Vivian Lee (USSR, 2015)

International programs

I was so close to decide not to come to Russia for various reasons, but my gut feelings told me otherwise. I stood by my intuition, fought real hard to make this come true and waited ever so patiently. Before boarding that Emirates flight from KL, I was overwhelmed with nerves and excitement. Will all of this be worth risking?

Yes, I left Piter (St. Petersburg), completely changed from the person I was before. It was not just how I've glanced at those beautiful landmarks, or witnessed Russia's main events like New Year's, International Woman's Day, Victory Day, White Nights and the everyday life, but also associating with people from all walks of life at the European University at St. Petersburg (EUSP) and the rest of Piter. Because of them, I've learnt a lot about both myself and them. Staying in university during late evenings for a compulsory simulation game ;) discussions about foreign policy, energy issues, history lessons in EUSP; those 30 minutes commuting to and back from the Archive, and spending humongous chunks of sessions researching for my project, Orientation weekend, Russian ballets, Russian dinners, alcohol xD no I mostly enjoy the teas, and of course, Russian friends!!! Warmest people I've met in my life and was welcomed by their hospitality.