This is a quick update for everybody who’s been following the progress of Diane101’s young friend Diva from Baghdad to the University of Kansas. What a trip!
You already know how kind and helpful ManEegee was to Diva when she and her fellow Fulbright scholars went there for a week of orientation. She thinks he is the greatest, which is no surprise to us.
You might say that Diane handed her off to ManEegee, who then handed her off to me when I picked her up at the Kansas City airport this past Saturday night. I drove her to Lawrence and got her installed in a dorm room provided for her until her own studio apartment is ready. The minute I saw her I liked her, as Diane and ManEe had told me I would. She is delightful. She speaks English like a native–okay, better than a lot of natives, and she’s also fluent in Italian. She’s vivacious, articulate, and beautiful, and so so grateful for all the help.
She fended for herself through Sunday and Monday, making friends and going through a lot of orientation. Today I drove back to Lawrence, this time taking with me a friend who used to live there and who knows the town and university much better than I do. My friend, Andie, was wonderful today! She directed us where we needed to go, nabbed the right people to ask the right questions, and just generally was helpful in ways I could never have been. We worked on getting Diva a cell phone, took her to see her apartment (it’s cute and she likes it) and to get the leasing paperwork finished, and we got info on bus passes, etc. We got a lot done, but there’s still a lot to do. We felt sorry for all the foreign students who didn’t have us!! Or, rather, I felt sorry for all of them who didn’t have Andie.
Her first few days have been tough–confusing, exhausting, HOT. She misses her mom. It’s just hard in so many ways, but she’s a fighter and an amazing person and she’s coping. As Andie said to her just before we left her today, “This week will probably be the hardest week you ever have in this country. After this week, everything will start to get easier.”
I’ll go up Thursday to get her moved into the apartment and we’ll go shopping for cool stuff. A friend of mine sent $100 to help with that, and another friend sent $25. Andie is giving her a small microwave and probably a tv.
Two amazing bits of synchronicity happened today that I just loved. We were standing in the cell phone shop in the student union when my son walked in! Totally unplanned. So they got to meet, which made me happy. And then guess what? It turns out Diva will live right across the street from him! Can you believe that? In this big campus, with so much different housing, the house he will be living in with his friends turns out to be across the street and just down a bit from Diva’s apartment. Six degrees. . .
SHE NEEDS A COMPUTER! Fulbright gives her a $500 stipend to buy one, but we all know that’s not enough. She needs a laptop that can do photoshop, because she’ll be studying photography along with American studies. We’ll work on getting her one from this end, but if any of you can help, please jump right in. You can email me at Nanpickard at kc.rr.com
So, that’s the news from sunny Kansas, where we all love Diva.
Oh good, thanks for this update, kansas. I was worried sick about her after reading her latest email. I’m glad she was able to check out the apartment complex and finalize the paperwork.
I can’t tell you how happy I am that you and others are there on the ground to help her out with the little things. They add up and can be overwhelming. I had a hard transition moving to a city by myself so can barely wrap my head around what she’s experiencing. Thanks for being a friend to her and an ambassador for the site.
ManE, if it makes you feel any better about your alma mater, apparently it’s been worse here!
None of us can believe how these foreign students are left to fend in so many ways. I suppose in one way it’s good, because they have to cope. But it’s way too much like throwing them in the deep end and yelling, “Swim!” in my opinion. Today Andie said she observed a lot of them who looked as if hey were barely afloat. She wanted to stop and help each one of them. Letters Will Be Written!
Last night, my mother was saying, “Think how it would be for us if we landed in Baghdad and had to do all the things she’s having to do, and all at once.”
ME, you were so sweet to her. She’s so appreciative.
an honor to be able to help her out. I’m afraid your news about the situation being worse than UA makes me cringe, you betcha that letters will be written. I think your analogy with the swimming pool is apt, only they’re also weighed down by the legs with the inability to work. I really can’t believe how unhelpful the “system” has been for them.
As for the fundraising, I’ll shoot you an email so I can get an address to send some help over to you.
Ambassadors Kansas and Manny!!! Hip hip hooray!
Oh Kansas, thank you a thousand times for writing this and as always I had some tears welling up, tears of happiness that is.
You all can’t believe the number of emails flowing from Nancy to me to Diva, to instant messaging, to phone calls and attempted phone calls and so when Manee was handling his leg of this saga.
Last night Nancy and I both sent her to a payphone to call us, well neither of us could hear Diva, we tried to call the number back and it was one way calling, meanwhile Diva was going back and forth to computer to phone to tell me to call the number that wouldn’t answer.
Diva is so amazed at all the attention and help and reports her fellow students are so jealous that she has an actual American to help her and it makes me want to do the same for all of them. That’s impossible for now, however I am putting it in the hopper for the future of the Compassion in Action Team. One way that citizens can show people from other parts of the world just how kind and generous we the people are.
As I think I said before she thinks there should be a Booman Tribune in Iraq and maybe the people there would become more compassionate and have some empathy for each other.
Thanks again to you Nancy, Manee, and all the others who have helped and offered to help. It means the world to me and I know it means even more than that to Diva.
