[My Story With GDUFS]Dzhalil's Story

My name is Dzhalil Sharafutdinov. I am from Moscow, Russia. I have been teaching Russian Language and Russian Literature at GDUFS for six years.

I graduated from Moscow University (Lomonosov Moscow State University), where I finished my doctoral dissertation. There’s no doubt that Moscow University is a great university, as well as one of the top universities globally. It is the cradle of various subjects and genres, cultivating a great number of excellent scholars which includes some Nobel Prize winners. It could be said that my true Alma Mater is Moscow University, as I have not only sought knowledge with heart and soul there, but I have also taught at Moscow University. I am very grateful and respectful to my university. Besides Moscow University, I also know a lot about other universities in Moscow at which I have worked.

However, the university I love most is GDUFS. I enjoy working and living here, which is largely due to the colleagues, students and staff here.

I admire my Chinese colleagues. The faculty of the Russian Major is a strong team. Teachers of the Russian Major are skillful and professional. Everyone is an excellent expert of Russian philology, proficient in Russian language, Russian literature and Russian culture. These teachers have been to some of the major Russian cities, such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan and Yekaterinburg, to study at the local universities. Some teachers even completed their doctoral dissertation in Russian language there. Teachers of the Russian Major are not only excellent in their studies, but they also love their jobs and are responsible for their work, improving and expanding their knowledge ceaselessly.

Let me pick up an example here. Once, one of my old friends, a renowned expert of Russian films and a playwright of many well-known Russian movies, came to GDUFS from Moscow. When my old friend was talking with Professor YANG Ke, he rather appreciated the perfect Russian she spoke and her unique understanding of Russian movies. After returning to Moscow, my old friend has excitedly recalled the conversation about movies with Professor YANG Ke several times.

Students of the Russian Major also make me happy. They are almost all hard-working students, with great interest in Russian language, culture, history and modern Russia. Without a doubt, this also owed to my colleagues. In fact, some students wanted to study other subjects instead of Russian when they registered at GDUFS. However, after studying Russian for a while, led by the teachers who are passionate and proficient in Russian culture, their interest for the Russian language was aroused immediately and they have studied well. What should be emphasized here is that it is very difficult for Chinese students to master Russian, especially Russian grammar, because Russian and Chinese are two hugely contrasting languages, which belong to two different families and have totally different structures. Still, with the interest towards Russian and their diligence, students of the Russian Major broke through the brambles and thrones along the way of studying Russian and finally went through the jungle of Russian word-building, syntax and rhetoric. Certainly their respected teachers helped them a lot along the way.

Russian World Fund, the only Russian center in Southern China, which is also located at GDUFS also played a key role in students’ studies. The staff at the Russian center are all high-level Russian philologists.

Some of the students who graduated from the Russian Major of GDUFS work for the government of Guangdong Province, some work in China’s Foreign Ministry, and some work at the Chinese Embassy in Russia.

Here I also want to mention the concerns and solicitude that the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange give the international teachers specifically. In my opinion, GDUFS has provided perfect living conditions for the international teachers. The Office of International Cooperation and Exchange often invite us to join in all kinds of cultural activities, either inside or outside the campus. There’s a very good tradition at GDUFS: arranging annual trips for the international teachers to some Chinese cities (Xi’an, Sichuan, Hangzhou etc.), whose costs are all paid by GDUFS. This surprised my colleagues in Moscow and they admired it.

I still remember clearly the last anniversary, when a beautiful garden named Jiufang Pavilion was built across the Xingan Supermarket along the Xiangsi River at the South Gate of GDUFS. It has become a place favored by old people, kids with their parents and lovers of the campus. It is bliss to celebrate the 50th anniversary of GDUFS at this excellent institution. It is also a great honor as well as my responsibility and a pleasure to work with the excellent teachers and students of GDUFS.

Introduction of the author:

Dzhalil Sharafutdinov is a Russian doctor and associate professor of the Russian Major. It has been six years since he was assigned to the Faculty of European Languages and Cultures of GDUFS from the Faculty of Foreign Languages and District of Lomonosov Moscow State University.