Din India la Chișinău: șoc cultural, integrare, bariere lingvistice, acceptare, discriminare

How is the Republic of Moldova seen through the eyes of a young woman from India? In this episode of the "Social Laboratory", we talk to Dreyah Candice Dympep, a 5th year student at the "Nicolae Testemitanu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy and vice president of the Association of Medical Students and Residents. Coming from Shillong, the capital of the Indian state of Meghalaya, Dreyah arrived in Chisinau during the pandemic. Today, after almost five years spent in the Republic of Moldova, she talks about cultural shocks, language barriers, integration into a new society, acceptance and discrimination, and the experience of studying thousands of kilometers from her family, in a country with a completely different culture from her home. According to official data, every tenth student in the Republic of Moldova is a foreign citizen, and most of them come from India. Dreyah's story offers a rare perspective on how Moldova is perceived by those who choose to live, study or build their future here. The "Social Laboratory" podcast, where we take samples of society - people, ideas, phenomena, processes - and study them on the microphone, was conceived from the start as a public and safe space to put into words and better understand what is happening to us as individuals and as a society in a rapidly changing world. Now, after several rounds of elections have brought back to the surface the resentments accumulated over time and which, in the absence of a culture of dialogue, have accentuated the division, we propose to address, through personal stories, sensitive topics related to identity and interethnic relations in the Republic of Moldova. But we will not stop at these, because we want to discover together other stories about how this society is changing. Watch "Social Laboratory" on YouTube and moldova.europaliberă.org. 00:00 - Intro and initial perception of the Republic of Moldova 01:25 - Dreyah Candice Dympep, medical student in Chisinau and vice president of the Medical Students and Residents Association 04:09 - "I'm from the Meghalaya region of India. In our country, the name is inherited from the mother." 06:50 - Education in India and language barriers between tribes 08:42 - Religion and cultural diversity in Meghalaya versus churches in Moldova 12:00 - The status of women in Moldova compared to the situation in India 13:34 - Why Dreyah chose to study medicine in the Republic of Moldova 15:30 - Discovering the Moldovan wine tradition 16:49 - Culture shock: English and communication difficulties in Chisinau 20:42 - What Moldovans are like through the eyes of a foreign student 22:23 - Interaction with patients in hospitals. Cases of discrimination 29:21 - The challenge of learning Romanian and the "bubble" of international students 35:14 - Traveling through Moldova, a passion for painting and homesickness 38:00 - Moldovan cuisine: polenta, pies and "Guguță's Cușma" 39:16 - What does he not like about Moldova? 42:14 - Living conditions in the dormitory versus rent in the city 43:20 - What Moldovans appreciate least about their country, from Dreyah's perspective 44:48 - Indian food that soothes his homesickness 48:36 - Future plans: surgery, residency and international options 51:02 - The dream of bringing his family to Moldova and the visa process 55:55 - What does Moldova mean after five years of studies and how did he overcome the difficult moments? 59:14 - Conclusions and end of the episode *** ✔️ Subscribe to RFE/RL on social networks: Facebook -   / europalibera.org   Instagram -   / europalibera   TikTok -   / europalibera.moldova   🌐 Visit our website for the latest news and reports - https://moldova.europalibera.org/ 📜 We are glad that you participate in our debates and write comments, but please respect a few rules: 1. We do not want to limit freedom of thought and expression in any way, but we reserve the right to delete from the forum statements that may have legal consequences, that are defamatory, obscene, indecent, abusive, violent, pornographic, threatening, discriminatory, that incite hatred or are illegal. 2. The discussion forum may not be used for commercial purposes. 3. Do not knowingly post any material that may constitute a copyright infringement. 4. Comments must be mostly in Romanian and Russian.