Let’s meet Egor, an 18-year old from Ukraine who studies construction engineering in Kaunas University of Applied Engineering Sciences. He could not have imagined being in Lithuania up until February 24th 2022, however, the war started and all of Egor’s plans changed forcing his life to take a different turn.
Egor began showing interest in engineering field when he was still studying in Ukraine: he felt passionate about being able to build something new and reconstruct the old. The student shares that Kaunas University of Applied Engineering Sciences seemed like the perfect place to make dreams come true and develop his skills as a future engineer. Egor says that “there is a lot of practice and the university provides an opportunity to get acquainted with existing successful companies and then cooperate with them”. When asked how he would describe the university, the student does not hesitate:” development, communication, variety, cognition and people” thus summarizing pretty well what Kaunas University of Applied Engineering Sciences is in its essence.
It seems like Egor did not have much trouble adapting to the new country since according to him, “Ukraine and Lithuania are pretty similar”. Just as many other foreigners, he still finds himself struggling with language barrier since even if you know some Lithuanian, studying in a language that is not yours is a big challenge. However, even though at first it looks like “people are not sociable”, Egor says that after a few months in Lithuania, he “realized that in fact people are open and always ready to help”.
Egor is happy to have chosen Kaunas, and says that “the hospitality, warmth and similarity” to home is what attracted him to move here. The student shares that sleeping in, taking a walk around the city, exploring unseen corners and admiring the landscape is what makes up his free time. Name Čiurlionis comes up when discussing things to do in Kaunas and Egor tells me about his experience where he had an opportunity to see the movie Angelų Takais. “It was something incredible, it's like you are in hundreds of worlds, you can fly and do things that are impossible to do in reality which is fascinating and inspiring”.
When it comes to those studying abroad, not surprisingly being homesick is quite bothersome, however, Egor shares his way to beat the longing: “I try to call my parents every day, spend time online with friends, if possible, I go to the gym and leave all the melancholy and negativity there”.
Egor says that he really enjoys studying in Kaunas University of Applied Engineering Sciences and wouldn’t change anything: he is making effort to make friends and make the most out of this unique experience. The student suggests that he “can only recommend others to live in this moment, enjoy this time and go towards their goals and dreams”.
