Відгук про перебування на навчанні у рамках програми Еразмус + майбутніх ерготерапевтів з університету прикладних наук VIVES (Бельгія)

My experience in Ukraine
Freya Deleu

In the beginning I was quite nervous to go to Ukraine. Everyone in my environment were talking about the war that is still going on in Ukraine. Being nervous about leaving was not necessary because we got a lot of help of Ira. She picked us up at the airport and the next day she showed us Drohobych. Ukraine is definitely a special country but I would love to go back one day. The people are nice and friendly. At the internship we experienced some troubles in the first week because almost no one was speaking English. After some time we tried to speak Ukraine and when we were trying to speak Ukraine, we learned them English. So after a couple weeks we were able to communicate quite easily with everyone. This experience is for sure a life time changing experience. I learned a lot about myself, Ukraine and the mentally in Ukraine. Ukraine is a very beautiful country and the nature is amazing. We had a lot of changes to learn more about the healthcare system in Ukraine and I really felt that I could learn some things to the occupational therapists. It was more difficult to get a connection with the clients because we were not that good in the Ukrainian language but I felt that we made some connections with the clients in different ways. We could talk using non-verbal communication and for me that was more special. Leaving Ukraine was difficult because I felt at home. Of course I missed my friends and family but leaving Ukraine is like leaving a little part of yourself. Ukraine is a big win. I love dogs and they have a lot of stray dogs. I was able to give them some food or pet them. I almost took one home. I came back home 10 weeks ago, but everyday I’m still thinking about Ukraine, about the friends I made, the things I learned, the nature, everything. I would recommended it to everyone.