My first visit to Lublin was two years ago. Lublin seemed to me like a medieval city of knights and romance. Past and present are firmly combined together in the city.   Modern buildings complement the historical panorama of the city. The motto of Lublin is “Lublin is a city of inspiration” and you can feel this spirit of inspiration in the air.  I desperately fell in love with the city from the very first glance.

When I am walking around the Old Town I have a feeling that time has stopped in those narrow streets. Charming atmosphere is everywhere in Lublin. It is amazing. At first sight, Lublin is the city of youth. Young smiling faces are everywhere here. It makes an impression that you are on the peak of life and youthful glow. Specific feature of Lublin is a mixture of young energetic students and calm and smiling monks and nuns that intertwined together in peaceful coexistence.

Not only architecture and narrow cozy streets make this place so special. People make Lublin so friendly and unique. People are nice, polite and hospitable here. Everywhere I go, to the bank or to the shop, Lublin citizens are ready to help. I was pleasantly surprised by well organized work of the City Hall. Workers are always ready to help. I feel friendly atmosphere everywhere. I did not face with any problems that could spoil a good impression of Lublin. I can affirm that Lublin is open for foreigners. In this multilingual and multicultural city I never felt myself uncomfortable.

As a citizen of Ukraine, I can always be connected to my culture and my religion here. There are Greek Catholic and Orthodox churches in Lublin. The masses are in Ukrainian there. After the mass I meet people from my native town and this unity makes life here even easier. This helps me to feel myself a part of society not only a stranger in a foreign country. I feel myself at home in this calm city.

When I came here for the first time I was impressed how Lublin is accommodated for people. Everything is done with the thought of people and for the people. Buses, buildings, universities, students’ dormitories are accommodated for disabled people. Person in a wheelchair is a full member of society here. I think our Ukrainian local authorities must follow this good tradition to take care of those who need it.

After living here more than one year, safety is another good experience of mine. I always arrive to Lublin at night. But I just easily take taxi and I am sure that I will be safe. You can feel yourself safe here at any time of the day and night.

One more thing that I really like here is the “Juwenalia”. It is a competition between the universities. During April and May youth culture becomes not only abstract word but the style and the rhythm of life of the whole city. Students and youth become the main core of cultural life of Lublin. Here students know how to study and how to have fun. They organize different funny competitions, concerts, where famous pop and rock groups are invited, and you may visit different kinds of cultural events all over the city. Almost every night is a celebration of culture and youth.

From my experience, polish students are friendly and helpful, but they need some time to know you better. They are open-minded, they do not afraid to express their own opinions on different topics. I think that is because of the educational system of universities. As a student of KUL, I can say that professors are very loyal and open to the dialogues with their students. And I really like the fact that it is possible to combine studying and work successfully at Polish universities.

Polish government has helped Ukrainian student to get visas this year. Visa centers all over Ukraine had, so called, “green light” for students to get visas. According to the political situation in Ukraine, more and more people want to get Polish visa, so it could create problems for students.

So, that’s all. But one more year is in front of me. I hope this year will bring me new wonderful and good impressions. This is just my own experience of living here. And I am grateful to people who make my life so special here.

Irina Ilyashevych