“It was five or six am–like early in the morning. She called, saying ‘the war has started.’ I asked myself ‘okay, what am I going to do?’ I was very calm. I didn't panic. I quickly decided to withdraw money from an ATM since I didn’t have any cash at all. Everything that I had was on my card. There were a lot of people in line–like 30 other people standing in line at one machine. Everybody was in a hurry and were frantically moving on the street. That’s when I started to panic.
My mom called me early in the morning because they had already bombed our airports. We all thought it was going to be quick–that it was only going to take 3 or 4 days. Then it turned out that wasn’t the case. We were fighting and we were fighting very well. He understands now that he can’t win this war, but he must win something. It's the only way someone like him can maintain his power.
It drives you crazy when you’re scrolling the news all day just waiting for something to happen. So, I decided to volunteer. I saw the opportunity on Instagram, the newspaper, and even from other friends volunteering as well. I went to make sandbags that would be used for protection. It was actually really nice because it was physical work and we were all together united. Everybody was joking with one another. It was a relief because it made things easier. But, right now it’s crazy. It's like you're happy at some moments and then you are sad again. It's like waves. I think everybody feels this way in their mind.
Life before was just alright. I was planning stuff about internships and jobs. Before, you didn’t have to worry so much about calling your mother or brother because everything was okay. Now you have to—you want to—because you are worried for them. I love my family, but I just didn’t call them as much or as often. Now I worry for our village especially since villages nearby have been taken over. But everyone is safe. My family, we are not rich people, but we do have a really big house. It could be very attractive for those who are hired to invade homes. We call them orcs because they are very stupid—simply put. I am afraid something could happen to my family. When the war first started my friends and I were optimistic—we still are—but sometimes it's hard because they do horrible things in Ukraine.”
“I was studying dentistry at university, spending time with my friends, and learning every day. I was learning a lot because it's my last year before I would get ready for internship and for real dentistry. My friend—my roommate—and I were just crazy about it. We would watch webinars, read literature, and overall just fully immerse ourselves in practicing and learning. Only one month after the war started did I go back to studying, watching, and even finding a new job in dentistry.
I didn’t choose dentistry. It just happened. One time while I was in school, I was sick and my mother took me to go see a doctor. She was really smart and I was really impressed. After that I decided that I was going to be a doctor. And then my father told me no. He said ‘if you want to be a doctor, you’re going to be a dentist.’ Doctors in Ukraine don’t have good salaries, except for surgeons. So, I was like, ‘Okay! Dentistry it is.’
At college there were two options: dental hygienist or technician. However, they didn’t have any openings for people to be dental hygienists, so the program was no longer available. I was like 'Okay! Dental technician it is.'
My grandma, who is a nurse, said ‘if you want to be a dentist then it would be better for you to learn general medicine in college to have more knowledge.’ So, I decided to try to be what we call a voucher. It is similar to a paramedic or physician’s assistant in the United States. I was like, ‘Okay! I will try to be a voucher.’
Dental technicians and vouchers have the same entrance exam, but it was easier to get into the dental technician program because there were more spots available and less people applying. I went through all the preparation classes and I learned everything. I was ready. Except during the exam, I went through questions really fast–like I was the first one out of the exam room. I didn’t get enough marks to be a voucher, but I did well enough to be a dental technician. I was like ‘Okay! I will be a technician.’ It's great because I love it so much. I was the best too. I scored really high in my class because I am really good at working with my hands.
But even if I didn’t have dentistry I think I could do anything. I mean I think any profession would be interesting to me. There are a lot of jobs I could do. For example, I could be a teacher. I could be a pilot or a sailor. I could fix cars. I could be a builder. There’s a lot of things to learn and a lot of things are very interesting about the world. You just have to dig deeper and you will be shocked at what you could find.”
“That’s what I like about learning another language like English. I can get more information and have a wider world view. It's strange to be able to suddenly think and read in English. It changes everything. You are able to have more friends and people in this world that share similar interests through languages—English especially. You can read more and understand more. Like reading Harry Potter or watching the show Friends.
It was the first show I watched in English. I liked watching it in Ukrainian, but it was even better in English. Jokes were funnier because Ukrainian voice over wouldn't be completely accurate, so some of the punchlines were lost in translation. It also was nice to hear the real voices that belonged to the actors. To me, English sounds friendly. Also, the American accent sounds like you’re trying to be the cool guy. Except when it’s a British accent, it sounds like you are a smart ass.
I don’t know why but it’s easier to learn English when comparing it to Russian rather than Ukrainian. One thing I like with English is that you don’t have masculine or feminine endings to worry about. However, some words are a lot harder to memorize because I have nothing to compare them to. Grammar is also hard to understand. You have so many tenses and endings it's crazy! Basically, the hardest thing to learn is everything that is different from your own language because you have to change your way of thinking.
I have vocab words that I write down in a notebook. I write words where I don’t know the meaning. One side of the page is the definition and then its translation. Or I write down words where I already know their meaning, but they sound interesting and I can use later. There are many words in English that are beautiful—like conscientiousness or coincidence. I think those words sound cool.”
“Nobody else in my family really knows English. I have tried to teach my brother many times. He hates it when I teach him, actually. He knows English really well compared to everybody else in my family. I think he knows as much English as I did when I was in school.
He is 14 and we talk about literally everything. There are seven years between us. We don’t have secrets. He can tell me anything and I can tell him anything as well. We do everything together. Last time I was home we played Monopoly. We played for several hours–like four games in a row. My favorite thing was watching him struggle to win. He is so cute when loses a game. But now he has learned and developed a strategy to beat me. I don’t know, I just love him. It is the best thing to have a little brother.”
“Then I immersed myself completely in the language. My computer is in English. My phone is in English. I google everything in English. I think now 80% of the YouTube videos I watch are in English. But then I realized I was not good at speaking. But through practice, like our online sessions, I have become so much more comfortable and confident with speaking.
None of my other friends can speak English really. But we are all bilingual with Russian and Ukrainian. Everyone in Ukraine was comfortable switching between the two languages. Now I think certain people will not be speaking Russian with everything that has happened. A lot of Russian speaking people have lost their homes and families because of the war and they refused the Russian language as a response.
However, everybody outside, like the United States, has been very supportive, which is much appreciated. Even in Ukraine, people in my village and hometown who were enemies, are now united. Our neighbors and my family had a conflict before but now they have a good relationship again. At the same time, however, some families who have others that live in Russia have disconnected with them due to propaganda because they don’t understand what is going on in Ukraine.
After Zelensky started, things started to change for the better. Russia started to lose influence over Ukraine. We also started to see a smaller number of pro-Russian politicians within our government. We see how people live in Europe and how civilized they are. It’s like they are normal. Their government is not that corrupt. They live better—happier even. We are moving forward. I think we will one day be a part of the European Union. All I can do for now is to keep calling my mom and my brother and to take one day at a time. I know the happiest moment of my life will be when the war will end and my family will be alright. We are fighting for our freedom and for our children and our people. I still think we will win this war and we can be one step closer in the right direction.”
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