Iri is a 27-year-old who was born in Kyiv, Ukraine and was forced to move away in October with her husband due to the war with Russia. Hello Neighbor took her in when she arrived in October and helped her get situated here in Pittsburgh.
Iri said the first three months working with Hello Neighbor were very helpful because they helped her adapt before being on her own in the United States. Iri and her husband did not have access to a car when first arriving so Hello Neighbor provided them bus passes to make traveling much easier. Hello Neighbor proved Iri and her husband with medical insurance when they arrived. Before she left Ukraine, her dog accidentally hit her in the eye and she began having issues opening and closing her eye. Now with medical insurance, she doesn’t have to be scared of having another issue that may be worse. She said she can still always keep in touch with Hello Neighbor and they connected her to new opportunities that she may have never gotten.
Since arriving in Pittsburgh Iri said it was quite similar to the city of Kyiv where she lived in previously. She said with the bridges, rivers, and hills it felt like she was still home. Some of her favorite activities to do here in Pittsburgh is to take her dog out to the many dog parks located near her. She likes how she can go to different locations and meet so many new people.
Iri said that she is currently learning how to drive and that has been her favorite experience so far. It is her very first time ever taking the chance to learn how to drive an automobile. In Ukraine, she never had the opportunity to learn. She said she was very close to trying to get her license in Ukraine but due to the war, she never got the chance. Although the driving here is quite hard, she said, it still is one of the brightest experiences she has had so far in the United States.
Despite the similarities of geography, Ukraine is quite different from Pittsburgh Iri had said. Iri mentioned that she has gotten so used to the US that she may have forgotten what it is like in Ukraine. The first time she got here she was impressed, all she wanted to do was explore.
She said the people are different from each other. Iri mentioned that Kyiv and Pittsburgh both do have friendly people but they are completely different cultures. In america a lot of peole relay on technology to orgainzie meetups whereas in Ukraine it is way more spontaneous to meet up with people. Another thing that can be shoking is that americans dont dress u as mech as people ffom ukraine. It is common in Ukraine taht womean wear heels quite often. She said you can just feel the difference between everyone around her.
Back in Kyiv Iri used to go to the theater but it was difficult to do that in Pittsburgh since many of the theatres were too far for her to walk. She still has plans to get to one soon and watch a show in the theatre.
She found that the food was quite different. The products available in Pittsburgh are not the same as in Kyiv, so it was shocking and not what was used to. She said she was able to figure it out because you can find so many healthy options here. For her it was very easy to find fresh vegetables and fruits and that made her very happy.
She mentioned that one of the food items she remembered was a biscuit with meat. She said it was strange to her because in Ukraine meat is hardly served with bread. Another food she found interesting was clam chowder and she ended up really liking it. She also tried coleslaw which she liked and said it was delicious.
When first getting here Iri and her husband did not live in Pittsburgh but about 30 miles northwest of the city in New Brighton, Pa. She and her husband had to walk one hour to get to the grocery store and another hour back with the bags. After one month they moved closer to Pittsburgh and found more options for stores closer to them. It would only take them 10 minutes to walk to the store in their neighborhood.
In only five months Iri and her husband have adapted from having to drop everything because of war and move to a new country, new state and new city.
With her husband by her side and with the help of Hello Neighbor moving here was so much easier than she expected.
