Between balancing studies to become a qualified financial adviser, undertaking a full-time apprenticeship with a financial services company and raising her young son in a new country, Liu dos Santos has had a lot on her plate since moving from Mozambique to Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.
The 28-year-old came to Ireland with her husband and their young son in September 2022.
Transitioning to life in Ireland was challenging at first due to the language barrier dos Santos faced. Mozambique’s official language is Portuguese.
“Initially it was really hard for me because I don’t speak the language, I speak Portuguese,” she says. Equipped with “only a quick course of English” completed during time spent in South Africa, dos Santos struggled during her first few months in Ireland.
Of how people speak in Ireland, she says: “I think that the English is very fast and the accent is different.” Pushing past her shyness, dos Santos is now much more comfortable with the language.
“I watch a lot of TV and shows and just try to practise as much as I can because I think my biggest issue was not practising because I’m shy, so I wouldn’t have a lot of opportunities to use my English.”
“The names, I’m not used to pronouncing the names right yet,” says dos Santos, who is still learning to familiarise herself with Irish names.
“Some names I get it right now because we deal with clients every day, so if I see one then I will know next time. But if I see a new name I usually have to google how you pronounce it because now I’m so conscious about it.”
She finds her neighbours in Enniscorthy have been “so nice, so welcoming”, and she enjoys the community spirit on her 10-minute walk to work.
“It’s actually different where I come from because here, if I’m walking down to work, I will say hi to almost 10 people and everybody knows my name and everybody asks how I am. In Mozambique it’s not like that. Everybody’s so quiet and minding their own business.
“We mostly have an elderly population here, but I think it’s a great place to be if you have a toddler. If I need help I know I can count on my neighbours and that, so it’s great. It’s a great place to start your life, I’d say.”
The Irish weather, however, was a rather jarring adjustment for dos Santos: “I actually came here around the summer, but it was honestly cold for me. I was walking around with layers and layers of clothes.”
Winters in Mozambique are hot and wet, she explains, with temperatures still reaching heights of 25 degrees during those months.
“When I came here I was just shocked by the difference. It was my first time in a European country, so that was my first encounter with the real winter.”
Dos Santos is pleased that her four-year-old son, on the other hand, is not one bit bothered by Ireland’s cooler climate: “The weather is not bothering him at all.”
Making friends at preschool and in the neighbourhood has luckily been a breeze as well, and he is fluent in English.
“He didn’t really have any issue adapting to Ireland,” says dos Santos proudly, “he was really fast making friends and socialising and everything ... the language barrier was nothing for him”.
She finds “there’s a huge difference” in Ireland’s approach to education and Mozambique’s.
“I feel like there’s a really big emphasis that Ireland makes with the kids, with education, so you see a lot of kids that go to preschool and kindergarten and all that. In Mozambique, if you want to enrol your kid in the kindergarten or preschool, you won’t have any incentives from the government or any help paying the bills or anything.”
Another difficult aspect that defined the first few months of dos Santos’ move to Ireland was the distance from her family. Concern for their wellbeing given Mozambique’s current political climate continues to weigh on her mind.
“I’d say one of the challenges I had in Ireland was not being able to support my family. Mozambique is going through a political crisis, so during that period it was really hard to stay focused on what I’m doing here because I know my family wasn’t safe and was going through difficulties.”
Dos Santos describes the fraught situation in Mozambique through her family’s experience. “They couldn’t leave the house, they couldn’t go out to the shopping mall and buy groceries. There was no water, no electricity, no internet.
“I think it even affected me a little because it was around my exam time and I couldn’t talk to my mom some days, so I wasn’t sure if she was fine or if anybody was hurt,” she says.
When she isn’t studying or working, dos Santos enjoys lifting weights in the gym and has started taking Muay Thai classes.
“I honestly have never felt more safe than right now. Walking around at night when I go to the gym and then come back I don’t feel like I’m in danger at all.
“But I don’t know if it’s because I come from Mozambique and it’s more violent. It’s more common to see in the news that this woman disappeared or this woman was raped.”
Despite challenges, dos Santos is content with the life she is building in Enniscorthy and intends to keep forging a path for herself in Ireland. She says that the potential opportunities afforded for her young family are part of the country’s enduring appeal.
“I have no plans in going back home. I’m planning on investing in my career and just staying here in Ireland. I know it would be great for my son to have the opportunities I had ... I think life is much easier in Ireland than in Mozambique.”
We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland in the past 10 years. To get involved, email newtotheparish@irishtimes.com or tweet @newtotheparish
