When Roma arrived in March of 2009, he did not know any English. He could say, "Hello, my name is Roma" and that was about it. He couldn't work because he didn't have his green card yet and that was tough because as anyone who knows him can attest to, he's a doer. Sitting around idly doesn't suite him at all. We were broke, broke, broke living off of 50 bucks a week. We'd go to the store and buy a big chicken, bake it and eat it all week. You can imagine how we grew to resent baked chicken. We could only afford to call his family once a week and even then, we'd spend aggravating amounts of time just trying get our calls through. There were weeks when he'd only be able to talk with his parents for 1o or 15 minutes because so much of the calling card was wasted just trying to get a decent connection.
The thing is, looking back on last year, I don't remember it being that difficult. Tough? Yes. Frustrating at times? Heck yes. All bad? No way. Roma and I were just so happy to be together that other hardships didn't really seem to matter. Looking back, what is clear is that God was continually faithful to us during those lean times. Like when Roma received a scholarship to take English classes at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, or a woman in my program asked us to babysit once a week, or my supervisor from my old internship called upon us for random cleaning jobs...
Family and friends-- though all so far away --were faithful to us too. It seemed like whenever we were in need of some encouragement we'd get a letter in the mail or a phone call or a gift card of some sort or the offer from our best friends to rent us a car so we could visit them in the New York countryside...
We spent the summer in California with my parents which was the best thing that we could have done for Roma's language. Over the summer, we were able to help Roma's parents buy a computer so now we can skype as easily and as often as we'd like. Since the summer, Roma and I have only been speaking English to each other. It's amazing to see his growth. Just yesterday he mockingly told me that something was "totally disgusting." We're are leaps and bounds beyond where we were last year. He's been able to work helping a friend do finished carpentry and though the work wasn't always consistent, it was sufficient for us to be able to save for our big move and our trip to Ukraine this summer.
All in all, I guess I have to marvel at where we were, how far we've come and how lucky Roma and I are to have each other and to have faithful friends and family. As we count down our final days in Boston, I'm filled with joy at the thought of things to come.
And so I say, I-90 West, please!
