Chapter 25: Ukraine

A 10-year old boy from Ukraine, Denny came to the U.S. with his mom under the auspices of an America–Ukrainian project. Denny was quite a sociable kid and he loved Americans and their culture at once. His mom was happy to see his shining eyes and his constant desire to socialize with American children. He loved school and kept telling his mom that American kids were kind and very welcoming. After school he would go outside and watch a bunch of kids playing football, but he never played himself, which was quite strange because he loved sports. When his mom asked Denny why he was not playing, he replied that those kids did not want to play with him because they never invited him to play. Fortunately, Denny’s mom was more knowledgeable about American culture and knew that, unlike in Ukraine, he had to express his desire to play the game first. Following his mom’s advice, Denny asked the group if he could play with them. He was very excited to hear “Sure!” After that he was never just watching the game, but he was playing it with everyone else.