I01: So for the very beginning, I would like you to tell us something about yourself. Anything that
you find important as an introduction.

00:00:09

M06: OK, so my name is Joy. And I'm from Ghana. I'm married and that's my daughter [laughs]. And
uh, so basically, I came here in 2016 to study. I studied at Mendel University. I did International
Development, and it was bachelor’s degree. So I- the mission for me coming here was purposely to
study. Yes, and I got motivated to come here through a friend, who was here before. So he advised
me to come here, study and I agreed. Before I decided to come, I asked him about the language,
because I knew Czech people do not speak English. But he told me, “There are some few people here
who understand English, and you will be okay to stay here.” So I decided to come and I finished my
studies in three years. And I got a job at AT&T. And so since 2016, I've been working. And so,
basically that's my life here in, in Czech.

00:01:36

I01: Okay. And you said that you come from Ghana, from which city or from which region?

M06: From the capital. Actually, I'm from the middle part of Ghana, which is- we call the, it's,
it's supposed to be the Ashanti Region. But I moved to stay in the capital city. And I stayed there
for a couple of years before coming to Czech Republic.

I01: Did you also pursue some education already back in Ghana? Or was this your first university
exposure here in Czechia?

00:02:12

M06: No, I did information technology, IT, back home in one university called TransAfrica
University College. And it was advanced diploma, so I didn't get the degree. I didn't do three
years, it was just two years. Yes, so it was advanced diploma and then, yeah.

I01: Okay, what else to ask for the introduction? Would you mind me telling your age?

M06: Yes. I am this year, I was 40 [laughs].

I01: OK. And so here if I understood it correctly, after you came to Czechia here, you have only
lived in Brno.

M06: Yes.

I01: Okay. And how is it with your nationality and the citizenship? So, do you still have the
Ghanaian citizenship?

00:03:04

06: Yes, I still have. Currently, I'm trying to apply for the permanent residence, yes. So, but
right now I do have the Ghanaian citizenship.

I01: Okay. And you are applying for the permanent residence and I guess you have done a short term
residence here in Czechia?

M06: Yes, so I have the employment card.

I01: And the employment card. Okay. Thank you.

I02: I just got the permanent residence. It took a while, I waited to hear for a while, but I
finally just got it.

M06: Oh, that's good.

I01: And I have to say, I'm also a foreigner. I come from Slovakia [laughs]. So neither of us
actually in this room is a Czech. Okay, great. So thank you for the introduction. We might come
back to some aspects of your story in the course of the interview. And now I would like to learn a
bit more about the circumstances of your decision to leave Ghana and come to Czechia. And first I'm
going to ask, like, how did your life look like before you moved to Czechia?

00:04:02

M06: Actually back home, when I finished the IT course, I worked with my sister. The- my sister and
her husband have their own company, and they were basically into IT. So I decided to work with them
for two years, and I had to stay home for a bit. And then I went back again to work. So I was
working back home, but I wanted to pursue my education. And back home, it's kind of expensive if
you want to do the degree. When I compared going to do my bachelor’s in Ghana and here, it looks a
bit more convenient for me here if I would have to come.

I01: Financially?

M06: Yes.

I01: That's interesting. I had no clue like, what would be the price difference. Or like I'm not
sure we can calculate it easily but.

00:05:09

M06: Back then, I would say, it would be an extra probably 10, 10% of what we used to pay here.
Yes, it's, it's very expensive back home.

I01: Okay. Wow, 10%, that's like a huge difference, okay. Okay, and in terms of like, your social
relationships or your family, like how your life looked back in Ghana?

00:05:32

M06: Um, back in African setting, we have- we mostly live together. We have the nuclear type of
family. So you- we, I was staying with my sister. The other sister was with us. So we were all
together. And so we, we are very close. We're not scattered, like in different cities. We're at one
place and we're very connected as a family.