International Exchange

Through the University's International Programs, an English teacher from the Republic of Tatarstan,Russia, came to the University at Albany to share her culture and family story with SUNY Albany students. Julia Ziyatdinova's goal is to research the higher education system here to improve on her nation's own. She spoke excellent English as she stood before a lecture hall filled with students and told them about her country and family. She said that she was friends with Mr. Pasquil, who is the Director of Study Abroad and Exchanges in the Office of International Programs. She also said that she spent an entire day on the plane coming to the America and walked around the airport for a few hours listening to others conversations to get used to the new environment of an English-speaking country.

There are many differences in American and Tatar culture. Ziyatdinova loves the American tradition to smile and their manners. She noted that Americans are always drinking something, from bottles or cups. She meant that it was strange to see people drinking as they walked along their way because in Tatarstan, it is rare to see someone walking around drinking anything. Another odd and amazing thing to her were the brightly colored rain boots; her country only carries it in black. In Tatarstan, restaurants are very expensive and mainly used for official dinners. Here, she went to one and it wasn't as expensive and not used just for official occasions.

Ziyatdinova was reluctant to say anything on the topic at first but still shared the information that divorce isn't something people openly speak about in Tatarstan. She is divorced and has a 2 and a half year-old daughter. She didn't act as if she were trying to hide anything. She was very open with all questions asked and even offered up little stories to help the students understand her better. She thinks America is very clean because she didn't have to clean mud from her shoes when she returned to her hotel room. She was surprised that mostly everyone drove or took the bus here. The highway with no side walk came as a surprise too because she said "in Russian, many people walk."

Her mother is Russian and her father a Tatar. Her father was raised speaking Russian, but his parents were Tatars who only spoke the language, Turkish, amongst themselves. Her parents were raised in the time of communism and "communists couldn't be religious" so she was raised with no religion. Tatars were originally Muslim, Ziyatdinova said, but Christianity was forced onto them in the 16Th century by Ivan the Terrible. Both religions are practiced in Tatarstan today along with others.

The Republic of Tatarstan, which is a part of the Russian Federation is a small nation with an area of 67,838 km². It is surrounded by land on all sides and has large oil deposits. There isn't a lot of mixed culture in Tatarstan, said Ziyatdinova, "there are more and more Chinese but it's hard to see an Afro American." Ziyatdinova also said "there, we call ourselves independent. It is impossible to be independent in the middle of the country." Her research will lead her to Chicago and Los Angeles. She says after coming back home, she loves to walk around the city; Kazan, Tatarstan.