ML and Ukrainian Women.

[ML]

    Is it Orlando airport?

No.

But, as you previously wrote to me . . . if I told you, I would have to kill you.   

[ML]

Would she have died the minute she walked outside the terminal? 

OMG . . . now you have me very worried about letting her go back to university . . . or anywhere outside my sight.  Why did you have to use the 'died' word???!!!!   

You should put a chip in her so you can track her by phone.

Thanks for this suggestion.  I am going to check into it.  I hope I can have it implanted without her knowledge, so that she won't have cause to try to evade location detection for some nefarious reason.

[LiveFromUkraine]

ML, you need some of these drones.





Also, make sure to completely wrap her up in bubble wrap.  You can never be too safe.  Tell her it is a new European style that is all the rage.

[LAman]

Don't understand your surprise, etc., concerning 3rd time.
The point about third time was that we had already done this twice without problems, so I was quite surprised at her actions and words this third time around.

And, the baggage carousel area IS the area that everyone from flights are first in contact with anyone not on flights.  Those waiting  for someone cannot get to any areas closer.

 

My bad....airports must be all different...I know for sure in LAX you cannot get anywhere near where luggage carousel is, in fact, all you can see is people turning a corner in an entry way and coming down a ramp!!!

I was 'wrapped up in knowing exactly where she was' SIMPLY BECAUSE I CARE VERY MUCH FOR HER SAFETY, and it seemed like she had somehow gotten outside the terminal when I was inside.

GEEZ . . . this is taking care of  your woman 101.

Ahuh!!!! Slip of the tongue??? Your women???? Now it is finally coming out!!!!! Hey, I even fixed your responce!!!  Time to make up for lost time ML!!! Have fun!!
 

[Faux Pas]

My bad....airports must be all different...I know for sure in LAX you cannot get anywhere near where luggage carousel is, in fact, all you can see is people turning a corner in an entry way and coming down a ramp!!!Ahuh!!!! Slip of the tongue??? Your women???? Now it is finally coming out!!!!! Hey, I even fixed your responce!!!  Time to make up for lost time ML!!! Have fun!!

It's not at all unusual in many airport international terminals to have to collect a checked bag and re-check it before going through customs. From my experience anyway

[LAman]

It's not at all unusual in many airport international terminals to have to collect a checked bag and re-check it before going through customs. From my experience anyway

Your are right FP, except ,for me, it is so I can catch a connecting flight for home.

[Faux Pas]

Your are right FP, except ,for me, it is so I can catch a connecting flight for home.

Different airports do have different requirements, jus sayin

[ML]

Last evening I was mentioning to Ochka how some here had mentioned 'reverse culture shock.'  i.e. when the FSU person goes back  to FSU after having lived in west for a while.

She readily replied:  OMG the drivers in Ukraine; they are so reckless that I was afraid all the time when on the streets or highways.

First time she took mini bus from Kyiv center to her parent's home about one and half hours away, she sat at very front of bus.

But, when she saw how the other cars cut in front of the bus without warning, and she could see them constantly weaving in and out of the lanes to try to gain a small advantage . . .  she never sat in front  again.  Rather sat farther back and read or looked at the fields, etc.

A relative of hers was a former macho Ukrainian driver.  He has lived in Canada now for 12 years and was visiting back in Ukraine at the same time as her.  He vowed he would never drive again in Ukraine.  But, of course, they all still have to ride on the roads and be subject to the crazy drivers.

Second, she mentioned the poor level of service and unfriendly people in the shops, markets, etc.

Just before she went back to Ukraine, we were at our local supermarket.  We couldn't find an  item that  we wanted, so I looked around for a person stocking  shelves.  I asked her and she said she would go to back to look for it.  Ochka was amazed, saying  they would never do that in Ukraine.  She was even more amazed when the woman came back with the manager of that area who said he would call another local store to see if they had it and have it sent there in the afternoon.  Otherwise he would call warehouse and have  it the next day.

Ochka has the bulk of her proceeds from life insurance policy in financial institution in Belgium.  But she likes to have a few thousand in bank in Ukraine for spending when she is back there.

