From Ukraine to the University of Kassel

"You're going home

And everything somehow gets smaller

And somehow quieter

You're going home

After such a long time and

Suddenly you compare

The one who leaves here

With the one you are now"

"Alle Fragen" by AnnenMayKantereit is just one of Anna's favourite German songs: "I recognize myself in the lyrics," she says and takes a sip of her black tea. It's often not easy when you set off for a foreign country. But it's even harder for those who have to pack their bags head over heels to flee their home country to escape the war. Anna (19), Yulia (36) and Lisa (20) experienced exactly that. They had to leave their hometowns of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odessa in spring 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Today they live in Kassel and attend a language course together at the International Study Center (ISZ) / Language Center at the University of Kassel.

We have an appointment for coffee on campus. It was not easy to find an appointment, because even after the course from 9 am to 1.15 pm, the three of them have to study for several hours a day. Kassel seems pretty small to the women, they say - after all, all three of them come from cities with millions of inhabitants. But they feel at home; Yulia would even like to stay here forever with her eight-year-old daughter. When the two arrived in Kassel, they were initially taken in by a pastor's family who, although they had little space themselves, vacated the small parish office for mother and child. "I am infinitely grateful and still a little amazed at how generously we were taken in." The couple have been living in their own apartment for some time now. Their daughter has settled in well and attends a German school. "She learned German much faster than I did!" Yulia has a doctorate in law. In the future, she hopes to write her habilitation thesis and become a professor - perhaps even at a German university. The language is a major hurdle for her on this path, but Yulia is confident: "I hardly knew a word of German when I arrived here. At the ISZ, after they found out that I had a doctorate, I was nevertheless encouraged to start the B1 course straight away", a course at a higher language level. At first she had doubts, "but then I thought: if they think I can do it, then I think I can do it too. Now I know it was exactly the right decision."

Learning German was also a leap in the dark for Anna. What's more, she often finds it difficult to concentrate on learning because of the war in her home country: "I'm often there in my thoughts and I'm very worried." At 19, she is the youngest of the three women and came to Germany with her mother. At first they lived in a shelter, but later they were also taken in by a family. Before the war broke out, Anna studied journalism in Kyiv. She is currently taking a semester off. In the meantime, she is trying to improve her journalistic skills in Kassel; in April, she did an internship at the news portal Nordhessen-Rundschau, where she wrote her first press releases - in German, of course. Anna has a few tips for learning German: "Speaking German in everyday life, watching German series and, of course, music have helped me a lot to improve my everyday German and learn more about German culture." All three are very familiar with the German music scene: Lisa likes to listen to German Christian pop bands from the worship scene, Anna likes it folky and Yulia's favorites include Apache 207, Peter Fox and Luna.

Unlike the other two women, Lisa already knew some German when she arrived in Kassel last spring, as she studied German at school in Odessa to become a teacher. Nevertheless, she mostly spoke English at first after her arrival, partly out of fear of making mistakes. "But I quickly got over that. You can't live here without speaking the language. I also realized that people usually understand you, even if you don't express yourself perfectly." In Kassel, she is now enrolled as an exchange student in the teaching subjects German and English.

She has noticed that even the Germans sometimes don't speak in perfect German: "For example, there is a trend to replace the genitive with the dative, which I found very confusing at first." Like the other women, Lisa was initially taken in privately and now lives in a shared flat with a few other Ukrainian students. "The Germans are very nice, but it's difficult to form real friendships with them." Her wish for the future is to be able to enrol in her two teaching subjects in Germany on a regular basis and to work as a teacher in Germany at some point. To achieve this goal, there is one obstacle in particular that needs to be overcome: In order to enrol on a German-language degree course, international students must first successfully pass the "DSH" ("Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang").

The course that the three of them attend prepares them specifically for this. It is sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service. A different lecturer leads the lessons every day, which they like, as each has a different approach and focuses on different topics: "One lecturer is a grammar expert, another practises oral expression with us a lot. My favorite teacher always has little competitions or games with us. She also sometimes awards extra points for humor in our texts. That makes learning much easier for me," says Yulia. Lisa likes the fact that the lessons are digital and hybrid: "We usually go because we think that's the best way to learn. But if that's not possible, for example because a workman is coming or I have an appointment, then I can take part in the lessons at home or work through the content independently on Moodle." The course runs until mid-December. Whether the program for refugees will continue to be funded is still up in the air. However, all three hope that they will be able to join another course.

Yulia, Anna and Lisa would never have met without the war, they tell me at the end. Now they are friends and support each other along the way. After an hour's conversation, we say goodbye, as the three of them still have a lot to do today.

More information about the ISZ's services for international students:
ISZ / Language Center - Support International

More about the German courses at the ISZ:
Courses offered - German

This article appeared in the university magazine publik 2023/4. Text: Maya Burkhardt