Foreign Exchange the First Month

I can hardly believe it's been a  month already since Thea has arrived.  It seems like she has been with us for always.

The week before she arrived, we finished putting her room together.  Red is her favorite color, so we got her red sheets and a white comforter and a red cozy blanket.  We also got red storage boxes, new pillows, her own laundry basket, an alarm clock and hangers.  Renae decided she needed a change so we put Renae's old red curtains up in Thea's room.  It turned out very nice, and honestly is the only matchy matchy room in our whole house.

We arrived at the airport about 45 minutes before her flight was due to land.  The excited, nervous energy was better spent at the airport people watching versus staring at each other at home.  As we mingled around the baggage carousel with the other host families waiting for their students, our family wondered if we would recognize Thea, would she recognize us?  The girls had made signs, cameras where ready.  ( I would post pictures, but blogger is being dumb, so see Facebook for pictures).   Other people were starting to arrive at the carousel from the flight, the excitement was electric!  And then we saw her, I'm not sure if she saw us first or vice versus.  We waved, she waved and then when she was close enough there were hugs all around.  Even Dan was able to stop over from work and greet her.  Soon we had her bag and we were off.  When we stepped out of the terminal the heat took her breath away.  The first of many firsts.

We took the long way home from the airport, and drove up the strip.  She was in awe but you could tell she was exhausted.  Delanie talked non-stop, which was very overwhelming.   When we arrived home we gave her the tour of the house.  She says our house is so big.  For dinner we have finger foods, cheese, crackers, vegetables and dip, summer sausage, and meatballs.  She barely eats, Delanie keeps talking, and I can see the exhaustion getting worse for her.  I coaxed her to go ahead and go to her room for bed, even though I think she felt like she should stay up and be with us.

The next week was a whirlwind of activities.  A trip to the cell phone store to get her a phone, time spent at the high school getting her registered, shopping for a church dress and school supplies.  We had several family meetings to go over house rules and expectations, along with the chores.  On Friday night we went down to give her the first taste of the tourist side of Las Vegas.  We had dinner at the Excalibur buffet, walked through NY NY, the Hershey store, the M&M store, and Coke World where we sampled the different sodas from around the world.  When we were ready to head home it was of course dark, so we drove up the strip so that she could see all the lights.  Week one was a success.

The first week of school was stressful for her.  Some teachers speak to fast, her pre-calculus class was more than she could handle.  She had to email back and forth to her counselor in Norway to figure out what she could take instead and still be on track when she goes home next year.  Thankfully it all got worked out.  Now the worst thing she is dealing with is a horrible teacher for chemistry. 

She is finally coming out of her shy shell.  It was getting exhausting playing 20 questions everyday.  I may be guilty of actually not talking to her for several days because I just couldn't come up with any questions to drag answers out of her with.  She is a good fit for our family.  A good girl, she has modest clothing, and good family values.

She is going to seminary with Delanie, church with us on Sunday.  She says church is still hard because everyone speaks so fast.  We have had to clear up a couple of things for her because the church is true but the people are crazy!

So here is a list of the firsts she has experienced so far:
Using an electric can opener
The tube system at the bank
Sprinklers in the produce department

New foods, most of which she doesn't like:
Maraschino cherries (dislikes)
Peanut butter (dislikes)
green beans (so/so)
Chili (dislikes)
Pineapple (likes)
Chicken chimichangas (dislikes)
Beef stroganoff (dislikes)

Mainly she is a picky eater.  I have made salmon several times at her request and try to make potatoes often just so she will have some nutrition.  To her credit she will at least try several bites of everything.

I have already realized that it is going to be very hard to send her back to Norway in June.