Studying in a new university, settling down in an unfamiliar environment, worrying about the ongoing war in your home country. Meeting new friends, missing the old ones, getting stressed out, being homesick. These are just some of the feelings and difficulties our NYU Prague Ukrainian students must deal with. However, what helps them to overcome these issues? And what do they have to remind them of home?
We interviewed three of our lovely NYU Prague Ukrainian students and asked them about personal items they brought that they have a special connection to — what gives them nice memories of their homes, towns and country. Read the stories they gave about a map, a lunchbox, a mysterious scent, and an unusual collection which sent one of the students to custody.
A map and a lunchbox full of memories
My mum sent me a package with some of my personal things from Ukraine. I was especially happy when I found these two items in there which remind me of the good old days when I was a student back in my hometown.
The first thing which helps to make my dorm room look like the one I have back home is the map of Ukraine. It is quite detailed, and it even includes some smaller towns and parts of neighbouring countries. My mum couldn’t send me the original map since it is laminated and it would be impossible to ship. However, she found a very similar one and now it decorates the board above my table.
When we had some online classes during covid, I was usually sitting behind the table in my room. Since some morning classes were especially boring and hard to survive, I often just moved my laptop to the side of the table and read the map. So having the map here in Prague makes me feel like I am in my Ukrainian room again. I sit down, turn on the lamp, look at the map and I feel like I am back home. Even the location of the table and the colour of walls are the same.
The second thing which my mum packed into the package and reminds me of life in Ukraine before the war is the lunchbox which I would take to school with me. It is pink with some grey patterns. One of my favourite foods, which I used to bring to school with me in that box, was pea soup or buckwheat. I recall eating the food together with my schoolmates in the school canteen.
I do not feel homesick here in Czechia since I feel that a lot of things are similar to Ukraine, and I am often in touch with my relatives. However, both the map and the lunchbox give me a feeling of home and bring me back the memories of my life in Ukraine before the war started.
A scent of good old times in a small bottle
I packed a lot of practical things with me and at first, when I went through all of them, I could not think of anything that would really remind me of my home. But then, I realised that one of the most essential things for me is rather small and maybe a bit unusual.
It is a perfume, which I bought for myself as a gift for the New Year. In Ukraine, we usually give each other presents for the New Year, but since 2021 was very tough for me, I decided to reward myself with a nice thing, which I do very rarely, but this time I just felt that I do deserve it.
I bought the perfume in Kyiv; however, the company is Israeli. The bottle is quite small and you can smell some wooden and vanilla tones in the scent of the perfume. I prefer stronger, not so sweet odours. I do not wear it every day: I need to feel that the perfume fits the mood, the day.
I often feel homesick. The most difficult thing for me is that I don’t know when I will be able to come back home. Everything would be easier if this was a regular exchange and I knew the exact date of my arrival back to my country. I often have dreams about being in Ukraine, knowing that I will have to leave for another country again soon.
However, I often try to think positively, and just a simple thought about being able to come back one day helps me to overcome homesickness. I am also very busy with my two universities and work, so that pushes some negative thoughts away too. And last but not least, it is my perfume which makes me recall the reckless Christmas and New Year’s times, the calm before the storm.
A present from grandma and an unusual collection
(Alert: a criminal story included!)
This item is very special and important to me because I got it as a gift from my grandma when I was just three days old. It is an old cross pendant on a blue string. Although I am not religious, I have been wearing it all my life. However, although the cross is extremely important to me, it probably does not really remind me of my home in Ukraine as much as my special collection, which I have been keeping since I was 12 years old.
It all started when my friends gathered for a screening of new anime episodes at my home. When everyone left and I was cleaning the trash, I saw a few of the bottle caps all together at one place and I was actually amazed by how beautiful it looked. My collection is now in my home in Ukraine, and it contains around 1400 bottle caps from various countries, of different colours and of various types of drinks.
I usually collect the bottle cups from the drinks I buy, or sometimes my friends bring me interesting pieces from their travels. I rarely collect bottle caps from the street, especially after an incident which happened in Poland a few years ago.
It was already dark, and I was walking down the street when I saw an interesting bottle cup in the bush and I absolutely needed to take it. However, all of the sudden, a policeman patted my shoulder. Apparently, I looked like someone who was picking up the drugs from their dealer, so they arrested me. However, after some time in police custody, they understood the situation, gave me some donuts and let me go.
When the war broke out and I left for Europe, I started my new collection here. I have already gotten around 200 pieces from the Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium. Whenever I look at my new collection here it reminds me of my older and broader one which is now back at my home in Ukraine. I hope that one day I will be able to put both collections together.