The academic year is coming to an end. There are a lot of international students at Al Farabi Kazakh National University who came to our country last year and are completing their first year of study at the Higher School of Medicine. Young people arrived in Almaty from all over the world. We have students from India, Arabic countries such as Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Jordan, from the African continent such as Egypt, Sudan, students from Bulgaria and Germany, Turkey and many other countries. The university has brought them together into one big family of people with one thing in common, the desire to get a medical education and become a doctor.That was a great challenge to make a decision to study abroad, leave the family and usual lifestyle, and move to a foreign country. This is the time to take stock of the experience and impressions the freshmen have had over the year.

We asked the students about their expectations before they started to study at the university and whether their expectations were met. Most of them anticipated a more social and active environment, making new friends. They predicted that the classes would be difficult, it would be hard because living in a different country and city is challenging for everyone. The young people knew that they would acquire new information, be rather successful in their classes, and improve their English. Someone was eager to see cadavers and love medicine even more.

All of them assume that their expectations had been met. They now have the feeling that they are becoming a real doctor. Especially emotional was “The white coat “ ceremony which welcomes the new medical students into the medical profession.

The most challenging thing for first-year students is the stress of being far away from their best friends and family, from their home country, feeling homesick, the complexity of the courses, particularly Anatomy classes, assignments, and exams. Despite all this, there are many pleasurable moments. The happiest moments involve successfully passing exams and completing courses. But university is not just about assignments. Spending time with friends is like earning a prize at the end of the day after intensive study. Discovering new people and cultures, as many medical students come from different countries, exploring the new city of Almaty, and celebrations connected to the Kazakh traditions such as Nauryz, can be enjoyable and sometimes challenging.

Freshmen applicants to Al-Farabi University are advised to prepare for a busy schedule and stressful times.Being a doctor takes place not only by will but also by effort. The students also advise gaining a good command of the English language before entering the university, and studying regularly. It will make the learning process easier. The first-year graders shouldn’t be afraid of new things, manage their time so that they will have a difficult but fun year.

 Nadezhda BERSHINA,

Senior Lecturer,

Foreign Languages Department