Egyptian Student on Ufa Life: 'Ready to Pay Thousands to Leave'

Universities in Ufa are popular among international students. For young people from Kazakhstan, the way of life is more or less familiar, but for those from Egypt, India, and China, the local mentality, weather, and especially the language are almost alien. Barely adults, they find themselves in conditions far from familiar and comfortable. At first, it«s especially difficult, but over time they fall in love with the culture, the country, and its people, wanting to stay and work here. One such student is Fares, a young man from Egypt. We interviewed him, asking him to be completely honest about his experience.

First, we want to show you Fares«s video, which became popular on the internet. In the cinematic footage, one phrase is heard: »I felt like I was in prison here…«:

Since the interview was conducted in text format, we preserved the author«s spelling and punctuation so you can appreciate his command of Russian almost at a native level.

— Fares, please tell us what city you«re from and how you came to study here?

— I«m from the city of El Mansoura, in northern Egypt. My decision to study in Russia is largely related to the admission system. We have a senior high school stage before university. During this period, a graduate must take seven exams in different subjects, and the final score plays a decisive role. To enter the medical faculty, you need to score from 98 to 100 percent. Unfortunately, I couldn»t achieve such a high result.

— We have a fairly similar system to yours. And then someone told you about Russia?

— We accidentally found out that an acquaintance was in a similar situation and went to study in Russia. Then my family suggested I consider this option — and that«s how it all started.

— Did you choose Ufa right away?

— Initially, the plan was to go to Nizhny Novgorod. But at that time, the coronavirus pandemic started, with strict travel restrictions, so everything was quite difficult. Nevertheless, I still got there and lived in the city for about three months. After that, the question arose of choosing a university to study at the dental faculty. I was really planning to enroll at Lobachevsky University in Nizhny Novgorod, but according to information from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Universities, that university was not accredited at the time, meaning the diploma wouldn«t be recognized in Egypt. I had to urgently look for another option. Some people advised me to pay attention to Ufa, and in the end, I left Nizhny Novgorod, spending 24 hours on the train. And then a situation happened that was both funny and very unpleasant.

— It«s already scary to imagine what kind of situation that was.

— Literally seven hours after I moved into a room in the new dormitory, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Universities published a new decision: Lobachevsky University was included in the list of accredited ones, and Ufa, on the contrary, was excluded. It was a real catastrophe. I remember I was ready to pay more than a thousand dollars just to go back to Nizhny Novgorod. But that turned out to be impossible. So I stayed to study at Bashkir State Medical University (BGMU).

— So the already difficult adaptation became many times more complicated?

— Imagine the state when you«re studying, understanding that in the end your diploma might have no value, but you still continue because at the moment there»s simply no other way out.

— I don«t know if I should then ask how your acquaintance with the city and university went.

— To be frank, I hated Ufa. But I had to accept the circumstances and focus on studying at least temporarily, or until there was an opportunity to transfer to another university whose diploma is recognized in Egypt. Time passed… And here I still am. And in a few months, I«ll get my diploma.

— In other words, since the diploma isn«t valued in Egypt, it turns out you have no education there, so to speak?

— Thank God, the laws have changed somewhat. Students who graduated from university last year told me that their diplomas are recognized in Egypt. I«m 90% sure of this, and the remaining 10% is still a mystery.

— And how did you manage to master Russian at such a good level?

— My experience with Russian wasn«t entirely pleasant either, to be honest. By nature, I»m a rather withdrawn person since childhood. And that«s perhaps the worst quality if you want to learn a foreign language, because you inevitably have to communicate with people. And that»s exactly what I didn«t do. Because of this, the language learning process dragged on. I was embarrassed to talk to anyone, afraid of making mistakes in speech. At the same time, it must be admitted that Russian is inherently difficult. Even now, I still have problems with grammar.

— Did anyone local help you with learning Russian?

