New Neighbours: Liviu Caliman (37) came to Ireland from Piatraneamt in Romania six years ago. He lives in Tallaght, Dublin with his wife Gianina. They are both students at Trinity College. Caliman last week won a language learner award from Léargas for his achievements in English and Italian .

'I arrived here in the summer of 1999. I had some English then, but only enough to say a few words. I had to leave my country for several reasons, some political and some social. Without going into detail, I was aware how life should be in a democratic country and things at home were not how they should have been. In Romania before the revolution, I worked in a factory. Afterwards I worked in marketing, in the media and in the stock exchange. Before leaving I had a big share in a business consultancy company. So I left a lot behind. It was a tough decision.

It was hard in the beginning. We needed much more than the allowances we were given by the government. Phonecalls, clothing - everything was more expensive than we thought, but we are grateful to the St Vincent de Paul, which has been there when we needed it. It was frustrating because we couldn't work and that didn't help our English. I liked this country and the opportunities living here provided. I hoped that being hard-working and good people it would be a great place to start a new life.

We soon learnt that this country was changing a lot. I wasn't aware that we were among the first immigrants to Ireland. I found the reaction to foreigners difficult in the beginning. We got used to it and we eventually understood the social context. We were something new for this nation. I know that some people were abusing the situation. So it wasn't only difficult for us, it was difficult for the local people to know who was bad and who was good. But it has changed and I like it now.

I started trying to study English the second day when I bought my first dictionary. I found the language barrier extremely difficult because in Romania I prided myself on being a good communicator. And studying English was a way of making good use of time. We had a lot of time and we are not that type of people to do nothing. Most of our days were spent in the library at Tallaght, not only learning English but also using their internet facilities to see news from Romania, so we could gather information and research that would support our case for refugee status.

My English gradually improved. It's not just about language, it's about being able to express your ideas with your own words. I found the interpreting process frustrating so I started to study harder and it meant I could speak for myself when the time came for our appeal. I could fight for my rights and the rights of my wife only because I learnt English properly.

It took three years but we got refugee status and then we looked at what we could do. We had the right to work and to study and because we were both students of law when we left Romania, we thought the best idea would be to continue our studies. Education was the best way forward. We applied to the Trinity Access Programme (TAP) in Trinity College Dublin in 2002. I was accepted but my wife was not because she was not here for the required three years. The course helped my English a lot. This was the first time I was a part of Irish society, in a full way. The next year my wife went into the TAP course and I went to an undergraduate course at Trinity. Now I have just finished the second year of my degree in Italian and psychology, while my wife is starting her first year for a law degree.

We practise yoga at home - it was banned in our country before the revolution - and like to meditate also. We don't have much time for anything else but studying, although I have travelled to Italy as part of my course and returned back to Romania this year for the first time since we left.

When we came to Ireland first our neighbours didn't know how to take us. They wanted to know us, we wanted to know them but there was caution on both sides. Now we have a very good relationship with all our neighbours. One of them used his credit card to buy our computer for us and we pay him back in instalments every month. Another neighbour minds our dog Rex when we go away.

The learner language award was a collective achievement and my wife, neighbours, teachers, colleagues and friends all contributed. It's been hard work but the rewards are worth it. When you start from zero you have to be disciplined otherwise you don't get anything done.

In conversation with Róisín Ingle