I have ended my university life

13.05.2016 marks my last day as a student. I am officially done Medical school life.

The journey has been long and winding, up and downs. Lots of bittersweet memory. 

The first time I set foot in Moscow is 2010. First time being somewhere so far without my parents, a foreign land which I do not know a single bit about the language. With a group of comrades like me, who does not know much about this foreign land, we were together at this. So afraid and yet excited, excited to see what this mysterious land could offer us. 

It was emotional day before in the airport, leaving my parents behind, going somewhere so faraway for the first time. Fear, excitement, freedom, lots of emotion was in the mix. I tried so hard not to cry, psyching myself that it will fine, I am not going alone, it is my first time going abroad. I had my friends who made an effort to rush to the airport to send me off, they were my emotional support. Going into the passport control, seeing my mum and sister crying while I leave, it was heartbreaking, but, I had to move on, I had to go. 

Fast forward 24 hours, we are already in Moscow. We were threw into our hostel rooms and we were so shocked with our hostel room condition, it was far from ideal but I still manage to make it home for 5 years until I moved out into the apartment this year.

I still remembered the first time getting food in a small grocer just below the hostels, not being able to speak a single Russian, the seniors helped us and all we did was just pointing at the products we wanted. 

The first year was tough, I thought I started out strong when till mid of the school year, I realize how much I have been missing home. When you are overseas, you will realize how important your parents were. It's true, that they say, you will start appreciating things when you don't have them. 

Experiencing my first winter was actually fun. I came from a country with no four seasons. It was definitely amazing but I grew to quite hating winter at the end of school years. I guess I just can't stand the extreme cold in Moscow. 

The winter during my first year was the coldest winter. It hit -30 degree Celcius and we still had to go to class. This photo was taken on the 25th of December. It was snowing heavily on that day and decided to go to the park. If you think about it now, it was a crazy move but so memorable. 

We went on a frozen lake for the first time of our life and we ran for our lives when we heard it crack and I still remembered how I could not climb up the hill and my friends had to pull me up. 

Through the years, I have learned a lot in Moscow. I have became stronger and tougher. It has taught me a lot about how the society works.

The first few years was definitely hard with lots of homesick moments but as the years goes by, I have started to adapt better. I still miss my family though.
Same goes with the life here. It was hard. Not able to speak Russian, everything seems so foreign and I have to depend on people on a lot of things. As the years went by , we got hold of the language better, we started to do be able to do things by ourselves. Able to understand locals around us.

I am glad that I am not alone in this journey, I had friends, a group of friends originating from the same country, who understands each other's problems and pain because we were experiencing the same things. We were able to help each other out. Stand strong together.

Six years has passed, I would not that it is short or a blink of an eye, Six years is long. Life has changed a lot for me. I want to thank the people who have supported me through my journey here.