JOIN US'People here are quite responsible'
Bangalore is a dream destination for international students. For Abdul Naser Wafa, who hails from Herat province in Afghanistan, studying in Bangalore is the fulfillment of a life-long ambition.
A student of agriculture at the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), he says, “I am really happy to be here. Around 500 students from Afghanistan come to India every year to study. My college has 16 Afghan students and I am the only Afghan in my college pursuing graduation. Back in Afghanistan, both my parents work in the agricultural department and I too want to work with my government and support the people of Afghanistan.’’
About his experiences so far in the City, he says, “Bangalore is a great city to be in and the people are really nice. I remember on the first day of college, I was invited home for dinner by a classmate. He introduced me to his family. During the meal, I drifted off as I was reminded of my family back in Afghanistan.
His mother immediately noticed it and said, ‘I know you are missing your mother but as long as you are in Bangalore, consider me as your mother and any help you need, you can always ask me.’ I was deeply touched by the remark. People in Bangalore are the warmest bunch I have ever met.”
He says, even in college, he gets a lot of help from his classmates.
“Initially, I found it very hard to understand the accent of my lecturers. But I have got used to it now and can understand it very well. Another big hurdle was taking down notes in class. Indian students are very quick and I always found it hard to catch up. My classmates are nice enough to share their notes with me,” he adds.
Ask him if there is anything in the City that he does not like and he says, “There is nothing about the City that I don’t like. People here are quite responsible and follow traffic rules. The City has nothing negative about it.”
Abdul commutes in a black Karizma in the City, “Initially I had some difficulty adjusting to the traffic here. You need to stick to the left side of the road unlike Afghanistan, where we drive on the right side. I practised for the first two weeks on a Scooty and now I can handle the traffic here like a professional,” he adds.
About his favourite hangouts, he says, “I love coming to MG Road and Brigade Road. I like eating in McDonalds and KFC. I also love the chicken biryani and egg biryani at Queens. Our campus canteen too is really good; I like rotis and chappatis served with Indian curries. I find Indian food very spicy and always ask them to tone down a little as far as the spices are concerned.”
Abdul is also a big fan of Bollywood movies.
He says, “I really want to learn Hindi as I know it only thoda thoda. It will help me understand Hindi movies. My all time favourite movie is Dilwale starring Sunil Shetty and Ajay Devgan. My favourite actor is Salman Khan.”