Maria (right) arrived in Poland at the very beginning of war, in February 2022. She travelled from Kyiv with two daughters, 8 and 12 years old, and a dog. At that time I worked in Ukraine. I saw huge waves of refugees in Lviv, in the west of the country. One wave after another, women and children. Millions of people with very few belongings, who wanted to cross the border into Poland. Their houses were literally set on fire. The queue to the border was over 30 km long. Like many others, Maria was forced to make a very difficult decision to leave all her life behind. - May daughters gave me motivation to stay and learn Polish language. It's amazing how quickly they both adapted, how quickly they both learnt the language. They speak it fluently now. Kids used to do all the talking. I was using them to translate everything for me, but it's a little embarrassing, now it's my turn to learn - says Maria.

- Everyone has a shocking story to tell. Here we all make new beginnings.

- We follow news from Ukraine everyday, it's heartbreaking. It's not an easy choice, but I think our life is here in Poland. At least for now.

Will the Ukrainian people stay in Poland? Roughly two to three million Polish people left in search of a better life in other EU countries. There are jobs in Poland, but the money isn't great. Languages are relatively similar, however, Poland has never experienced this kind of immigration crisis situation before in its history. There are a lot tensions, and probably more still to come.

This particular class is run at Polish Academy of Science by Aleksandra Filipowicz (left), who normally does the administrative work at the academy - All hands on deck, that's the way we see it, although after one year since the Russian invasion on Ukraine, well, we've all been struggling - she says. - Our resources are very stretched. But I'm so so proud of them, of my students! It's beyond our imagination, what's been happening in Ukraine. There are no words for it in any language - Alexandra concludes.