I love Frederick. Everything is much easier here.
Vanda Yamkovenko was born in Siberia in 1956 and is Ukrainian. Her father was sent to Siberia, then part of the Soviet Union. Her mother, who was pregnant with Vanda, followed him. Vanda lived with her grandmother’s sister, who had been deported to Siberia when Stalin was in power.
From 1998 to 2005, Vanda made many job-related trips to the U.S. In 2017, she and her husband settled in Frederick to house-sit for her son, who left local employment to work for Facebook in California. While she had often visited the U.S. and is fluent in English, this transition was challenging.
Vanda is grateful that her son prepared a book of instructions to help her buy a phone, receive health care and find work. Her husband is an artist and exhibits at the Delaplaine Arts Center. Vanda is employed by the Asian American Center.