Olena: “After I finished the Romanian language course, I realised I can speak easily when I need to.”
The moment Olena felt that something had changed was very surprising to her, and very simple. A courier was arguing with her about a delivery, and she answered him in Romanian, calmly, and was able to stand her ground. She was understood easily, and the problem was solved.
“I left there thinking: now I really can speak Romanian, and that feeling was very important for me, it was like a discovery!”
Olena Polyavina is from Kharkiv, Ukraine. She arrived in Romania on 6 March 2022, right after the war began, and now lives in Constanța. She works remotely for a company in Ukraine, but everyday life is here, in Romania. She has to go to shops and pharmacies, talk to neighbours, and interact daily with all kinds of people, and when you don’t know the country’s language, these small problems can feel so big and insurmountable.
“Even if my job is online, I still live here, among people. Without the language, you start to feel isolated.”
That is why she enrolled in the intensive Romanian language course organised by JRS Romania in Constanța. For six weeks, three times a week, 3–4 hours per session, her group studied with their teacher, Mariana. Olena, who also has a background in linguistics, appreciated the way the course was structured.
“I didn’t just learn words, I also understood the logic of the language, and that gives you a solid foundation to build on more easily.”
The course format was very important for her and, since it took place while Olena was on vacation, she dedicated herself fully to the course throughout that period.
“Just once a week, half an hour or an hour, is not enough for me. You spend more time travelling than you actually get to learn. In this intensive rhythm, you really get to see results that you can feel quite quickly.”
Today, Olena, now speaking Romanian much better, is even considering finding a better-paid job in Romania.
Olena did not see learning the language as a burden, but as a way to grow professionally and personally, to make friends, and to feel that everyday life is much easier to manage.
For Olena, the language became the beginning of a simple feeling: that she belongs.