So she took $2,500 with her, and still had $2,000 a day before coming back.  She heard of a bank that would pay the highest interest rate for USD, but required minimum $2,000.

We had gone to bank here and gotten her 'perfect' 100 dollar bills.
But, when she went to open the account,  they found a small tear at the crease of one of them (about as long as the width of a pencil lead), and refused to take it.  She didn't have time to go back to relatives to try to find if someone had another 100 dollar bill.   This bank even had the gall to suggest she go to another bank to attempt to exchange it.  She went ahead and opened the account with $1,900 and is earning a lower interest rate for the coming year.  She is still highly ticked about this.

There was a third thing she mentioned, but I can't remember now, and she is gone grocery  shopping.

[ML]

Can anyone top this?

Ochka is addicted to ice cream and suggests it after every dinner out on the town.

She even likes McDonalds and suggests it even after a $100 meal.
And, she just recently shifted to the small cone from a sundae after reading  the posting regarding calories.  The chocolate or caramel on the sundae almost double the calories.

Anyway, last night we were at a McDonalds and sitting eating our monthly special 49 cent cones.  There were only maybe 5-6 customers in the entire place and 2 gals and a guy working behind the counter.

A 18-20 year old couple came in.  The girl was very slender, but a little trashy looking, the guy not so trashy looking.

The guy came over and sat not too far from us, and the gal was at the soda dispenser.

A porky gal (20-22) behind the counter yelled over to the slender gal (they obviously knew each other) and said: 

Could you go out to my car and get me a tampon?

My eyes widened and Ochka said, what's the matter?

I said: did you hear what that porky gal said?

Ochka said:  Something about a coupon I think.

I said:  No, she spoke about a tampon.

Ochka:  Probably not.

We returned to our cones but, I just happened to look out and see the slender girl coming around a car and putting something slender and white into her jeans pocket.  Couldn't be sure what it was but, I relayed this on to Ochka who was now looking pretty incredulous about this.

Now, we watched as the slender girl came in and walked across toward the counter; the porky gal came out from behind the counter; and the slender girl handed her a tampon.

So we have gone to this being unmentionable even to husbands, to mention on radio but not TV, to TV advertisements . . .

to yelling about it in a public place!           

[Faux Pas]

So, how'd that ice cream cone suddenly taste? 

[LAman]

So, how'd that ice cream cone suddenly taste? 

Guess you get what you for.......cheap places breeds trashy talk..... I wonder what you would find in trailer parks?

[calmissile]

It's one way for a gal to ensure no one will be hitting on her tonight.   LOL

[ML]

After sex, women like to reward me with an appropriate meal.

One time, the woman made Minute rice and Quick chocolate drink.

[GQBlues]

...A porky gal (20-22) behind the counter yelled over to the slender gal (they obviously knew each other) and said:...

Nope. I don't believe the story. Sorry.

Overweight persons are not hired by McDonald's for the obvious reason.

As of present time, the US discrimination Law doesn't prohibit discriminating against fat overweight people.   

http://www.sec.gov/eeoinfo/antidiscrimination.htm

[ML]

Funny how things change.

Ochka was just telling me this at breakfast.

When she arrived two years ago, her parents did not have a computer or the internet at their home in a small city about an hour and a half outside of Kyiv.

They talked on the phone once a week or so, and her parents told her to not spend more than a few minutes on the phone because it was too expensive for her.

Ochka kept telling that they should get internet and she would buy a computer for them.

No, no . . . we don't want it, it is not necessary (yes, they were afraid of something new), we can just talk on phone once in a while.

Now . . . currently.

They have a computer, they have internet, and they have Skype.

It is almost a daily talk at 7 AM here and 2 PM  there.

And complaints from them if Ochka is not there promptly at 7 AM (remember previously that once a week was what they said it should be on phone)

and now complaints if the video is not clear from time to time!!

Quite funny when viewed in perspective and over time.

[ML]

Ochka back to University.  For her Graduate Teaching Assistantship, she is assigned to work in Math Lab this semester, plus maybe still do some grading like last two semesters.  Assignments may change substantially as the week progresses; so they say.

