2024-08-01 14:22:46
Although Anastasija never planned to leave Ukraine, after the Russian army occupied her hometown of Melitopol on the first day of the war, there was simply no other way out – the ten-year-old schoolgirl came to Lithuania with her family and settled in Riešė in the Vilnius district.
Speaking to a news portal lrytas.lt the girl admitted that at the beginning of the war she was accompanied by very depressive thoughts and a great fear of living in a country she had never visited before.
However, today Anastasia sees her future only in Lithuania, and she is succeeding in fulfilling her dreams much better than she could have imagined.
Staying at home was morally too difficult
A. Bichuk arrived in Lithuania with his parents in July 2022, five months after the beginning of the Russian invasion.
“Then it was dad’s birthday – we drove about 50 hours from Melitopol,” she began the story.
Anastasia had not visited Lithuania before, but the first impression upon arrival was special – according to her, Lithuania is radically different from Ukraine.
“I haven’t been to many places, even in Ukraine, but it was immediately impressive. When we walked around the shopping centers in Vilnius, I liked it so much that I immediately fell in love,” the girl laughed.
It is true that Anastasia never planned to leave her homeland, but when the war started, she significantly adjusted her plans and introduced a lot of uncertainty. The student realized that staying in her city would be the greatest suffering for her.
“I could no longer stay in Melitopol – morally it was very difficult, because the Russians occupied our city on the very first day of the war. I remember that I used to tell my mother that I simply cannot be here”, said A. Bichuk.
Anastasia’s uncle had already arrived in Lithuania at that time, he found a job here and invited her family to join and come too. Thanks to acquaintances, the girl and her parents settled in Riešė, which is very close to Vilnius, and started attending the gymnasium, which is very close to home.
“At first I was recommended to go to the newly opened international Ukrainian school, but I didn’t really like it there. I considered the Polish school in Avižieniai and the Riešė gymnasium – I chose it because I liked it better, it was very close to home,” explained the Ukrainian.
Anastasia, who does not speak Lithuanian at all, was very worried on her first day at school – she was convinced that her classmates and teachers would not speak Russian or English, so she would have to spend time alone. But as soon as I entered the school, my fears dissipated.
“I immediately met several classmates who spoke Russian with me, and it helped a lot, because they explained everything to me – how, what is happening at school, what is the lesson now, where to go, what is the name of the teacher.
At first it was difficult because I didn’t understand anything during the lessons, maybe only a few words, but over time everything changed. Now I understand everything.
I remember the ethics teacher would tell something to the whole class, and then she would translate everything to me personally. All the teachers allowed us to use the translator – it especially helped during physics”, A. Bichuk recalled his experience.
It’s like a local
When speaking with Anastasia, it is difficult not to pay attention to how correctly and fluently she speaks Lithuanian. When asked how she managed to master the language of our country so well, the Ukrainian thought that everything happened naturally, and that was also influenced by her great desire to learn the Lithuanian language.
“Before entering the gymnasium, I went to free language courses for Ukrainians – I did well there, but now I can’t say that they helped me much, because when I came to school, I felt like I didn’t learn anything.”
The environment helped the most – when you go to school every day and hear only Lithuanian for 7 hours, you need to study, listen to it, try to speak only Lithuanian, this is very important. And the classmates I made friends with also helped a lot.
I remember when I was riding the bus with my friend and I kept asking her: what about that word in Lithuanian, and what about this one?” she said.
However, A. Bichuk does not deny that the Lithuanian language is very complicated, and it differs greatly from the Ukrainian or Russian languages. Although at first she had to turn her head, which word to use, now this problem has practically disappeared for the girl.
“I had to read a lot in Lithuanian, translations were written in pencil everywhere in my books. The Lithuanian language is really not easy, but the most important thing is that you like it – then it will be easy. In the beginning, it’s always difficult,” the interlocutor is confident.
Anastasia said that she did not think about the fact that she will not need the Lithuanian language in her life, so it is possible not to pay so much attention to it. The Ukrainian admitted that it is very important for her to know the language of the country where she lives, no matter what country it is.
“It’s unpleasant when I hear people say something and I don’t understand – I always want to understand what they’re saying. I am very interested in talking to Lithuanians in their language, because this way you can better understand the nation and culture itself.
