Liza - Ukraine

Hello! My name is Liza and I am a 12th grade student at Sacadura Cabral Primary and Secondary School in Celorico da Beira. I came from Ukraine and have been living here for 3 years.

During this time, I have noticed that there are many cultural differences between Ukraine and Portugal, but there are also similarities. In terms of Portuguese schools and education, I can say that there are several aspects that have impressed me. One of them is the freedom to leave the school during breaks, since in Ukraine it was forbidden to leave the school until classes were over. In my country, I did not have a school card that allowed me to leave during breaks, not even to buy school supplies at the stationery shop, as there was none on the premises. Lunch was managed by the class representative, who was in charge of collecting the names of classmates who wanted to have lunch and the respective money, while morning snacks were bought in the canteen, but most of my classmates brought them from home. Another aspect that distinguishes Portugal from Ukraine is that here in secondary school, we can choose the subjects we want to study, already thinking about the future course we may take. In Ukraine, all students have to take all subjects. In regards to similarities, I feel that the basic education I received in my country is very similar to that of Portuguese education, as Ukrainian students are well prepared and able to meet the demands of Portuguese education without much difficulty.

When I arrived in this country, my main difficulty was the language, so studying was my most difficult task. If I was learning, for example, physics and we were studying dynamics, I would have to translate the lesson into Ukrainian and try to understand it, and only then study this content in Portuguese. I needed much more time to learn something that should be understood more simply and quickly.

Even to communicate, you need to know Portuguese, which takes a lot of effort. When someone comes from abroad to start living in Portugal, the first barrier is the language. But even so, despite the language, I feel that the biggest obstacle is Portuguese bureaucracy. And it's not just me, many people complain about the slowness of administrative processes, regardless of what needs to be done. In fact, there are a large number of rules and procedures that make it difficult for users to comply effectively, in addition to the fact that we are obliged to go in person to institutions where the inertia of customer service is glaring. From my experience, it is important to learn Portuguese, as it facilitates communication, not only for sorting out all the paperwork, but also for maintaining patience and waiting until the whole process is completed.

As I mentioned, there are differences between these two countries, and so from time to time I miss things from my country that don't exist in Portugal. To avoid feeling melancholy and upset about this, it's important for me to adapt to a country that is different from my own.

For this reason, I decided to start a project and create this website with the aim of helping young foreigners adapt to this new country, particularly to their new school, while also showing Portuguese students the cultural diversity that surrounds them.

‘Moving to another country is already a radical change that can happen in anyone's life, but I believe that we can overcome all difficulties if we all stick together and support each other.’

Liza