From Germany - Kateryna Fedchun, 2nd year student of the educational-professional program 035.041 Philology (translation (English and German or French)) of the Faculty of Social and Linguistic Communication of the Horlivka Institute of Foreign Languages.

"Every Ukrainian knows the date of February 24, because this day turned the life of every citizen of Ukraine. My family had to leave home, so we went abroad in search of security.

In Poland we met volunteers: Matthias, Lucas, Mariana and Simon. They invited us to go to Germany with them, and we agreed. We took a bus to Sindelfingen for many hours, and I was asked to be an interpreter on the way and given a microphone to translate. It was an interesting practice.

Germany greeted us with the rays of the sun. Sindelfingen is a city near Stuttgart (the capital of Baden-Württemberg) near the border with France and Switzerland. Sindelfingen is a small town with a population of 60,000, but there are many different nationalities, including Indians, Chinese, Italians, Turks, Koreans and Britons. In fact, I never wanted to go to Germany, I was never interested in this country and I thought that Germany was completely different from the one I saw. There are a lot of houses that look like gingerbread houses with icing, very convenient public transport and many people know English, so I feel comfortable.

I am often asked to be a translator and asked various foreign words to say something. I once helped translate for an ambulance in the middle of the night because I had a child who needed medical attention. After that, a doctor came to me and asked to be the contact person so that in such a situation there would be someone to help with the translation. People consider me indispensable in all matters: from "asking for a bag in the supermarket" to "deciding on housing" or "calling and making an appointment with a doctor" (of course, I need to translate in the hospital). Today I was translating documents such as birth certificates and marriage certificates. So, knowing a foreign language is very important, especially when you are abroad.

Germany helps Ukrainians a lot. Everyone treats us well, we receive financial aid, discounts on various goods, and some we can buy for free. For example, you can get points for free. But everywhere there are problems. Yes, it is very difficult to find an apartment for rent in the Stuttgart area, because the economic situation here is very good, as the Germans say. That's why we have to live in the gym together with 80 other Ukrainians. But there are many people who help us. We already have German friends, and we meet often, have a good time together. For example, on the weekend we were at home with the Matthias family and ate racquets.

But no matter how good it is here, I still want to return home and do everything possible to strengthen Ukraine, always be independent, develop and prosper. "