I'm an international student who dropped everything to flee Ukraine. Now I'm piecing together my future.

• Insider spoke to a Jamaican medical student who fled Ukraine when the Russian invasion began.
• The student, who was studying in Kharkiv, got on a bus under the guise of being a passenger's family member.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a medical student who fled Ukraine during the Russian invasion. They asked not to be identified for privacy reasons, but their identity and experiences have been verified by Insider. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm a sixth-year medical student at V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University in Kharkiv, Ukraine. When Russia invaded, I found myself trying to escape.

I chose to study in Ukraine because it was the most feasible option for me at the time given the price. The cost of tuition for medical school in Ukraine is almost 10 times cheaper than it is in my home country of Jamaica before subsidies.

Living in Ukraine has been a wonderful experience. I always tell people that if it wasn't for the lower-than-expected salary as a doctor in Ukraine, I'd consider living there.

The Kharkiv I was introduced to was a very beautiful and progressive city, with some sort of upgrade taking place at every corner. If you didn't want to sit at home, there were many open, green spaces for you to chill and relax. I spent years watching the city grow and transform right before my eyes.

The possibility of an invasion has always been thrown around, and there were talks of it even up to last year. I believe that's why many people around me weren't initially worried, despite reports from Western news outlets. When I heard an invasion was imminent, I simply hoped that wouldn't be the case.

On February 14, 2022, my university advised students that we would continue online until April 1. There weren't evacuation plans, but we were told students could leave for their respective countries. Before doing so, we just had to ensure everything was OK with our student status.

My flight arrangements were made about a week before the initial invasion. My flight out of the country was scheduled for February 24, 2022.

After booking my ticket, I started running around trying to get everything together to make sure I wouldn't have any issues. Student cards are stamped every year with dates as proof of current validity, so I got my student card stamped, obtained a status letter, and applied for my transcript. I didn't receive my transcript prior to leaving, and there's no online portal to request one.

I packed two suitcases. The intention was to start my moving-home process, as I'm a final-year student and would've been leaving in six months anyway. I gathered all of my important documents and placed them in my backpack so they were accounted for and easily within reach.

On the morning of February 24, 2022, I awoke to strange sounds that I now know were strong winds. I didn't sleep well the night before. I was very restless. I realized things had changed overnight, and that's when I got an email from the airline saying my flight for later that day was canceled. I went out to the ATM for some cash, and the atmosphere was similar to how it felt back home in Jamaica before a hurricane. There was an abnormal quiet and emptiness. No dogs, birds, or children were running around.

At this point, I added a few essentials to my backpack. It was suggested we travel very light, because it would be very difficult to run with suitcases if the need arose.

We were also advised about the nearest bunkers and shelters. This information was disseminated to the general population. We were told that water may be disconnected, so I started filling water in every empty container I could find, and my roommate and I started communicating with the rest of our country folk.

We organized them into a buddy system based on proximity to housing locations. We lived in apartments and hostels spread across the city, so people got into groups based on proximity, because getting taxis became expensive and increasingly difficult to find.

My journey was different from others, as I evacuated with my local friends. My friends got my roommate and I out under the guise of being members of their family. The company they worked for sent a bus to evacuate its staff members and their families.

Because we left on the first day of the invasion, things weren't as intense as they were for those who left on the second day, but the trip was very long. When we saw rockets, it was quite frightening.

The bus driver took rural roads, and our journey lasted almost two days. There were miles and miles of traffic. We left the evening of February 24, and we got to our destination city, Lviv, at 6 a.m. on February 26. The normal time for such a journey is about 15 hours. From Lviv, we crossed over into Poland.

While using what could be described as a forest road on one section of our journey, two fighter jets flew low over our head. I don't know which side they were fighting for. The driver decided to stop, turn back, and find another route.

Except for the length of the trip — and a few scares like the jets along the way — everything went smoothly. For that, I'm grateful. The driver made decisions that kept us safe.

I was able to get a flight out of Europe once we left Ukraine, and I'm currently visiting with relatives in the US. I'm trying to figure out my next step, because I don't have an academic transcript and I have no way to obtain one any time soon.

With the premature end of my medical program, I'm now left with a solid blank wall that I'm chiseling away at. I have to find a solution so my six years of study won't be in vain.