The past few weeks for the Lexington family of Callie and Jordan Northcutt have been like a Rotary Exchange Student on steroids.

That’s because the Northcutts and their three children have opened up their home to house displaced Ukrainian citizens Tetyana Slobodyanyuk and her 10-year-old son, Yaroslav.

Tetyana and Yaroslav ended up at the Northcutt front door via family connections.

Jordan told The Purcell Register that Callie’s brother has been to the Ukraine several times and Tetyana is one of the people there he made friends with.

When the first bomb hit Kiev, she fled and was invited to come to the U.S. until things settled down.

She spent a month with Callie’s brother in Dallas and then here for about a month.

“I was advised to come and stay with this nice family to spend time here and learn more about the United States,” she said.

She spoke impeccable English saying she started studying the language in kindergarten, tracked it all through school, at college and then at work.

The pair are working on acquiring immigration documents and plan to go to California with a friend after a side trip to Dallas.

She submitted her papers in Dallas so she has to go there to meet in person with immigration officials.

Tetyana said Oklahoma and Texas are not as immigration friendly as some other states.

“It’s difficult to find work here,”she said. “In Ukraine I was independent so I want to go to California and work.

“Besides the Northcutts have their own lives and family. It was nice of them to stop and share with us,” she said. “Ukraine has their polite people, too.

“But I need to stand on my feet,” she continued.

In Ukraine she was the press secretary for the Maritime Administration, sending out press releases, preparing briefs and communicating with journalists.

“All of my experience has been connected with marketing and public relations by Instagram.

“I helped our ex-prime minister with technical translation of English. To tell the truth, I’d like to be a free lancer. I would like to manage projects and be a branch manager connected with sales,” she said.

“I am searching for something creative. Otherwise, you go to an office from 8-5 and hate it. I’d do it for my son but I’m searching for something very creative.”

Tetyana reports she really enjoys helping people working with them,” she said. “I don’t have a psychology degree but I like working with people.

In the near future a friend will come to pick up the two displaced Ukrainians and travel to Dallas to get the ball rolling for the immigration documents they need. After that they will start making their way to California.

Slobodyanyuk was born in Odessa, Ukraine and for years was working in and around Kiev.

“You have an Odessa, Texas she said. “That’s a German community and was named after Odessa, Ukraine.”

Odessa, Ukraine is a seaport city on the Black Sea in the southern part of the country.

Russia’s war against Ukraine continues.