A Ukrainian woman now living in Co Antrim has opened up about her experience of moving her life to a new country.
Alisa Lymanska, 31, is from a town in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine called Kramatorsk and moved to Carrickfergus two weeks ago as part of the UK's Homes for Ukraine scheme.
After completing the visa process and having video calls with their host family, Alisa drove more than 5,500km with her husband and seven-year-old daughter to resettle in Northern Ireland.
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Although still finding their feet, Alisa said they're starting to feel more comfortable in the foreign surroundings thanks to the friendliness of their host family and everyone they have encountered.
"Everyone here has been very, very friendly to us," she told Belfast Live.
"They've all been very kind and very supportive. Our host family give us everything we need, they help us with documents and when we went to the Home Office they came with us for support.
"They help to translate, too. People here have strong accents and can be difficult to understand sometimes, and speak very quickly. It's very different English and sometimes can be hard to follow, so I just ask if they [host family] can explain to see if I understand things correctly."
Alisa said it was hard to move to a new country, especially since other family members and friends are now living in different European countries.
The 31-year-old added: "I was crying every day when we first arrived because we are here alone, all of my family and friends are in different parts of Europe now. It's hard when you're alone in a different country and culture, and can't share everything as normal with family and friends.
"It's a very big change, everything is different. Different weather, food, language, culture. I think even a different air and different ground - everything has changed.
"Sometimes it's like you believe everything will be fine, some days you're in a good mood while others you're not. Sometimes you believe everything will be fine while other times you don't.
"But we must be strong, and I hope one day we will settle here and it will become easier."
Back home in Ukraine, Alisa worked as a wedding photographer, and is now working hard to establish a photography business from her new home in Northern Ireland.
She said: "I brought all of my camera equipment with me and understand I now need to start everything from the beginning again.
"In Ukraine I was one of the best wedding photographers in my region. But now, all weddings are cancelled and people are living in bad conditions there.
"I came here as I had hope to find a job because I can speak English, so I can communicate and people can understand me. I didn't know any other language and I thought it best to come to an English speaking country as I learnt the language at school.
"I'm trying to make something new and start my new business here in Northern Ireland."
You can find out more about Alisa's photography through her Instagram page by clicking here.
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