The Advantages of Learning Russian (but not from Rosetta)

Rosetta Stone is a way that we three learn Russian on the computer. It teaches us some good things, and for a while it taught us pretty well. But it doesn't teach me what I wanted to know. For example, if I wanted to learn an exact phrase, it wouldn't give it to me what I choose. But I have been learning very well my Russian without Rosetta. So I think that make friends is much better than Rosetta.

I first of all have met a girl in the dvor (courtyard enclosed by several buildings) named Zhenya. Another girl I have met is Alena. We all share a bunch of the same interests. Me and Zhenya share the interest of dress-up. Me and Alena share the same interest in sports such as roller blading and biking. We three get along well, but we rarely get together as a threesome, even though we all live within a few feet of each other. They are often up at 11pm, and I go to bed at 8:30. We usually meet around 5:30 and my family eats at 6:00. Then after than we have devotions which last about 15 minutes, and then I am allowed to go out a little more before having to take a shower, read with Mom, and go to bed.

Now that school has stopped for them, I see them a lot more. But Zhenya (right) is at her grandmother's now. When she was here, we often had struggles, but we ended up in a better place after them. For example, one time she was resting on a chair, but the boys wouldn't leave her alone. She got kind of mad, well, really mad, and started chasing them. She managed to yank Simon down by the shirt, but if you know Kerith, he doesn't run from a fight. He fights. He ran after her and also got yanked into the dirt. We all ran home crying. I was crying because she had hurt my brothers. They were crying because they were hurt. We didn't talk to each other for some time, but the next time I saw her, she surprisingly invited me to help her wash charcoal off a house her friends had been drawing on. We got along much better after that.

Once in a while we still have problems, but we are still much better after that. Sometimes she gets upset for no reason. One time she came home from vacation and wouldn't talk to me. I didn't understand her. Her friend didn't know either. My dad once had to go to her parents to resolve a problem, and her mother sent her over to talk to me. She had been completely avoiding me. Now I am confident we have been through most of the bad trips.

Me and Alena never have fights. I sometimes hold on to the back of her bike while she pedals. Alena has a little sister names Susha who I sometimes play with as well.

My dream is so sometime invite them to church and hopefully have them become Christians because I care about them and I wish them to see the glory of God. When I get to know them much better than now, I will start edging towards talking about Christ and see what they thing about him. Here she is with me and Kerith on Daddy's Easter hunt.