Future doctors from different countries told how they plan to celebrate the New Year in Belarus

Students from 60 countries study at the Belarusian State Medical University. Almost every continent is represented, including America, Australia and Africa.

Despite the fact that the test week is in full swing, and the session is ahead, foreign students are in a pre-holiday mood. Today, December 28, future Hippocrates will be congratulated by Father Frost and Snow Maiden at the university-wide carnival. Foreign students told our correspondent about celebrating the New Year at home and studying at the medical university.

The doors of the medical university have been open to foreign students since September 1, 1964. Next year, BSMU will celebrate the 60th anniversary of training foreign citizens.

- People come to us from all over the world - the usa , Australia, the Middle East and Africa. They covered all of RUSSIA - from Kaliningrad to Sakhalin,” says Oleg Ishutin, dean of the medical faculty for foreign students. - About four thousand foreign citizens have already graduated from our university - representatives of about 110 countries. Just the other day we sent an invitation to two sisters from the Comoros Islands. They also want to study at BSMU. The very first foreign students who crossed the threshold of the university were born in 1944-1946. They became full-fledged specialists, and then sent their children and grandchildren here to study. From generation to generation, information is passed on that the quality of training of doctors in our country is at a high level. This is explained by the fact that we have preserved traditions and a unique system of medical education.

Tatiana Elbitra and Yana Sabbah are from Lebanon. Both have Ukrainian mothers. it was the parents who largely pushed their daughters to the decision to study in Belarus. The girls are happy that they chose BSMU. Classes are held in English, and students are confident that with their diploma they will be in demand anywhere in the world. Tatyana says that in European countries they mainly teach on mannequins. And here, already from the third year, it is possible to perform simple manipulations, such as, for example, treatment of caries, on real patients in the clinic.

Yana plans to become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. The dream is just a stone's throw away. After all, she is already a 5th year student at the dental department.

- I like the fact that at the university you have the opportunity to do something with your own hands. Teachers of any department are responsive and competent. They never refused help or advice. Now the university is striving to become more innovative. Classes are conducted using new educational technologies aimed at active participation in the educational process. There are very good scientific supervisors here who help with work on publications. While still students, we can publish our best materials in scientific journals.

The interlocutors said that the New Year in Lebanon, like in Belarus, is also celebrated from December 31 to January 1. True, the celebrations begin in advance and last for several days. So, from December 29, New Year's performances are held in Beirut for two weeks. The holiday is accompanied by fun, noise, fireworks and dancing. Show programs are held in squares, clubs and restaurants. The impressions and emotions received these days remain with the Lebanese for the whole year.

Ekaterina Logis came to study in Belarus from Israel. She is already in her 5th year of medicine. Plans to become a gynecologist.

- At first I considered medical universities in Italy and the USA, but in the end I chose BSMU. MINSK Medical University is highly rated. And the reviews I’ve heard about him are excellent,” says Ekaterina. - I even came to Belarus specifically to find out all the necessary information directly at the university itself. I asked the guys who study here. I admit, there were concerns that the university was stuck in the Soviet education system, but then I personally became convinced of the high modern level of education. Current teachers are real professionals who speak foreign languages. They use modern literature, including foreign ones. My choice was conscious and thoughtful, and I didn’t regret it for a second.

For Ekaterina, New Year has been a good family holiday since childhood. Israel has its own Jewish New Year, which is celebrated in September. There should be three main dishes on the table, which symbolize the prosperity of the next year. This is an APPLE with honey, a dish of fish and pomegranate. An apple in honey is a symbol of a successful, literally translated, sweet year. The HEAD of the fish represents fertility. And the Israeli pomegranate is said to contain 613 seeds, the number of commandments in the Torah. And it symbolizes success and good luck. The student will celebrate the Belarusian New Year with her classmates.

3rd year student of the dental department Suleiman Nejat Amir is from Iran. He chose a Minsk university because his father once studied here.

- I am a hereditary dentist. BSMU attracts me because it is a practice-oriented university, with a good scientific base and wonderful teachers. Its graduates then find themselves in great demand in their homeland. I was lucky enough to be born on December 31, and therefore I will celebrate this double holiday for me in the company of my friends,” smiles Suleiman Nejat Amir.

In Iran, as the interlocutor said, the New Year is celebrated in the spring, it is called Navruz. The holiday has deep historical roots that are connected with nature, family and culture of the country. One of the main symbols of the Iranian New Year is khavtin, an order in which objects beginning with the letter “s” in Persian are placed on the table . This is, for example, greenery, symbolizing rebirth (sabzi). Or gold coins (seke), frozen sandalwood oil , samanu wheat porridge and so on.

Lakinda Disanaeka from Sri Lanka is considered one of the best students at the university. A young man recently received an unprecedented discount on tuition - 60 percent! For the parents, this was a great gift and a reason to be proud of their son.

- Such a discount is certainly not easy to get. In my case, three important points were taken into account,” he says. - Firstly, the average score at the end of the session. And I have it 9.67, if I'm not mistaken. Secondly, I was chosen as the vice-chairman of the Sri Lankan students' community. We hold many different events and promote our culture. I am happy to take part in various competitions and amateur performances. So, recently I performed a folk dance, which in Senegalese is called candy dance. And thirdly, I am engaged in scientific work - I have published articles on pediatrics, topographic anatomy and gynecology. There are already many specialists working in Sri Lanka who graduated from universities in Belarus. And they are all trained at a decent professional level. Therefore, when I had to choose, I consulted with knowledgeable people and firmly decided: only Minsk! I want to be a surgeon.

In Sri Lanka, the student said, the New Year is celebrated in April, when the sun moves from the sign of Pisces to the sign of Aries. The holiday means the beginning of spring, and it is long-awaited for people. At this time, nature begins to awaken, it rains, birds sing. A few hours before the start of the new year, delicious food is prepared. A must-have dish is rice cooked in coconut MILK . It is placed in the center of the table.

PS The guys who came to BSMU from different countries agreed that the Belarusians received them very warmly, cordially and hospitably. And they don’t feel like foreigners here. On the eve of the New Year holidays, future doctors wished Belarusians prosperity, peace, harmony and love.

Elena NIKOLAEVA,

newspaper "7 days".