Oh btw Nancy, I was thinking one of the things she could really use is a shopping cart, the fold up kind they sell in grocery stores so that she can bring things home easier if she is walking.
Love and hugs to all.
I think Andie and I embarrass her a little, Diane, lol, because we keep introducing her as a Fulbright scholar from Baghdad. I even introduced her as such to a tollbooth operator and a convenience store clerk! But as we tell her, that gets us instant attention and a lot of sympathy and help for her. Plus, I think it’s really good when Americans get to see a real live person from Iraq.
I agree with you and I would be doing the same thing.
What a great safety net she has!
FWIW – we just bought my niece a refurbished Gateway MX6124 with more than enough capabilities to do photoshop and other multimedia apps. It was $500 at Tiger Direct. Do they have one in Lawrence? It’s worth a trip if it’s not too far.
Tiger Direct is one I was going to suggest too and you can order from it online and have delivered.
Wow, what a great deal, and I had never even heard of it before. Thanks so much for that tip. I’ll find out, SN.
You must know this old softie has tears welling up and spilling over. Manny, Kansas, Diane, and the unknown, as yet, angel Andie. . .you are what makes me so proud of this community, and yes this Nation. Awesome what you all have done and continue to do.
I cannot imagine how these students are supposed to make their way here without just totally losing it in confusion and frustration. Certainly their chances are not very good without the type of help you all have provided and will continue to provide.
Bless you each for your big caring hearts and your willingness to follow through. It is rather easy to say we will help, but it is another thing altogether to actually step up and do it.
Let me second or third the choice of Tiger Direct for the computer. They have some fabulous deals on brand new and refurbished computers. They are great people to do business with and their shipping is amazingly fast. I live out here in the boonies where no one can get anything to me next day, but Tiger Direct can. They stand behind their products and have lots of free techinical help on line about all of their products. Can’t say enough good about this company.
Thanks you, all of you CIA Angels! I am so proud to be on the planet with you. You are making BMT and USA look mighty good. . .just being who you are and doing from the heart what you choose to do.
Blessings, Hugs and much love to you
Shirl
ANY ONE THAT IS ABLE AND WISHES TO DONATE TO HELP OUR IRAQI FRIEND, CONTACT KANSAS. IF YOU ARE A PAYPAL SUBSCRIBER, YOU CAN SEND MONEY CONTRIBUTIONS DIRECT THROUGH PAYPAL OVER THE INTERNET TO NANCY’S EMAIL ADDRESS. OR IF SHE HAS SOME OTHER METHOD SHE PREFERS, I AM SURE SHE WILL LET YOU KNOW
Thanks everyone for whatever you are able or willing to do. ~ Big hugs, Shirl
to have all these magnificent guardian angels looking after her.Kansas and Andi picking up right where Diane and then Manny left off. Gives an ol broad like me hope and faith in humankind again. Please let me know what she needs and I will mail out to Kansas or Diva directly if that works better. I have many extra quilts, towels etc, also items tenants leave behind that I can go through.
Many hugs to all of you!
I’ll address some stuff here. . .
I don’t know anything about PayPal, so if anybody wants to send it that way, you’ll have to educate me. I’m happy to take checks, which you can email me and I’ll send you my address. Diva has obtained her own bank account–all on her own–but for now it’s probably easier to send it to me, I’ll cash it for her, and give her the $. You’ll get a personal thank you from her if you don’t mind that she knows who you are.
Aloha, that is an amazing offer, you sweetie. I think the best thing would be for you and Diva to email each other at some point so you can tell her what you have and she can tell you what she still needs. Would that be okay? Because she’ll need a lot of housekeeping stuff right away, I’ll go ahead and help her buy it, or I’ll get it for her some other way, but you may have things we won’t think of, or still need.
ManEe,you are just a dear.
Diane, cross your fingers that the cell phone arrangements we started today actually bear fruit. We had to leave her before it was complete, which made us both nervous. But, like everything else, eventually it will all work out.
She just called on her new cell phone!
I hope they set her up for international calling otherwise she is going to have a bad day when the bill arrives…
I can’t say enough good things about the T-Mobile service today. It took a long time because they were overloaded, but the young woman who helped us was great. She stayed with it literally for hours. (I’ve always had great service from T-Mobile, btw.) Diva gets free minutes after 9 p.m., and the T-Mobile girl advised getting international calling cards. Andie promptly went out, cornered a Friendly Nerd, and together they found the best and cheapest card for Diva to buy. She has already talked to and text-messaged her mom in Baghdad. Text messages will be 35 cents each.
That makes my heart smile in countless ways. I’m glad they worked with her. 🙂 🙂 🙂
The hard part was that Dena had to verify her Fulbright status. That saved her from having to pay a huge deposit. And those papers were what had to be faxed, etc., and which required phone calls back and forth until all was approved.
Diva, I mean.
You may want to google 3U Telecom..a person can call wan international number with their cell phone..by using 3U’s dial around number. You will use cell minutes to connect to the 1-800 number, but the per minute rate from 3U is usually very hard to beat.
