases, I’m sure.

Knowing some of the language will make things easier while we’re in Ukraine. There will be days when we will be without a translator. We’ll have to go to the orphanage alone, dine alone, and shop alone. Hopefully I’ll retain enough to keep us going!

I get frustrated and wonder if my mind has enough room for all of this. But I press on, knowing that it’s one more way I can ease the transition for our Little Guy. I’ll do whatever it takes for our boy!

So, until next time…

до свидания, (Good bye),
дженныфер (Jennifer)