Whether You Say 'Priviet' or 'Hello,' They Have the Same Meaning in Russian

A little over a week ago, 10 orphans ages 9-13 and their two chaperones traveled from Izmail, Ukraine, a harbor city in the Odessa region of Ukraine, to Southern California. It took them more than 24 hours, riding by bus, train and finally three airplanes, in order to travel to LAX! Once they got off the airplane, the hassles of the trip were quickly forgotten. They were warmly welcomed and drawn into the open arms of their host families.

The children came to Southern California to perform at local churches and Disneyland. Their colorful costumes, beautiful dances and bright smiles captured the hearts of audiences from Riverside to Laguna Niguel as they clapped along with the fast beat of the music. But their trip to Disneyland had the biggest impact on them. Seeing the princesses and other characters was a huge thrill for the children!

Vlada pulled away from me as we stood in line at Splash Mountain when she saw “Vinnie Pooh!” They had heard about Disneyland and all the characters from cartoons, but seeing them in person was beyond their wildest imagination. They ran eagerly to see each character and didn’t seem to mind the heat or long lines. They were amazed by the magic of Disney.

I was a bit concerned the first time the girls who we are hosting, ran outside with our son to play with the neighborhood kids. I wasn’t sure how the children in the neighborhood would react to the girls. However, they quickly formed a game of ‘futball’ (soccer) in the park across from our home. I could hear them laughing and calling one another’s names. It didn’t seem to matter that the girls didn’t speak the same language as the other children. They got along fine and enjoyed their games.

Later, they came in for a snack and to play with dolls. I was glad I’d pulled our daughter’s old dolls and dollhouse from the rafters in our garage. I wasn’t sure whether 12 year olds would want makeup or dolls. I was glad the dolls won out!

“Priviet! Kok de’la?” Vlada and Nadia looked at each other in surprise, as they certainly didn’t expect to be greeted in Russian when walking into at Crown Valley and Golden Lantern. George and Hector, the owners of I Love Bagels learned a few phrases of Russian in order to be able to greet the children.

The children enjoyed performing for their appreciative audiences, but they were glad when their performance schedule was completed and they could focus just on having fun. The children quickly picked up a few English phrases such as, “Let’s go!” and “See you later alligator!”

Their tanned and happy faces as they skipped down the stairs at Strands Beach looked the same as any child. However, people would stare, as the children would squeal happily in rapid fire Russian.

 Nadia quickly picked up a fair amount of English and has tried to use English phrases whenever she can. The children have all studied some English along with Russian and Ukrainian. All children learn to speak the three languages in school. It helps that we also speak Russian. Vlada loves practicing math equations and keeps asking to be given ‘problems’ whenever there is ‘down time.’ Nadia informed us, she “no good math, do languages!”

Although they are enjoying the sights, have had fun swimming in the ocean or playing games of soccer, it was their joy at seeing appreciative audiences when they performed or even a simple hug from a host parent that seemed to mean the most to the children. Although the children came to Southern California speaking a different language and from a different culture, they quickly fit in and enjoyed the things most kids like on a hot summer day, swimming and ice cream!

There are just a few more days before they have to return to their ‘children’s home’ or orphanage in Ukraine. Both the chaperones and children are eager to see and do everything possible before they leave, exclaiming they ‘can sleep on the plane!’

 The host families are trying to fit in as many hugs as possible before sending them off at LAX. It will be hard to see them go, but we know for the two weeks they were here, the children learned that in Southern California, there are many people who treasure them and think