Who Am I?
First time mother, student, busy and tired
Second oldest sibling of 5 sisters
Lover of children, nature and travelling
Who needs laughter, love and family
Who fears all insects, snakes and mice
Who would love to travel to Italy.
Who am I, you may ask?
Let me introduce myself! My name is Vera Hanks, I am 27 years of age and from Namibia, Africa, which, as I have mentioned in a previous post, is situated off of the South West Coast. Namibia is bordered by Angola, Botswana and South Africa, but I have only traveled to Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. Often when I converse with people in the United States, they think that I am either Swedish or German. Yet, when I inform them that I am from Africa, they are totally shocked.
Now, let me tell you how I ended up in the USA...
Lover of children, nature and travelling, but most important of all is CHILDREN! Growing up within a big family, having four sisters and one adopted brother, I have always had a love and passion to work with children. I am good with kids and believe that they are the most precious gift from our Heavenly Father. After completing High School, I decided to travel overseas to become a nanny and I left my familiar territory and family behind to set off on a new adventure at the age of eighteen years. I joined the agency known as Au Pair In America and they matched me with a family who resided in New Jersey. Being in an unfamiliar territory, all by myself, I had to learn and adjust to new customs, cultures and people. Culture shock is the only word that comes to mind - feeling like a chameleon on a smarty box (an expression used when you are overwhelmed with emotions). What are the odds; a family with 5 children is who I ended up with. My experiences made me who I am today and although I had some tough times (raising another family's children), it is my faith, family and determination what got me through.
Two years later, as my nanny contract came to an end, I met my husband who is from Oklahoma. He took me to my fist ever football game at the University of Oklahoma and it was at that point in time that I knew where I wanted to earn my degree. Fast forwarding a few years later to today, happily married and a first time mother who just had a baby in December 2016. At this point in time, I am enrolled in online classes and with only six credit hours to go before earning a BA in Communication. I love to travel, read, spend time with family and friends and try out new things. I am always up for a challenge and believe that anything is possible if one tries hard enough! My friends describe me as fun, outgoing, hard working and determined and my hobbies include reading, watching movies and cooking. Some interesting facts about me is that I lived in 7 different towns over the past 5 years, I am multilingual, I think and quite often overthink things which sometimes bother me, I hate bad jokes and I have had 3 knee surgeries since I was 17.
It is my dream to travel to Italy one day and explore all the different unique aspects of the culture that it has to offer, but for now, my focus is on my degree and my new born son.
Congratulations on your new baby! Also congratulations on only needing 6 more hours towards your degree, that is wonderful! It sounds like you ended up exactly where you were supposed to be by deciding to apply at the Au Pair in America program.
ReplyDeleteI think it is really awesome that you went overseas after graduating high school. That is very brave of you! i wish I had the courage to do something like that. Who would have thought you would end up in Oklahoma! I also would like to go somewhere in Europe and explore the different culture there. Also, congratulations on the new baby!
ReplyDeleteIt is very exciting to meet someone from Namibia in this class, Vera! In the Myth-Folklore class, I have one book of folktales from Namibia that I found to share with the class: From a Vanished German Colony: Folklore, Folktales and Proverbs from Southwest Africa. I wonder if you know any of those stories!
ReplyDeleteAnd what a great story of how you arrived in Oklahoma. Rama and Lakshmana set out on their adventure into the world at a young age... and you set out on your adventure on your own! And it sounds like your life experiences as a "citizen of the world" make Communication a perfect major.
Best of all: I'm always happy when parents take these classes because you can start collecting stories now to share with your son later on: you can never have too many stories, so if you start saving some now, you will have them ready when he starts asking the endless endless questions that children ask (as they should!). So, I hope you will enjoy the class, using it to keep on learning about the world, traveling in the imagination to India. :-)
Vera, your story is really awesome. Thats cool that you are from Nambia, I've only been to Uganda in Africa and got to work with some orphanages out there, I have always wanted to go back. I got to travel Italy earlier this month, and it was well worth it. Italy was an amazing country. My wife and I went to Rome, Manarola, and Florcence. Manarola and Florence were our favorites, but the history of Rome is hard to pass up. Congrats on your baby!