In Math Lab, students can log into homework assignments and/or extra practice problems,  do some steps, find out if correct, move to next part of the problem,  etc. (as I understand it).

GTA's are there to provide help if students get 'stuck' at a particular point.  Don't know what all classes are covered, but first two semesters of calculus for sure.

Ochka was a study hall helper a little bit last year and she enjoyed that more than grading.  So she is pretty hyped to get started in the Math Lab.  But . . . we shall see, as it actually unfolds.

I actually am not too happy with the lab assignment, because it puts her on a strict schedule with no flexibility.  With grading, she could work on it whenever, just as long as it was done 2 days (or more) hence.

[ML]

Great news here on the home-front.

In addition to all required and elective coursework, and B or above grades in all, students must pass comprehensive exams in two of 4 subject areas to obtain masters degree at the university.  Areas are Real Analysis (which I have said is unreal), Abstract Algebra (which is a gross understatement), Differential Equations, and Topology.

These exams are given only twice a year:  at beginning of Fall Semester and end of Spring Semester.

There are 3 possible grades:  Fail, Pass at Masters level, Pass at PhD entry level.

Ochka was not able to get started in the Topology or Differential sequence the first semester last year (classes at very screwy times), so she followed the Real Analysis and Abstract Algebra sequence the first two semesters.  (She is doing the Topology and Diff Eq sequences this second year).  Unfortunately, she found out from other students (halfway through first year) that the Real Analysis and Abstract Algebra comprehensive exams had much higher failure rates than the other two areas!!   

I advised her to try the comprehensive exams at end of Spring 2013; but she was simply not ready as she found out that there were often questions on the exams that were not even covered in the first year coursework.  As grad students, they were expected to know more than just what is in a given course or a given textbook.

Waiting until Spring 2014 was a risky option,  since a failure at that point would run her up to the expiration of her student visa.  Students can repeat the tests only once.  So the decision was made to try the exams at beginning of Fall 2013 . . . which is now.

This meant studying the entire summer on her own, covering new material on her own.  The University does make freely available the past exams.  However, with theoretical math (no numbers, only theorems, proofs, etc.), it is only necessary to change one slight input . . . and it is a 'whole new ballgame.'

So the summer was ruined with respect to any travel within the USA, etc., and it was very stressful  for both of us.

And, when Ochka finally did take the exams last week (one Tuesday and one Wednesday), she was in breakdown mode.  After the first one, Real Analysis, she  came home and told me that she totally failed it (this was her opinion.)  She went on and on about how she knew she made errors in every question, one question should not even have been there because it was from Advanced Calculus, etc.

So she hoped she could at least pass the next one in Abstract Algebra (if students pass one, they get to keep it, and only need to pass the second one the next time they try).  But she had actually spent almost the entire previous  week studying Real Analysis because she said it was the most difficult for her, and now was basically just  doing a very brief overview of Abstract Algebra the night and morning before that exam.

Then, the day of this second exam, she called me from school and was just totally shaking all over.  Said she had gotten sick while driving to school (which seemed to be an exhaustion type of sick), was still nauseous, had absolutely nothing in her head, was very afraid and was thinking of not taking the exam.  I encouraged her to at least try, but told her I would not feel bad toward her if she chose otherwise.

I was really sick in the stomach myself after her call.

Anyway, she arrived back home with a slight smile on her face.

I said:  What the he!! happened; how  the turn-around?

She said that a half hour or so before the exam began, she started to feel much better, and was not nervous at all  during  the 3 hour exam.  She even thought she might have barely passed the exam at the lower masters level.

But she was still sure that she had completely failed the Real Analysis exam.

A check with continuing students revealed that it generally  took two weeks to get the results; so we weren't expecting anything for quite a while.

But today, I was checking her email account with  the math department (she has 4 various email accounts and wants me to check them all and delete the crap, etc. as she doesn't really like to mess with email and doesn't have time for it); and I saw a message from Director of Graduate Studies with subj:  Results of comprehensive exams.

I was really afraid to open it . . . given her thoughts about the results . . . but had to do it.

"Congratulations on your excellent performance.  You passed both exams at the PhD level."