— One circumstance did help me. I met a girl, we became friends. She helped me a lot with learning the language. She was the only person I didn«t find it difficult to talk to. It was she who gave me the feeling that I actually already knew some Russian, and that became the moment that pushed me to start speaking more confidently.

— Since you brought up the girl, will you share how your personal life is going here? Girls check you out, judging by the comments on social media. Maybe there were even funny pick-up lines?

— Regarding this topic — I«m not one of those people who strive for active communication or a large number of acquaintances. I never purposely went in that direction. I didn»t want to meet girls because I didn«t consider them suitable for me. Especially since I had a legitimate insurance policy. No nightclubs, no girls, and no alcohol. It»s a pity I didn«t stick to this rule… Because a girl appeared and made me break it.

— Thanks for being so honest.

— I was asked to answer honestly, so… At first, that girl who helped with learning Russian was just my friend, and over time I realized I fell in love with her. By the way, it was my first love experience in life. But as they say, first love often doesn«t last long. Unfortunately, it didn»t work out for us. But even now, I«m grateful to her for being the one who pulled me out of my room and helped me start living more openly.

— Thanks again for your honesty. Let«s move on to something more positive, like funny incidents that happened to you.

— At the beginning, I had funny situations. Once, I was standing at a bus stop waiting for a bus, and I wasn«t wearing a hat. Suddenly, some babushka (older woman) came up to me and started yelling at me. I completely didn»t understand what she was saying — a stranger pointing at my head and loudly complaining. It was very strange and confusing. Only later did I realize that she was unhappy that I was standing in the cold without warm clothing. Then I understood that the local babushkas, though they seem aggressive, are actually very kind.

— I«ve noticed myself more than once — you people are used to warmth, and it»s very cold here. Why do you dress so lightly, really?

— That happened to me in my first winter. I didn«t guess the weather would be so cold. My clothes were suitable for Egyptian winter, so until then I didn»t even have gloves, but now I have everything. Even thick socks.

— The last one — a significant contribution to your own health. By the way, in your video you mentioned that you overworked at many jobs. Tell us more.

— I worked in a grocery store. I arranged goods on shelves. That was my first job here. I worked in other places too, but they weren«t permanent jobs — different every day. I did call center work and worked in a construction store. Then I met someone, wanted to work with him. After the interview, I was accepted, and I collected orders at night, and in the morning I went to university.

— As far as I know, now you work in your specialty, right?

— Yes, I combine it with the last course at BGMU. I work as a dental assistant in a clinic, very grateful to the head doctor, she helped me and taught me everything.

— It must be difficult to combine work at the clinic and studying at BGMU? Tests, classes until evening.

— On the contrary, it helps me a lot in my studies. I mean, I see a lot of what I read about. In the first year at BGMU, I went out to study, and it was dark, came back, and it was still dark.

— And for you yourself, does the program seem difficult or easy? For example, compared to what«s in Egypt.

— In Egypt, great importance is placed on the practical side; students start treating real patients from the fourth year. Here, working with real patients isn«t prohibited, I think. It»s hard to find a patient who agrees to be treated by a student. But I think studying is difficult everywhere. After all, we«re studying medicine.

— You couldn«t say it better. Did I understand correctly that you now want to settle in Russia and work, live here?

— I really am trying to stay in Russia. But at the same time, I understand that I still need to return to Egypt to confirm my diploma and go through a practical year. This stage is very important for me because it will give me real clinical experience and help me become a stronger and more professional doctor.

— Good luck with that! Last question for today — what did you like most about Bashkortostan?

— In huge letters, I«ll say — NATURE. Unfortunately, I haven»t managed to see all of Bashkortostan, but I won«t return to Egypt without traveling around the republic.

Bashkortostan is a republic of hospitable people with open hearts. I«m sure our readers are happy for the successes of the guy from Egypt, Fares. By the way, Stas Yarushin, a famous TV presenter, also believes that our region is a soulful, genuine place. The nature here is a fairy tale. So think everyone.