ReplyDeleteWow, what an incredible story. I see that you commented on my wall and said that you also lived in Plano for a while! What part where you in? And that's awesome that you were an Au Pair. Two summers ago I was in Switzerland and met these two best friends (college aged) who had spend the first half of their summer working as Au Pair (one in France and one in Italy), and after their contracts were up, they spent the money they had made traveling all around Europe. I also have a heart for traveling and reading. I hope you get to make it to Italy soon, it truly is so beautiful and it sounds like you would really enjoy the culture there.
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you Vera! You sound like you have had a really adventurous life so far! I would not have had the courage to go that far at eighteen! It is so cool that you are multilingual! What languages do you speak and did you learn them as a kid or an adult? I am a Spanish major and I have learned that it is a LOT harder to learn a second language as an adult because our minds just don't have the capacity to learn languages when they stop developing. I look forward to reading your stories this semester!
ReplyDeleteIt’s really nice to meet you Vera! I think it’s really cool that you moved here from Africa, and I can definitely sympathize with a desire to see the world. I think it’s awesome that you moved here to America to be a nanny so that you could. It must have been a really different experience, and it must have taken a while to acclimate to the American way of life. You really have a unique and amazing story!
ReplyDeleteHello Vera! It's nice to meet you and I absolutely love your introduction. It is awesome that you come from Africa and I totally understand the culture shock you faced because that also happened to me :] Nonetheless, your love for children is amazing. I have a sister, and she is 16 years younger than me and because of her, I want to become a pediatrist because I love children too! And oh! Congratulation on your baby boy!
ReplyDeleteHi Vera! It’s so cool that you are from South Africa. How is society and everything different in the States versus your hometown. I think it’s so admirable that you had the courage to come here all by yourself. And look at you now! You’re married, getting a college education, and had a baby! By the way, what is a smarty box? haha
ReplyDeleteVera, you have such a unique and inspiring story. I can’t even imagine going that far out of my comfort zone but I’m so glad it was all worth it. I was nanny for a family of 3 and loved every minute of it. Congratulations to and your husband on your new son and on almost graduating! Italy is someone I’ve never been but would love to go to. Nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteHi Vera! Nice to meet you. I am inspired by your experiences! What a woman of conviction you must be. I’m glad that you are so close to reaching your degree. This is a great accomplishment. I also am so warmed by your love of children. I worked in childcare for a while, and can definitely share the sentiment. Also, I’m glad that you posted a picture of yourself because you are absolutely gorgeous. I hope the best for you!
ReplyDeleteHi, Vera! It’s great to meet you! I think it’s amazing that you decided to go oversees and live your life here. It seems like your life is straight out of a storybook where the main character travels to another country, finds love, and lives happily ever after. On another note, Italy is one of my top countries on my travel bucket list, and I really do hope you go one day too!
ReplyDeleteHi Vera, so great to meet you! Oh my goodness, all I could think about while I was reading your intro was how busy you are!! Congratulations on your baby boy, that must be so amazing going from taking care of other people's children to having one of your own. You seem like an incredibly intelligent and cultured woman, and I admire the work that you do! You seem so passionate about it. Great to meet you
ReplyDeleteHi Vera, it is nice to meet you! I also grew up in a large family and love kids as well. I cannot wait to start a family of my own. I love nature too. My family would go on camping trips frequently and we would even "camp" in our backyard. I have only had one surgery on my hand, I broke two of my fingers playing basketball. It was nice to get to know you a bit and good luck this semester!
ReplyDeleteWow, Africa! That is so awesome! It must be very difficult for you to be so far away from your family. I am always envious of people that have been able to travel all over the world. You are so close to getting your degree! Congratulations! Italy is a beautiful country, and I hope that one day you get to go and enjoy the culture, food, and scenery. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe poem at the beginning of your introduction was already interesting enough, but your life story so far is downright awesome. It’s really impressive that you left so much of your life behind to follow your passion to a new country, and also really inspiring. I’m glad to see it’s paid off for you! Congrats on your new baby and on your upcoming graduation, and I hope you get to see Italy with your family!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your baby! I thought living with 3 sisters was an accomplishment. That's awesome that you have a large family. I thought it was always a nice feeling having all of my siblings together, nothing beats it. Glad you came to OU! It is a great school and hopefully you get everything you can during your time here. Good luck with the rest of your semester!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have been through some real life out there. Good job at allowing yourself to see it as a life lesson learned. Going through tough stuff is the fastest way to learn. Welcome to Oklahoma! I have had several friends from South Africa, Ill bet you did have a bit of a culture shock. Moving from anywhere to New Jersey would cause a pretty major culture shock.
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