I think, in any country where I find myself, I would like to learn its language”, explained A. Bichuk.
In Vilnius, Anastasia knows many of her compatriots who came here because of the war, but, according to her, not everyone can speak Lithuanian. According to the girl, a significant number of Ukrainians try to learn basic phrases and words in order to be able to communicate on the most important issues, but the Lithuanian language is too difficult for them.
Today, almost no one believes that a girl who just finished school learned to speak Lithuanian herself just two years ago.
“Every time I tell someone that I moved here two years ago, they look at me with bulging eyes because no one believes,” Anastasia laughed.
The goal is a Lithuanian passport
An achievement that A. Bichuk could be even more proud of – he recently scored 88 points in the Lithuanian language and literature maturity exam. The Ukrainian held it together with her Lithuanian peers, but not every high school graduate could boast of such a result.
“A few months before the exam, I was told that I had the right not to take it, but I decided that it was really worth it and necessary. At first it was difficult for me to understand the structure of the essay, to find the right pieces, I used to write with a translator, but we took mock exams a lot.
During the last test, the teacher asked me to write without a translator, and it turns out that it was even easier for me. When I wrote without an interpreter, my last test result was 91 points,” the girl recalled.
In the exam, Anastasija chose to write an essay on the topic of reasoning about when she reaches extremes – as she said, she immediately figured out what she wanted to put on the page and what works she would use.
True, although essays have always been the strong point of the Ukrainian, she herself did not expect to score so many points in the actual exam.
“I thought it would be 70 points at most.” It was still very stressful, I remember that I wrote maybe 1000 words in that essay, I barely managed to transcribe everything on the answer sheet. And since I wrote a lot, I expected there to be a lot of mistakes. But here it is – I am very happy.
My relatives were probably even more happy than me – my parents always support me and are happy if I achieve high results. My mother almost cried,” said A. Bichuk.
Although she calls herself a humanist, Anastasia managed to pass other exams as well – for example, in mathematics. The Ukrainian also praised the Lithuanian education system – she said that while studying here, she felt much less stress and was able to concentrate more on work.
“I liked studying in Lithuania more, because during the two school years I felt less stress than in Ukraine. There, the teachers put a lot of pressure on us about the exams, they kept telling us that “all of you won’t pass anything”.
Maybe I was very lucky with the teachers at my gymnasium, but the biggest difference compared to studying in Ukraine is that I didn’t feel so much stress here. Of course, there were various misunderstandings, but everything happens everywhere”, A. Bichuk is convinced.
During the interview, Anastasija mentioned that she would very much like to enter Vilnius University, majoring in economics. If it didn’t work, they would just take a break and work. However, the very next day, the Ukrainian woman shared the good news – she entered a state-funded study place and will soon study economics.
A. Bichuk has no doubts that she will definitely stay in Lithuania, her dream is to get a permanent permit to live here, and later maybe even get a Lithuanian passport.
“I would really like that. “My history teacher already gave me the Constitution because I needed to read it for the exam, and it will be useful in the future,” said the girl.
The Ukrainian, who has just received her high school diploma, is also currently working as a bartender and waitress in a restaurant.
“I really don’t want to return to Melitopol, but to Ukraine… Now I don’t see myself there anymore. Of course, it’s a shame, but it’s true. I see more prospects in Lithuania.
My parents support me – although they plan to return to Ukraine, because my grandparents live there, I said that I will stay here, because I like Lithuania very much, I have already found a job here, I will study. Parents don’t argue,” Anastasia said.
When asked where the young Ukrainian gets her motivation and strength from, when her own house is being demolished, A. Bichuk did not hide that these two years were really difficult. However, as she says, you simply cannot give up and be sad all your life.
“When the war started, it was very difficult for me morally, because all my dreams, my plans collapsed. I had a goal of what to do, where to enroll, where to work in the future, but suddenly everything changed radically, I didn’t know what to do.
I was very close to depression because I didn’t want to eat or do anything in general, but moving to Lithuania helped me a lot. The new environment and such a trip to Europe was the biggest inspiration for me.
I pulled myself together and decided that I needed to live on, because you can’t be sad all your life if something happened that you can’t change,” Anastasia insisted.
2024-08-01 14:22:46