International Students Testimonials

Tio Rosalina , Indonesia

Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin

I found new friends during my first week in Russia

My name is Tio Rosalina, and I come from Indonesia. Last year I studied Russian in Ivanovo. I came to Yekaterinburg two months ago. My major is child psychology. I am doing my Master's Degree, so it means that I will study in Russian for 2 years.

The first semester I have 11 subjects, and some of them are special psychological disciplines: methodology measurement in the psychological field, art therapy, psychological crisis, school psychology, psychology practicum, and also information and communication technology. My favourite one is art therapy and psychology practicum because we study not only the theory but we also do observations, discussions, and conduct practical studies using psychological testing. In other words, these classes are really exciting!

UrFU is cool! I love the UrFU logo; it’s so colorful and eye-catching, representing energy and positiveness. The other good thing is UrFU's website: the English version is constantly updated. It provides information about the campus and different activities; it’s really helpful for the students and also for promotion of the university. Last but not least are the lecturers: they are professional, informative, and helpful, especially to new international students like me. The only thing I could wish for is that some of the campuses will be renewed or repaired, but I think it’s just a matter of time.

Russia has a lot of famous people: poets, musicians, writers, painters, psychologists. I also know that Russia is a federation. There are many nations in this country, which can enrich my perspective about personality and psychological stereotypes of these nations. For example, foreigners believe that all Russian people are cold, unfriendly, and unemotional, but here in Yekaterinburg I’ve found warm, friendly, and polite people. In the first week of my coming, I’ve already had some of them as my friends.

Russians have tremendous pride in their history and also in the founders. All cities in Russia have a lot of sights: monuments reminding of historic figures or events, museums, old houses, old buildings, and also Orthodox churches.