Free-mover, France
Bachelor Program
September - June
2017 - 2018 Academic year
I arrived in Russia with, as many of us, a lot of prejudices and stereotypes, so I would leave with clear ideas. Here since September I have seen the reality of facts in 10 months of life in the city of Moscow.
First of all I must underline the constant work of the administration (Zemfira Galimullina) who helped me a lot in my enrollment process within this school. During the year the administration was able to listen and be available any day of the week. It was a real relief because English is not really spoken everywhere so that it is to sleep in the campus or even information about the city we always had their help.
The campus is also a very important point, equipped with 3 gyms, two sports fields and even a swimming pool; it allows practicing physical activity outside of class time which is very pleasant. In addition, the location is a highlight of IBS RANEPA, located 5 minutes from the subway but also 3 supermarket, two open 24/24 and two large parks nearby have really say that all been together to succeed his year here.
In our class there were students from everywhere, Russians, French, Pakistanis and Spanish, which allowed us to improve our way of working in a multicultural team, which was very instructive. Teachers speak very good English with good pronunciation which is important. Moreover, I would like to underline the very good work of Mr. Martirosyan who from his experience and his know-how could captivate us all along his courses. Mrs. Victoria Bernstein also made her classes very interesting and motivating for the continuation of our studies. I could also have 3 hours of Russian a week which, thanks to Mrs. Galina Filatova, were useful in this city or unfortunately nobody can speak English.
Speaking of this city, before coming many people told me to pay attention in the evening or even during the day because I do not really look like a French. But on the contrary, I never felt at any moment the slightest danger or anything of the sort. Having lived a year in London I can say that Moscow is much better secured. This city is full of museum, shopping center, activity to do during our rest days or others. The metro is by far the most beautiful subway I've seen in my life, it's clean and tells an unbeatable story. Besides, it deserts the city very well like buses or taxis that are cheap. The Russians are respectful of you and your willingness to help can that which really surprised me compared to a part of the Parisian population.
I remember that positive about this experience that allowed me to grow and see Russia and the Russians otherwise.
