four years ago, she joined the direct sales firm mary kay cosmetics.hin months, she'd worked her way up to the coveted pink cadillac. >> i travel in albany, buffalo. it's really hard, but now i love to live here. >> reporter: ok, so we get why refugees for utica, but why utica for refugees? >> utica was close to syracuse, and tom cruise is from syracuse, so i thought i was going to see tom cruise. >> reporter: sadly, for bosnian refugee ibrahim rosic, no cruise, happily, the mohawk valley resource center. >> we receive $1,125 federal to be spent on behalf of each arriving refugee. >> reporter: with those dollars, says executive director shelly callahan, the refugee center rents an apartment, furnishes it, gets the utilities turned on, and starts teaching the basics. >> so, it's how to lock your door, how to work the stove, the thermostat, the plumbing. >> reporter: there are also english lessons. >> is somebody sitting to the left of you? >> left? >> yes. >> right? >> left, right. >> you have got to shop around. >> reporter: introductions to strange ne