My Experience as a Buddy for International Students

I was interested in exploring different cultures and exchanging ideas about countries, their languages and cuisines. I bumped into the "Buddy System" which was a new initiative by ITMO University. I was screened by the selection committee and didn't expect to be selected as one of the buddies. I was excited and happy to be a part of this group. I was assigned to a new group of exchange students who were arriving from Brazil at the end of December.

There were 5 students in this group, namely, Mateus, Caio, Thalis, Yan and Angelo out of which 4 came together and one came separately. The first I was introduced to was Mateus, to be frank, I thought he was from France, but it turned out he was part Italian, I missed the mark by 1,300 km. So, while waiting for them with my "buddy" colleagues at Pulkovo Airport, we noticed that their baggage had arrived but they were nowhere to be seen. Then, the door opened and we saw, happy, bubbling and exhilarating eyes. Although they had exhausting jetlag but their energy and their sense of humour made everyone around them energetic.

The first week, I spent the whole day with them, exploring the city with them along with helping them get to know their local grocery stores and supermarkets, and that's why I was nicknamed "Aunt Sasha". The birthdays of Mateus and Caio fell in the month of March, so we decided to surprise them. I baked a cake for them, it was my first time and unexpectedly it was delicious as well. Similarly, we celebrated my birthday in May in their dorm, they cooked a Brazilian dinner for me and it was a special night for all of us, we sang, we enjoyed and most importantly we became close friends.

It was fortunate that I had the opportunity to meet Matues's mother and spend time with her also. However, I am a little saddened by the fact that I had to go FIFA 2018 as a volunteer in Sochi. So, I had to go early and I couldn't meet with all of them except Matues and couldn't see them off at the airport. On a positive note, I was invited by them to visit Brazil and to spend time with them there, I am looking forward for the same.