I thought 'what the sheeeeet.'   Ochka is always thinking she did worse than is revealed later . . . but she was absolutely certain about failing the one and hoped she might get a masters pass on the second.

I didn't call her and tell her this news, because I thought she might have a wreck on the way home from the hyper.

After she  got home, I  even waited while she told of her daily routine as she likes to do each day.

Then I said, come in here, (to my computer) there is something I want you to see.

She never expected to see the message, as we were thinking it would come  next week some time.

When I showed her the unopened message, she said:  I don't want to open it.

So I open it,  and had to almost force her to look at it.

She  started reading . . . and then started screaming.  "It is impossible!!"

Then she started laughing, then cried, then jumped up and down, then hugged me, then laughed  and cried some more, etc., etc.

For the next half hour this routine kept repeating and she kept saying 'how can it be,  I know I made many mistakes, etc.'

Anyway, I took her out to dinner . . . and we discussed what this meant for her  future.

First and foremost, it means she has lifted a 2 ton anvil from above her head.  All she needs to do now to receive her Masters Degree is to get B's in all coursework this semester and next semester; and she has already gotten A's in all previous coursework.

I am really hoping that she will be much more joyful and carefree for the next 7 months or so, although I know she will still study a lot.

Second, it means she has a free pass into the PhD program if she wants to pursue that avenue.  She will have to return to Ukraine this summer and apply for a second student visa.  If she gets it, it will be for 5 years, which is what they give Doctoral students.

Those whose student visas expire (as her's will early next summer), can actually stay in the USA on the expired visa . . . as long as they are enrolled in a program of study.  However, they cannot leave the USA (if they want to return) because they cannot be admitted back into USA on an expired visa.

So there is some risk involved in even going back to Ukraine  this summer and apply for the second student visa.  Although she would seem to be a shoo-in to get it . . . one can never count on this 100%.

Anyway, quite an unbelievable turn around situation in our household. 

Not that I didn't believe she could do it;  I was just going on what she had truly felt about how she had performed.  She is mostly always too pessimistic about exam results, but this time she was really convinced and, of course, had convinced me.


No, No . . . not all FSUW are highly intelligent.

But, of course, some are.

[Anotherkiwi]

Many congratulations to Ochka!     May whatever she wants or needs in the way of visas come to pass. 

[BillyB]

 

passed both exams at the PhD level."

Grats to Ochka! My wife has a tendency to underestimate herself too in college. As long as they work harder than their fellow students, they'll be ok.
 

This meant studying the entire summer......

So the summer was ruined with respect to any travel within the USA, etc., and it was very stressful  for both of us.

You both made the right choice.
 
 

[Boethius]

Please pass on my congratulations to Ochka.   That is an incredible achievement.  Now, you can marry her, with the knowledge that, in your dotage, she will be able to support on a generous professor's salary.

[Gator]

Ochka 
 
I believe VWRW's academic achievements are similar, or getting there. 
 

[ML]

Thanks to all for the congratulatory comments.

Lest some be mislead, let me repeat that Ochka's grade on each of the two exams was 'Pass at PhD entry level.'

This is requirement to get admitted into PhD program, and a loooonnnngggg way from attaining a PhD.

Actually, at this University, they do admit some PhD students 'provisionally,' and give them a year to pass these exams at the PhD Entry  level.  And, as Ochka is finding out, some of these provisional PhD students did not attain the needed pass grade.  As far as she knows, she is the only student (masters or PhD) who passed two exams at the PhD Entry level. 

Several passed at the Master's level, which is OK for those who will stop at Masters Degree, but not OK for those who wish to continue in PhD program.

[calmissile]

Congrats to Ochka for her achievements and to you for your support to her as well.

[The Natural]

Congratulations to you and your wife. It sure is great when you succeed in life, isn't it? And still, many people in here underestimate the abilities of our friends from the east 

[ML]

Congratulations to you and your wife. It sure is great when you succeed in life, isn't it? And still, many people in here underestimate the abilities of our friends from the east 

Thanks a lot, but, she and I are not married.

Even better . . . we are best friends.