Institute of Business Management, Karachi, Pakistan
Bachelor Program
September – December
Fall semester: 01.12.2018 – 23.12.2018
Moscow, the city which every traveler has on his bucket list. I was selected by my host university Institute of Business Management for a semester exchange in their partner university IBS-RANEPA. Experiencing everything for the first time I was a bit worried and excited at the same time. As the process proceeded we got in touch with our International coordinator at IBS RANEPA, Zemfira Galimullina. I was very comfortable while communicating with her, Although she gave me every information regarding the whole visa process but still if I had any confusion I could email her anytime and I didn’t have to wait for reply for days which made things a lot easier.
Landing at the Vnukovo airport I was excited to step into a completely different world and by whole different world I meant the western lifestyle which was completely different than the lifestyle we had in Pakistan. After getting cleared from all the security checkpoints (which took more time than we expected) we had a driver waiting for us at the exit. The weather was a bit hotter than I expected but still I could feel the cold breeze caressing our faces, the clear blue skies, the wide roads with periodic views of the forest on our way towards IBS RANEPA, I enjoyed every bit of that small ride. After arriving at IBS RANEPA I had an international student waiting for me who helped me in every basic thing, for instance, getting a room for me in the dormitory and showing me the currency exchange points. After doing all the necessary things I finally went to my room. My first expression of the room was why is it so small? Can’t I get bigger rooms? Well it was just a matter of time and I started to feel like home within a couple of days.
Similarly, the first week was comprised of all the paper work we were required to do and to tell you the truth Zemfira helped us throughout the process just like a foster mother. Then we had an orientation where I met all the International students with whom I was going to study this semester. We all got along so well that the feeling of being a stranger got away quickly. I was surprised by the attitude of the Russian teachers and students towards me because the stereotypes I had about Russian were nowhere to find in their characters. Talking about the courses I was expecting to learn more than I actually learned, the classes were very less interactive and it made the course less interesting. But my most favorite course among all courses was strategic management by Sir Arcadiy Goldberg, the atmosphere in his class was way different from other courses. He trained us to think strategically, to evaluate problems or to give suggestions on a particular topic. I learned so much from his class and for that I will always be grateful to him.
Now if I talk about the people of Russia I was really surprised and happy to discover that all the stereotypes I had about them were totally wrong. For instance, if I needed help in the metro, in the superstore or anywhere else they were always eager to help us. I never faced any kind of racism towards me. One thing I learned about Russians is that they don’t fake smiles if they are smiling with you then they are genuinely happy with you. To my surprise, It was very easy to find halal food and halal restaurants in Moscow and every day we would meet a person who turn out to be a Muslim in the end.
Similarly, to take a break from studies we planned a trip to Saint Petersburg and everything from the train journey to strolling around the city was memorable for me. Saint Petersburg had its own unique vibes and it always felt like I was strolling around a city of England. Coming back from Saint Petersburg I received an invitation regarding a trip to Vyazma, without any second thought I agreed with the plan. Sophie, who was organizing this trip helped us during the whole trip and I will always be thankful to her for such an amazing experience. In Vyazma we were hosted by different families, we played games with the locals, went for a walk around the city, shared our values and thoughts with each other and to conclude, my trip to Vyazma was the highlight event of my exchange program in Moscow. As I said to the people of Vyamza “I came to make some friends, made a family instead” can describe the importance of this trip for me. People of Moscow and Moscow itself will always stay in my heart no matter where I go.
