We stayed with an amazing host family for almost a year. We had hoped the war would be over by now, but unfortunately not. My son got the opportunity to study in a school that he could never have dreamed of, and the admission board offered us one more school year. With this, I decided to stay in this safe space for my family.
But housing was a struggle; we wanted to respect the space and hospitality of our hosts, and did not want to overstay our welcome, so we started searching for an apartment. We don't have credit history here or any understanding of local laws, plus a language barrier, so searching for a home has been a hugely stressful struggle. 24/7 worrying about our homeland, in a foreign country, with no one by my side, has been very challenging.
Knowing that people want to support us feels amazing! Understanding that I have someone to discuss my worries and problems with, and someone who is interested in actually helping to solve problems and not just comforting me with words is amazing. We are grateful for the emotional and practical help; it feels like having good friends or relatives in a foreign country - people who really care.
The most exciting thing is thinking how many other people like us can get help and support. We hope that more people will get a ray of pure help like this. I’m already feeling relief and look forward to having inner peace in our new home.
I hope that the war is over soon, and we get back home safely but with a suitcase of memories, knowledge, experience, and friends with whom we will keep in touch. I want my son to finish another amazing and safe school year, I hope both him and I manage to build a community of friends here, a friendship that will remind of all good things in this dark times for our homeland. We hope to return home and host our British friends when the sky is peaceful above Ukraine.