The life of foreign students in Romania

What’s the life for any student? What are the conditions? What is our wish? Our motivations? Our hopes? Our daily problems? Who are WE? What means to be a student? What means to be a student in foreign country? What are the benefits of that? And so much more existing questions in our minds…

We used to say “mind is a terrible thing, don’t waste it “. And we are right! No matter where we are, no matter who we are, we exist and our name is STUDENTS!

All students have their own life, especially if they are in a foreign country, such as Romania. All the foreign students, I’m sure we have the same problem as: washing clothes, washing dishes, making meal and we always have time and place for limitless possibilities and student power to invest our time in distinctive and vibrant ways. In our free time we have opportunities for research, sports, social events, nightlife, theatre and the arts, hiking & outdoor recreation, and all levels and types of activism. All foreign students that are in Romania have one same life style no matter where are they from: Macedonia, Libya, Iraq, Greece, Albania etc. We all believe that if you are student in other country, your experience is much, much richer, because we are at the same time making 3-4 colleges. I hope you believe some of this, but if you don’t…then I’ll take some examples: I’m sure that every foreign student knows how to make meal no matter what sex it is, male or female. Every student studies for electrician, computer technology, plumper, and even carpenter for furniture. This kind of study is optional, and no matter what we want, we all have to learn it!:) Most of us, like the nightlife much more than studying, while other students came here with clear goal: EDUCATION! I think we have time for everything! But that doesn’t mean that we haven’t problems. Problems, concerning place for living, exams and much, much more. The offers of Romania are big: after 2007 we can be near the EU, near the whole possibilities that one European country can give us.

But it’s not gold all that glitters, for us…the prices for public transport are much expensive, we don’t have famous REDUCERE of 50% like Romanian students. Our scholarship isn’t enough to pay what we spend, even we can’t afford more than one week. Not to criticize the conditions in the student dorms which are miserable, uncomfortable, and not satisfying the basic student needs. It steel looks so far away from the European standards and even it doesn’t looks very optimistic. I don’t say anything for the problems with the different languages, and alphabets. Because that’s our choice, and no one give us obligation for that. It’s our wish our right. OUR CHOICE.

Well, that’s the life of foreign students in Romania, hope I wasn’t too critical about Romania, but it’s just the way of our life. We still hope that this can be changed, and with your understanding, hope that this can be much better. Also I would like to say that these problems aren’t so different with the Romanian student problems. As already said: WE ARE ALL STUDENTS!

Aleksandar Nikolovski
Macedonia, student in Constanta, Romania

01.02.2007. 21:36