I am 29 years old and I was born in Wroclaw in the west of Poland before we moved to live in Polkowice, a town a bit smaller than Tralee. I studied in Lublin for almost seven years before living in Wales for a few months and then moving to Ireland in September 2004.

When I first came here I used to divide my time between Ireland and Poland especially during winter.

I first learned Irish when I was at university in Lublin and as I love the language I decided to move to Ireland. I work as an editorial assistant in Fiontar, the school of Irish in Dublin City University (DCU). I work on two separate research projects in Fiontar Focal. ie, an online terminology database, and the forthcoming Logainm. ie, a searchable bilingual database of Irish place names.

I moved to Ireland because I see the Irish language as a crucial part of my professional career and I cannot afford not to be in touch with it as a spoken language. There are no specific Irishlanguage departments in Polish universities so it was better for me to come here to improve my Irish. In Polish universities you can learn Irish and Welsh within Celtic Studies departments.

I really like my job at DCU, although I cannot say that it is easy. When I first started I was falling asleep immediately after I got home to Lucan after work in the evenings. I still find it difficult to speak Irish all the time even though it comes more naturally to me now. I generally prefer speaking Irish than English. I work office hours in Fiontar and I still have enough time to do other stuff in the evenings. For example I have recently been working on a bilingual radio programme, in Polish and Irish, called RosBrudno, for Raidio na Life. I also work as a translator, sometimes on contracts, but mainly I am interested in literature so my work in Fiontar gives me a huge help there as well.

When I first learned Irish at university in Lublin I was not thinking seriously about it until I started to use it here in Ireland. Irish people are still surprised that I can speak Irish so well especially as I am expected to speak only Irish while working at DCU. I have been studying for years to have this specific job. Working at the college is difficult and tiresome and there are many responsibilities, but it is also very encouraging because you are doing new things all the time.

When I first arrived in Ireland I was coming directly from living in the Welsh countryside for a few months so I thought that Ireland was terrible noisy, so that was rather depressing.

My knowledge of Dublin was largely based on what I had read about the Easter Rising so I had no clue what the Spire was and I was completely shocked when I saw it.

On my first Sunday here I watched the All Ireland hurling final between Kilkenny and Cork and then I watched the All Ireland football final between Kerry and Mayo. That was interesting because it was the first and last time I will ever support Mayo!

While I had a few Irish friends in Poland, I came here alone and I did not know anybody when I arrived here. I came to Wales first and it was nice to be alone and free while travelling. I stayed there for two months and worked in restaurants.

The Irish way of life is very different to life in Poland. We spend more time at home, as home is a meeting place, it is more open, and we just invite everyone in. Both in Wales and here I always consider it a privilege to be invited for a cup of tea at someone's home! I worked in a pub close to Dingle in Kerry for a few months before and I still visit it from time to time. My idea of Irish lifestyle is somewhat confined to this kind of culture as I don't go out that much.

My family found it difficult when I left Poland but communication is getting better all the time. I am rather worried about my contacts with friends I used to study with: most of them are living in small towns in the south and east of the country and their lives are completely different than mine.

I also miss holidays at our summer house at the lakeside in Poland with my brothers and cousins. We were always keeping close together, cycling, swimming, wandering around in the woods and playing pool. As well as that I really miss my cat! Since I left this year I have heard her once in the background, while talking with my mother on Skype. She just entered the room and said "miau" . . . it was extremely funny.

I think I want to settle in Ireland for good. I would be comfortable if I could get my own place here but I would also like to visit Poland from time to time.