草榴短视频

Student Ang Chi Zhi about what it's like to be the only Malaysian in St. Petersburg.

Ang Chi Zhi, a student at the Institute of Information Technology and Automation of 草榴短视频, came to Russia from a small town near the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. According to Chi Zhi, he is the only Malaysian in St. Petersburg, but the young man is even happy about it. He believes that, having arrived in another country, it is necessary to immerse yourself in its culture, practice the language and make friends among the locals. In Russia, a foreign student not only receives an IT-education, he also works as a hairdresser in a beauty salon, sings in a choir and plays the violin. Read about Karl Bryullov's paintings and cyber attacks on databases, as well as why you should not hesitate to ask questions, in our interview with Chi Zhi.

Why did you decide to get a higher education in Russia?

In Malaysia, higher education is very expensive, which is why school graduates often enroll in foreign universities. Most Malaysians speak English and Chinese in addition to Malay, so they choose Australia, the UK, the USA or China to study. But I chose Russia because I always wanted to get an education in the field of information technology, and Russian IT specialists are known all over the world. I didn't know anything else about this country, studying here was an interesting adventure for me. I started learning Russian in advance, back in my homeland. But when I arrived in St. Petersburg and went to the grocery store on the first day, I was confused. At the checkout I was asked if I had a store card and if I needed a package. I didn't understand anything, I just stood there and looked at the cashier with empty eyes!

Do your compatriots often travel to Russia?

A year ago I had to get a new passport, and I went to the Malaysian Embassy in Moscow. When we finished processing the documents, I was told that the head of the embassy wanted to meet me personally, because they thought that there had not been a single Malaysian in St. Petersburg for four years! And I can say for sure that in general there are very few people from Malaysia in Russia. But I'm not upset. I believe that when you go to study abroad, you should not make friends from your own country. It doesn't make sense. All my friends here are Russians. I like to listen when they talk about their culture. So I learn a lot of new things. The best way to learn a language is to communicate with native speakers. I have significantly improved my Russian proficiency due to the fact that during the pandemic we were isolated in a hostel for several months, and I talked a lot with my neighbor.

Mathematics can be called an international language of communication. The fact that you study exact sciences at 草榴短视频 makes it easier for you to study in another language?

No, I can't say it's easy. For example, the teacher says: "We write down the equation." And I didn't know what "equation" meant before. I know this word in English and in Chinese, but I have not studied such terms in Russian. For a long time I was embarrassed to ask questions during lectures, because I didn't even know how to formulate them, I couldn't say what exactly I didn't understand. Nevertheless, after classes, teachers and even classmates patiently explained to me the material they had passed. Even then I didn't understand everything, but it was nice that they were spending their time on me. I felt that they wanted me to study, and it helped. I would advise other international students not to be afraid to ask, not to be afraid to make mistakes, otherwise you will not be able to get better.

Tell us about the topic of your graduation work.

I am studying cyber attacks on databases written in SQL. Each company has its own databases where important information is stored, including personal data of site users, so hackers regularly attack them. In general, I am interested not only in how to protect information, but also in what ways it can be stolen. In the future, I would like to work in this field as a freelancer and hack their servers or databases at the request of various companies to check how secure they are.

What do you do in your free time?

When I came to Russia, I decided that I wanted to get not only a higher education, but also an additional skill. I was choosing between hairdressing and sewing and decided to become a hairdresser. Now I work in a Chinese beauty salon here in St. Petersburg. I also sing in the choir, where I am the only foreigner. We perform modern and spiritual music in Russian, English, French and German, our choir has performed on Palace Square and in the Annenkirche, traveled to music festivals in Moscow, Petrozavodsk, Sertolovo and Rostov. I started studying music back in Malaysia, playing piano and violin. Here I continued to practice the violin, even during the pandemic, I trained by video link with a Russian teacher directly from the dormitory. In Russia, I fell in love with painting and art galleries. I like to look at people's faces on large-scale canvases, such as Karl Bryullov's "The Last Day of Pompeii" in the Russian Museum. During my first visit, I couldn't tear myself away from this picture for ten minutes, I saw fear and sadness in the eyes of its characters.

Would you like to stay in St. Petersburg?

When I first arrived, I was struck by the huge difference between Kuala Lumpur, a modern city with high-rise buildings, and St. Petersburg with its historical center. I haven't decided on my future yet, but I can say for sure that I will be coming back here. Because here I laughed and cried, learned to cope with everything alone, without relatives, without friends. Here I became independent, felt freedom, felt that life is only in my hands. Petersburg has already become a part of me.