To Philly from Ukraine: ‘My kids can’t get over how big the supermarkets are’

I landed in Newark International Airport on March 15 with my three children, ages 8, 11, and 14. We were fleeing the war in Ukraine, where I was a chef.

When the war began, I told my children to pick one thing to take with us. We drove 36 hours to Romania, rested, then traveled to Serbia, where I had friends. Through those friends, I heard about a couple in Mount Airy who wanted to offer an extra bedroom in their house to a family who had fled Ukraine. I was lucky — I had a tourist visa from when I lived in the United States years ago with my now ex-husband. So I bought four plane tickets and took a chance.

We have gotten amazing support from the community since our arrival. We stayed in Mount Airy for a few months, then rented an apartment in Flourtown. To buy food and pay bills, I asked my father, still in Odesa, to sell my old cooking equipment to restaurants or people feeding soldiers. Eventually, in late August, I received a work permit, and I’m helping local caterers and starting to cook my own food again. It feels good to be working.

» READ MORE: A Ukrainian mom and her three kids seek a new life in a country where even the water tastes different

This year, my children enrolled in third, sixth, and 10th grade in Springfield Township. They had little English, and the first few weeks, they asked me for tons of help with their homework. But after that, the questions stopped; they were getting it on their own, or knew how to ask their teachers for help. I’ve been to all of their schools and was so impressed with their teachers. In Ukraine, like in Russia, the schools are very strict, not loving, and my daughter would sometimes tell me the teachers called students names like “stupid.” Here, the teachers work so hard, treat each child with respect, and seem to really care about us. It’s amazing.

Despite the dramatic shift in our lives the past few months, much of our life remains the same. The kids go to school, we all have breakfast in the morning and catch the bus, then they come back in the afternoon and tell me about their days. I use similar kitchen appliances as the ones I used in Odesa, and bought some kitchenware from Ikea. That was interesting — we had big stores in Ukraine that sold construction materials like Home Depot or Lowe’s, but we aren’t used to big stores that sell other things. My kids can’t get over how big the supermarkets are here. “So much walking,” they tell me, as I drag them from one end of the store to another to get small items, such as parsley and milk.

When I imagine “home,” I still think about Odesa, and Ukraine.

When I imagine “home,” I still think about Odesa, and Ukraine. I loved our life there, and hope and pray it is free again. But I also love living here. Every day when I walk back and forth to the bus stop with my son, we greet our neighbors, who are all so nice to us. I’ve been so grateful for the support we’ve gotten, from the Mount Airy couple who opened their home to us to the amazing people who donated to a Go Fund Me campaign for my family, offered services and so much more. It’s overwhelming.

After only a few months in the Philadelphia area, I want to make it my permanent home. And I think my kids would say the same.

Veronika Pavliutina lives in Flourtown with her three children.