Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Taisiia was about to start studying law at Uzhhorod National University. However, her parents, fearing for her safety, decided it would be better if she went abroad to study. So, she applied to Masaryk University as part of a special admission procedure for Ukrainian students.
“A law degree from one country ties you very strongly to that country because you usually learn the legal system and legislation of that particular country. That is why I chose international business law instead of classical law in the Czech Republic. And due to global events, I also applied for political science and international relations. Now it is really useful to know something about geopolitics. In addition, I’m also studying law at a Ukrainian university, which my parents insisted on – they wanted me to have the security of a Ukrainian diploma in case I could no longer continue my studies in the Czech Republic or if the situation changed,” she says.
My life is school, school, and more school
At Masaryk University, Taisiia registered for programmes taught in Czech, which was challenging for her especially at the beginning. Even though she took a four-month intensive Czech course in the summer, she says her language level was still low, so the first semester was no breeze. She also found it difficult to make friends with local students – both because of the language barrier and because they didn't know how to talk to Ukrainian students as war refugees. It’s since been two years, however, and things are different; she now has more Czech friends than Ukrainian ones. Thanks to this, she has greatly improved her Czech and can understand and speak the language without any problems.
Even so, she finds studying four disciplines demanding and says her schedule dominates her life. “Every morning, I get up at seven o'clock and do yoga for twenty minutes. It helps me tune up for the day ahead and feel refreshed. During lectures, I try to be very attentive and not get distracted to get as much information as possible. I know that there won't be much time later on because I have a lot of other practical tasks and literature to read. Between lectures I usually sit in the library. In general, when I have free time, I almost always spend it studying. And in the evening, before going to bed, I listen to lectures from Uzhhorod University. So, my life is school, school, and more school. But I really enjoy it,” says the student.
She admits that she sometimes feels exhaustion and fatigue from the constant search for perfection. “Sometimes I feel like my life is a marathon, where I have to keep running somewhere to stay on track. Sometimes when I don't succeed, I feel like going home. In the region I come from, everyone knows each other. There's a sense of community and belonging, whereas here it's more like everyone is on their own. I believe that when I finish my studies I will go back home to Ukraine and help build a new country. But I will always be grateful to the Czech Republic and Masaryk University for all the help and opportunities,” she says.