Making the Grade

When you log in to your electronic classroom and don't see the little plus sign icon (meaning you're alone in there, no one else logged on right now), why does that feel eerie and creepy just like walking into a dark classroom in a real college building???

Nonetheless, I have been known to sit in this dark, empty electronic classroom, with bated breath, waiting for the professor to pop in and upload grades, hitting the "refresh" button on my browser. Every five minutes. For days.

Last night, ChinaBoi was sitting with his laptop, logged in to RIT's e-services, hitting the button every 5 minutes on the grade sheet, trying to find out what his final exam grades and semester grades were.

Some things just span generations.

Like mother, like son...

The good news is that he made one A and all the rest B's.  I think that's pretty darn good for a kid who only had half as much schooling as his peers before leaving for college!  Yay, ChinaBoi!

Mohawk again?

That sure didn't take long.  Well, at least I had him normal for a little while.  They did warn us that things like hairstyles and piercings and clothing would make drastic changes once the kids were away from home, so I suspected the mohawk would return. 

I guess I just didn't expect to be quite so...ummm...BRIGHT.  

Open Letter to RIT

Dear RIT, 

I really wasn’t prepared for this day. I thought I would handle it fine, but I wasn’t prepared for the emotions that just broad-sided me. You see, I just handed over something really, really precious into your keeping--and I know you’re not going to give him back in the same condition you got him in. 

I know, that’s your job, but it still hurts. I really am losing him as he is right now.I had no idea when he first came to live with us how strong a bond could form in such a short time. How could he possibly develop as strong a bond as my other son had? It wasn’t like I had him since he was baby; he was already a teenager when I adopted him. We don’t look alike, we don’t even share the same first language, but that is still my son, and he is every bit as precious to me as the other one. 

I managed to hold back most of the tears until he couldn’t see me any longer, but they’re flowing freely now. Turning and walking away from him is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Not much on this earth I treasure as much as that boy (except the other one!), so I have literally left a huge portion of my heart in your hands. 

Please guard it well.

Home Sweet Home

Well, Charlie's home sweet home, for the next nine months or so, anyway...

Pinch me

Somebody needs to pinch me.  Here's the end result of our first day at RIT, and this now seems so surreal.  I can't believe I'm going to be leaving here without him.  I'm not ready for that one to sink in just yet. 

Engineer this!

So it's like this - the boy's car is stuffed to the gills and ready for the trip to New York...but there's no room for me or my one measly little suitcase.  

I told him he wants to be an engineer, gotta figure it out. 

He did eventually manage to squeeze me and my suitcase in there, but man it was a cramped ride from Maryland to New York! 

SECU Scholarship

 

SECU Maryland

That image says it all.  Well, almost...

ChinaBoi's grandmother was a Maryland State employee prior to retirement.  And since she is retired, she has donated a portion of her time to trying to find scholarships for both me and ChinaBoi. So, every once in a while, I find a link in my inbox to a scholarship for which she thinks one of us might qualify.  One of those links was from the credit union she was a member of when working for State.  

This one really worked out for ChinaBoi, because the "essay" could be submitted as a video.  So he practiced what he wanted to say and recorded himself on his iPad, and I gave myself a crash course in learning how to do closed-captioning.  A few weeks later, we got word that Charlie's video was one of the winners!  

They invited us to what turned out to be a beautiful ceremony at the SECU arena at Towson University, where they had a HUGE catered buffet.  Y'all do remember the hunger issues, right?  For ChinaBoi, it's all about the food...  

There were 13 winners, 10 of them written essays, and 3 of them videos.  Charlie won a $1,000 scholarship, and when he submits a follow-up video in September, they will provide ANOTHER $1,000. 

I have to say, I was really impressed with all that I learned during the ceremony about what SECU does to help students in Maryland.  One of OldestSon's chronic complaints about the educational system in Maryland is that he graduated with no financial literacy skills whatsoever.  SECU sees that issue as a problem and is really putting resources in place to combat that and provide students with education about student debt, entrepreneurship, and money management skills.  ChinaBoi has decided to open an account with them even though he has an account with another credit union. 

