International Students Testimonials

Christian Sierra, Columbia

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (National Research University)

I will never forget the first time I saw snow, it was amazing

Phystech, in my opinion, is the most prestigious technical university in Russia. Talented students learn here. Before joining MIPT, I studied Russian at the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, where students from 140 countries of the world study. It is interesting to note that exams in Russia are taken orally and a list of questions is given out in advance so students can prepare. Whereas in Colombia all the exams are taken in written.

By the way, the Russian is not simple at all. I studied it hardly, moreover, I lived mainly with foreign students from Cameroon, Syria, Mongolia, Cambodia and Madagascar, and at that time, we communicated in other languages. Therefore, in the morning I spoke in Russian with teachers, in the afternoon – in English with friends, in the evening – in French with my roommates. Only after I had entered the postgraduate course at MIPT and I had started living with Russian students, I was able to completely overcome the language barrier. Those guys turned out to be very good, they still help me. Russia has given me not only the opportunity to get a quality education in the field of mathematics and physics, but also to find good friends.

Speaking about impressions, I was struck by Russian winter, it is especially surprising for those students who have not seen snow before. I will never forget how I stood on Miklouho-Maclay Street, near PFUR, and the first white snowflakes fell from the sky, that was perfect. I seemed to be in the Russian film "The Irony of Fate". The buildings acquired bizarre shapes and, with their blackness, created an ineffable contrast with gradually advancing whiteness. The snow began to cover the ground, and everything around became dazzling white. I had seen this only on TV before! Some guys began to make snowballs, others fiddled around in the snow, and others just stayed at their warm rooms and watched the landscape changing outside the window.