One day the girl’s mother brought two fabrics: cotton and lace. Her mother told her that it is for the girl and they went to their neighbour, who was a good seamstress, to sew a blouse for her. The neighbour lady took her measurements and kept chatting non-stop to the girl's mother… After some days, the girl and the mother went to try it on. The neighbour finished sewing the blouse. The girl tried it on, but it did not feel comfortable. It was pretty itchy and the collar of the blouse was too high. The girl wanted to have an open neck blouse because she was not comfortable with the high neck blouse. But her mother and the neighbour decided that the collar was stylish and classy. The girl liked the blouse in general except the collar, as it was tailored specially for her. It was made from a very nice cotton fabric and lace and the girl liked the idea of looking stylish in that blouse.
Over the next few days, new things magically appeared: skirt, white blouse, and white ribbons. What was going on? The girl’s mother did not say anything but dressed the girl in all new clothes and they walked out of the home together. They went to a bus stop and took the only bus which went to the city center. From there they first crossed the train tracks, then walked through the park. The journey seemed very far and tiring. Her mother did not hold her hand. The girl was trailing behind.
They finally arrived. The girl found herself standing in the corridor. She was covering her ears, because it was so noisy, and big and tall Russian boys were running around boisterously. She was afraid of being run over by these running big boys. The girl felt small and uncomfortable. She was then led to the room full of little kids. Three girls sitting at one desk. She did not know their names and was too shy to ask them. It was hot, crowded, and stuffy. She was thirsty, but she did not know if she could ask anyone for water. She did not know what was happening around her. She wished someone explained it to her.
She did not go to preschool because she was shy. She was shy to ask the names of the girls sitting next to her. It was chaotic and noisy. It was noisy, very noisy…