Home Stretch

Sorry for the delay in updates everyone. It’s been somewhat hectic, but that’s pretty much the norm. On to the show!

On Friday, we pushed/pulled/dragged Natasha to Vilas Zoo because we thought that she would enjoy it and it’s one of the major attractions of our fair city. I think that Ukranian zoos must be very different.  She originally said "I don't want to go see a bunch of animals in little cages".  First response: “No”. Second response: “No.” Oh well…

So we drive to the zoo and find it blissfully empty of other patrons. But that might’ve had to do with the rather chilly wind and rain… in January. Anyways, we slogged through the weather and marveled at the animals enjoying their natural climate, like the lion, and the camel – um, wait.

However, Natasha really started getting into it when she started spotting the big cats and other large game animals. We found out a cool secret (that probably every other Madisonian knew); when there’s inclement weather, you can get a much closer look at the animals because they’re in their shelters and there isn’t much in between you and them. The giraffes were especially cool. There were some epic Natasha selfies.

We also held our bowling party for others to meet Natasha on Saturday. I think the girls were in junk food heaven with all the pizza, soda, nachos, fries and onion rings they could handle. I think I could smell the grease emanating off of everything! But it seemed to be a success. We had friends come over and stop by, some people we met for the first time, and overall it went very well. For a short spell, Natasha refused to mingle or chat with some of the people who wanted to meet her, instead asking to speak with other Ukrainians that she had met previously. But, as usual, she turned it around. I will say that her ability to adapt and strive to be better is enormous.  It's got to be overwhelming to be constantly meeting new people who speak a foreign language.

Oh, by the way, her English is a lot better than even she lets on. She’s gotten comfortable enough where she has a great time making fun of Marine in Ukrain-glish. It’s fun to watch and hear.

A short, sad episode occurred at the end of bowling. Grandma and Grandpa Hoksch visited us as well and at the end, they went to say their goodbyes to Natasha because most likely they wouldn’t be seeing her again before she departed. The enormity of it hit her hard and she held on to Grandma for several minutes. I can’t even imagine what’s going on in her head.

Things looked better today because it combined two of her favorite hobbies: shopping and speaking to other Ukrainians. We went to West Towne today to get her some more clothes and meet with Anastasia and Mike. They started chatting instantly and had a great time just doing what everyone else in Madison must have decided to do today. Parking was unreal. But overall, a good time was had.

This week, we hit the home stretch. I definitely enter it with a lot of emotions. We’ll be heading out together as a family to do some more activities and try to prepare her as much as possible for the flight home. I definitely wish we had hosted her during a different time of the year, even though she loves snowball fights. Summer in Wisconsin is a great time of year. But I’m still glad for the time we’ve had with her. Til tomorrow…