They gave each of the winners an oversized check to keep, and they showed the videos during the ceremony.  Charlie got a little choked up watching his video; they caught that moment on film--and put it into the video they made commemorating the scholarships.  When I asked him later what was going through his mind at that moment, he said he was thinking again about how awful life was as a deaf person in China, and how wonderful it was to be here in America where deaf people have the same opportunities as everyone else.  

Okay, I'll admit it.  I cried the rest of the way home. 

The Graduate

Can't believe this day has finally arrived.  Years of hard work went into getting to this point. 

The ceremony was great.  Each kid was able to say a few words after being handed the diploma and just prior to turning the tassel, and Charlie told how opportunity for the deaf in China was non-existent, but that here he really had the opportunity to do anything.  It was very touching.  

The thingies on the mortarboard, by the way, are karate kickers.  Each of the graduates decorated the cap in some way, so of course his had to be karate-related.

 

Charlie's the first one in the back row.

 

The Man in Black

The big night--Charlie's black belt test! He is so loved--not only did the family come out to cheer him on, but some of his deaf friends from school showed up, as well as his English teacher and his bus driver.  (He's had the same bus driver for 5 years now, and they're quite fond of each other!) 

It was a very entertaining evening, and he came out of it with his black belt.  In fact, all 5 of the brown belts testing for black passed, which made it a really good night, because they all know each other and train together for this goal, and if any one of them doesn't pass, it's a bit of a bummer for the others on an otherwise happy night.  Tonight the whole group passed, and each of them got a white zig-zag on their black belt (called a zebra) indicating that they are "provisional" black belts.  That means there is one section of the test that they have to repeat because the judges want to see some refinements in that area.  Charlie's provisional was in fighting.  He fought really well, but they want to see better control.  So, he will test again in August (right before leaving for college!) to try to get his provisional lifted to get rid of the zebra.  

It might have a white stripe, but the belt is BLACK!!!  Charlie is the first and only deaf black belt in Tompkins Karate Association. 

Congratulations, ChinaBoi.  I know this is a life-long dream of yours, and you've proven once again that DEAF CAN. 

Acceptance and then some...

Charlie finally accepted the advice of his IEP team and realized accounting would not be a good career field for someone who can't sit still for very long.  Once that realization set in, it wasn't such a big jump for him to decide that he should focus on getting admitted to RIT (again) rather than pursuing Gallaudet, since RIT is known for its technology majors. 

Today, Charlie got his acceptance packet from RIT/NTID.  He's been accepted and is hoping to major in electrical engineering.  Yes, I know that could change--he may well come out with a degree in computer science or whatever.  But the big point is:  CHINABOI IS GOING TO COLLEGE!!

There was an extra little tidbit of news in that packet as well:  He was awarded the President's Scholarship.  That's $10,000 divided over 4 years.  That's a thrill!

Now we've got to get busy applying for other scholarships, seeing what other help we can get.  He will have some support from Voc Rehab, but we don't yet know how much, but given how expensive RIT is, I know it won't fully cover it and we're going to have to come up with a good bit ourselves somehow.  

College-bound.  OMG.  My baby is going to college.  Far away.  I think I'm about to start hyperventilating...

Preliminary Report

Today was a big day--the black belt prelim. Charlie has to pass the prelim in order to be allowed to take the full black belt test in February, so tonight he had to give them a taste of what he's got. 

Since about October, ChinaBoi has been going to karate classes nearly 5 nights a week.  He has to go around visiting different instructors in different cities to get feedback, and he needed to get signatures on his candidacy papers from five of the judges who are on the black belt panel, which means they are 3rd degree black belts or higher. 

He got his five signatures in time, and two of them were from sixth-degree black belts, so he was happy going into the test. 

He passed the prelim, and I was told afterwards that the vote was unanimous in his favor.  So now he has one more month of grueling classes and preparation and nail-biting. 

C'mon February.  We're ready for the suspense to be over with!