We get the pulse of foreign students, who are increasingly opting for the city as a study destination
The number of foreign students opting for Visakhapatnam as a favoured destination for higher education has increased remarkably from last year, going by the number of enrollments. In addition to that, the low cost of living in the city, the foreign exchange programmes provided by Gitam University and the full scholarship programmes offered by Andhra University are a major draw for foreign students. Apart from scholarly pursuits, there are other aspects of the city that seem to appeal to these students. The scenic beauty of Vizag is one of them. Florian Mingas and Roux Lala of France, who are in their 2nd trimester at Gitam University, say, “In this city, we never felt away from home as the beaches remind us of South France. The hostel facilities are good and the fellow students and professors help us in every possible way to make us understand the curriculum. The only problem we have is remembering people’s names and the food is a lot spicier that what we are used to.”
Chloe Cherri of France, a foreign exchange student in Gitam, says that the demeanour of Vizagites has altered her perception of Indians. She says “When I was working in New Zealand as a hotel management employee, I came across a few Indians and they were very rude. I never wanted to come to India, but I had to come to Vizag. And after staying here, I have realised that all Indians are not the same.”.
While that’s the scenario in Gitam, Andhra University has a diverse foreign population from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Nepal and Ethiopia. These students say that they have adapted to the city easily, but the only hurdle they face is the humidity during summers. Milkiyas Mehreteab from Ethiopia , who is studying his 1st year business management, says “The college management is good and they are very helpful. It’s like going back to school. My major issue is with the humidity, I have a T-shirt which says ‘bear the heat or sweat it out’ — other than that I’m really happy here,” he quips.
For students from Nepal, who come from cooler climes, the oppressive heat and humidity coupled with the frequent power cuts is a big challenge they face. Even learning the language is a major problem for them. Pooja Ranjitkar, a 2nd year finance student of Nepal, says, “It is wonderful city, no doubt. Whenever we need help, our friends try and teach us Telugu words, but it’s a difficult language. Also, the climate here is very hot and humid and the frequent power shutdowns make it worse. We still need to acclimatise.”
Summing up the Vizag experience, Nasir Ahmed, a 2nd year Applied Geology student from Afghanistan says, “We are happy that our embassy chose this place for our studies. It’s a great place to socialise and we get to know about many historical places . We have been able to adapt to the lifestyle and food habits very quickly. But the funny thing is that, here winter is like summer in Afghanistan. But it’s quite a relief as we do not have zero degree temperatures here. The major hurdle we have is the communication barrier. Sometimes, our lecturers’ converse in the regional dialect and it becomes difficult for us to understand. We have to stay back after college hours and talk to the professors and clear our doubts. It’s time consuming. Apart from that, we love the City of Destiny as it is considered to be one among the multicultural cities.”
leena.sri@timesgroup.com
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> Life & Style> People / by Leena Shri Pampana, TNN / December 06th, 2012