My sister was in Moscow, studying at MMA (Moscow Medical Academy) from 2003 to 2009.. She did her degree in Russian medium, so she had to do a 6-month language prep course in KL before flying off to Moscow. Other than her summer holidays which she came back to Malaysia, she was there throughout her studies..
The followings are some of the stuff what she told me, but do bear in mind that she might not have told the entire (ugly) truth so as not to alarm my parents or cause them to worry for her..
Racism
- Neo-nazis in Russia run amok, especially around Apr 20 (the birthday of Adolf Hitler) every year, beating and sometimes, killing Asians. The authority is so helpless against these violence that all Asian students are advised to NOT come to school during these period, as the school cannot guarantee their safety.
- It is very common to hear about foreign or Asian students being beaten up when they venture out from their hostel after dark. My sis had a (guy) friend hospitalized for a month after such a beating.
- They were advised to travel in big groups for safety even during day time.
- Frequent cases of police targeting foreign students to extort money. They will ask these students for their passport as a pretense for security checks and then refused to return it to them unless money is being paid.
- Airport custom officers would detain foreigners for long hours at the airport without giving any reasons, hoping to scare them to pay bribe to be "released". My sis was "detained" a couple of times. She just took out her books and studied, ignoring the officers totally. After an hour or two, the officers let her go when they figured that she won't fall for the scam.
- Government servants do whatever they like, anytime they like. You are at their mercy, literally.
- Immigration officer can just stand up, close the checking counter and went over to the next counter to chat with the officer there, ignoring the long queue of visitors waiting for immigration clearance. Then when he has done chatting, he walked back to his counter and re-opened it for clearance again.
- Civil servants can take breaks anytime they like and for as long as they like, even the University Registrar.
- Even private companies (telecommunication companies and dormitory management) behave the same way. No such thing as customer comes first. It is either you bear with it or leave it.
- Moscow is one of the top cities with the highest cost of living as surveyed in the last 5 years. And, with its deteriorating infrastructure, unwelcoming attitudes towards foreigners and serious lack of Quality of Life, Moscow is NOT the place to go and spend the best, if not most impressionable years of your young adult life.
- Anything you want to get done on time, you need to pay. Else, wait a few days/weeks..
- Since every certificates, official letters or whatever circulars are in Russian, if you need them to be in English, you need to pay (around MYR15 to MYR40) for every single one of them, every year!!
- Professors and lecturers don't really care about your studies. If you know how to "make" them like you, you can pass your exams with minimum efforts. If they don't like you, then you might need to re-sit/re-take your papers a few times.
- Since you are a foreigner in Moscow, you are NOT allowed to touch any patients during your practical years (Year 5 & 6). You can only observe by the side. In the end you will not have obtained the necessary practical skills that is going to be very crucial when you come back for your houseman-ship.
- In Russian medium classes, the professors do not have the patience to guide you, which is understandable since these are not Russian language classes. While for English medium classes, some of the professors' English were so bad, that you won't understand what they were saying half the time.
- You need to speak Russian to survive, even if your course is conducted in English. The first 2 years, my sis and her friends were scolded, cursed and swore at by the locals until some of her friends became fluent enough to scold/curse/swear back in Russian that the verbal abuse stopped.
- In Moscow, you can't get fresh green leafy vegetables easily or cheaply. All you can afford is cabbages and lettuces. Of course there is abundance of carrots, onions, tomatoes and other non-green vegetables.
- If you are a fish-lover, then take note: most fish available there are salt water fishes that are frozen. Shrimps are expensive and you can forget about crabs. Of course, if you have the money you can get the best Russian caviar..
- It is cheap to travel to Europe from Moscow. You can either take the train or budget airlines. My sis managed to backpack to quite a few of the European countries/cities (Vienna, Budapest, Stockholm, Helsinki), not to mention St Petersburg and a few Russian cities during her winter holidays.
- Weather in Moscow is always cold, even in summer. The coldest winter my sis ever experienced was -47 degree Celsius. Yes, minus 47 degree. And you would still need to go to school at that kind of temperature.. The warmest summer was around 23 degree Celsius.
- In Moscow, you would need to walk and then take either the subway (train) or the bus. Traveling would take between 1 to 2 hours, depending on your campus and dormitory.
- The only support that you will have is your friends and yourself. Forget about asking the agency who brought you over to Moscow for help. All the agency want is your money. Once you are there, you are on your own. And unless you are on government scholarship, the embassy doesn't have time for you either.
- You will need to be very independent. You need to do everything on your own. Your parents or siblings won't be there to lend you a hand. You would need to do your own laundry, cook your own meals, handle your own financial expenses and many other things. And that is on top of your main responsibility: study for your medical degree. You are responsible for yourself.
- You will need a circle of close friends to get you through these torturous years. If you are the "lone ranger" type of person, well, you won't be able to survive.. at least, your mental health won't.. You need people to talk to, to share. It will not just be a cultural shock, but a total complete shock to your value systems and physical well-being.
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