Thanks afl! We’ll check it out.
Do you know anything about a calling card called Da Bomb? Diva said that’s the one the foreign students in Tucson recommended.
PayPal is easy. I have used it for many, many years. They send you an email notice that you have money waiting for you. Then you would need to click the link they provide. You do have to give them bank info as they deposit it directly to your bank account. If you are uneasy about that, then Continue to use the direct to your address method you are using now. As I said, after 10 or so years dealing with them, I have never had a problem or a concern about the transactions. Everything has always been exactly as described in their info.
Only thing to be aware of is to NEVER respond to an email saying it is from PayPal and there is a problem with your account or you need to update or saying someone has signed on to your account, etc and clicking on the link they give there. There are phonies and scammers that try to get your PayPal info. Always go directly to the PayPal website http://www.PayPal.com, from your search engine to do any business with them at all. Not wanting to scare you, but one does need to be aware.
Anyway, however you choose to handle it, will be just fine, and if the mailing to you is working well, then just go for it.
Hugs
Shirl
That sounds easy. Thanks a lot, shirl. I appreciate it.
I have had many an email from people purporting to be PayPal, claiming I had trouble on my (non-existent) account. 🙂
Sure we can email. Please give Diva my email and we can go from there. I can tell her what I have etc.
alohaleezy at sbcglobal dot net
That’s great. I just sent her your email.
She’s going to need some things right away that you won’t have to send her. Bed linens, for instance, so she has some to sleep on right away. I’ll get those for her tomorrow when we go shopping.
Kansas I wonder if your son knows about, or is part of the Freecycle network in Lawrence. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lawrencefreecycle/ It’s a great way to get all kinds of stuff for a new apartment though it involves a lot of meeting and dealing with strangers so participants must of course be careful about where and who they meet (so it might not be good for a new person in the country like Diva on her own at first.) People give away kitchen stuff and furniture all the time on freecycle.
I’ll ask him, lil, thanks.
I just got off the phone with Diva who was on her way out to do something American with some German students she has met….they are very excited to go to some restaurant nearby.
Diva said today was awesome and Nancy and friend were fabulous, she just couldn’t believe it. She loves her apt. and can’t wait to settle in. When I talk to her again, apres the outing, I will ask her some questions about what she will need there, to answer Ahoha’s questions above, I know for sure she will need sheets and blankets, she says she has towels, but I figure how many could she carry with her.
So I think she has brightened considerably since first arriving at the ‘green and flat’ place she first described. Don’t know if I said this before, but I looked at some aerial views of the campus online and it looks beautiful to me.
Everything seems to be working out well and I couldn’t be happier.
Green and flat? Kansas? 🙂
I wonder what size clothes she wears. My daughter left tons of clothes here that she doesn’t want anymore. Mostly size 6.
She’s tiny. I’m guessing a 2, if that, but I’ll ask her, unless you want to, Diane?
Lawrence is a bit of a surprise. Hills! Many big hills. Built on a river.
Actually, now that I checked, most of them are 4s or XS.
Oh, that makes me so happy to know she’s going out to have some fun with some other “kids.”
And more good news: Andie is definitely giving her a tv, which I will deliver, along with the microwave and other stuff on Thursday. I don’t think Diva even knows about the tv yet. How could she survive without watching Grey’s Anatomy? 🙂
You’re not going to introduce her to Gilmore Girls are you? 😉
Bwahahaha.
You’re eeevil. She couldn’t possibly keep up with the abnormally fast dialogue.
Ha! As Diane and ManE can attest, Diva can keep up with anybody!
Maybe I meant to say I can’t keep up with the dialogue. I have very slow ears.
lol. Slow Ear Syndrome.
“Say what?”
You know she has been watching american tv shows for awhile now and friends, oprah (a big favorite), american idol and csi type shows are her favorites. Don’t know if she’s watched Grey’s Anatomy yet and my favorite Boston Legal. I guess a lot of her ideas about america came from those shows.
I asked her about clothes the other day and she said she was fine and I said well do you have warm clothes for winter and she said winter, does it get cold here and I said, I think it get fairly cold there. Anyway I think she would like clothes, you may have to just send them and she could also pass them around to others (fullbright) if they didn’t suit her. This is in answer to SN downthread.
Let me go through my daughter’s things and see what she’s got for fall and winter. I’ll let you know and then get her address if there’s usable stuff. She’s got nice things, her taste just changed, that’s all. Lots of Old Navy, Gap etc.
Very cool SN, you know I think she would like to have some “American” styles too, even tho I know most things aren’t made here, but well….. you know.
What a good idea, to pass around any clothes she can’t use.
It gets very cold here and we get snow and ice. Even with global warming, we’ll have very cold spells. She needs to be prepared for subzero now and then. Boots, socks, gloves, hat, scarf, the whole schmear. Plus, it’s esp. cold at KU because its on top of HILLS. And there’s the river. It’s humid/hot now. . .consider what all that humidity means in January.
P.S. I love Boston Legal.