First and foremost I would like to make one announcement to my fellow foreign students of NNSMA. The visa application procedure has slightly changed. Here is the old one:
Send books to library – get the little paper with stamps for visa.
One may or may not fill in the form of visa application (ЗАЯВЛЕНИЕ НА ВИЗУ) and get signature from the dean in charge.
And here’s the new one:
One must fill in the form of visa application, show to the dean in charge your credit book (ЗАЧЁТКА) and get his/her signature.
Only then, you should return the books to the library and get the little paper with stamps for visa.
Then run again to the deans office to get the visa.
*THE ABOVE PROCEDURE MUST BE DONE IN ORDER!!!
What do you think? It’s kinda easy right? You do not need to pay any extra fees. It’s just one more extra thing you need to do.
People like me, I can work with the system. As long as I can get the visa in the end, the new procedure barely affects me at all. But there’s a guy, R, who had to learn about this the hard way.
Here I present his story on his hardship with the pencil-pushing bureaucrats of NNSMA’s Dean’s Office. Well, my comments are probably more than the storyline itself, but what are you going to do, right? If you wish to proceed please read. But if you do not wish to read another bitching, please leave. Real names will not be revealed.
R is worried sick since yesterday. Yes, he has an exam today. And he also has to get his visa today since his flight home is this weekend for a really unexpected reason. R wasn’t really worried about the exam as much as the visa. Tomorrow (Thursday 12th June) is a holiday – so the Dean’s Office (Read: Dekanat) will not be opened. He has to settle everything today once and for all.
The day does not start well for R. R only slept 3 hours today. He said that’s fine, he’s used to that with the aid of his sleeping pills. Then he woke up, and quickly rushed to his exam. The exam was a nightmare too. R said the examiner he thought lenient is very stern indeed. R’s exam went fine and his first nightmare stops there.
R rushed back to the hostel to meet one of the Dean who was actually in the 3rd hostel to get permission. R also needed to return the library books. At first R explained to the Dean the unavoidable reason he has to go back home early. The Dean was very understanding. Permission granted.
But R does not have the visa application form. That was his first problem. He asked several friends if anyone has one, but unfortunately no one had any, and many of them were busy; probably they are sitting for exams too. That is fine. Because R knew the librarian has one. Eventually the librarian really has the visa application form! And R’s nightmare started here…
R asked the old blonde librarian if he can get a copy of the visa application form. The old blonde won’t hand it to R. Why? The new rule effective this week said that only Dekanat is authorized to give the visa application form. R begged the librarian to hand him the visa application. The old blonde said “NO NO NO NO NO! I can’t hand it to you because the Dekanat forbids me from doing so!”
Then R asked if he can return the books and get the little paper with stamps for visa. The old blonde said “NO! You need to get the signature on the visa application form first, only then you can get the little paper with stamps.” Wow! It’s very hard to get even 2 pieces of paper these days.
Then R talked with the Dean. Since the Dean’s permission was granted, she talked to the librarian. The Dean asked if the librarian can give R the visa application form. The librarian said NO NO NO NO NO! Then Dean said to the librarian: “It doesn’t really matter where he gets the application form, I will sign it anyways!”
The old blonde librarian must have some nerve to oppose the Dean: “No it’s forbidden by the Dekanat. I don’t know whose order is this, but it’s forbidden to give the student the visa application form!” Well then, R had to run to Dekanat to get that piece of recycled paper. It seems that R’s intuition was right from the beginning; his nightmare is not the exam, but the bureaucrats and administrators of NNSMA!!
R arrived in Dekanat and asked the wisdom of forbidding the librarian to hand the students the visa application form. V was the in-charge officer at that time. After handing to R the application form, V said: “It’s because we want you students to come here first to pick up the application form. Some of you simply hand in the library stamps and ask for visa. That is not the proper way to do it. It’s the students fault we have to introduce the new system.”
R asked more: “If you want the students to get the visa application form, why not let the librarian give it to the students?? It’s very stupid of you to make a student run here and there just to get a piece of crappy recycled paper.” Yep, R rubbed that in V’s face.
V said: “You don’t have to come to Dekanat if you have the visa application form. I know many students have copied the paper. Just get it from them!” That is when it hits R on how stupid the Dekanat can be!!!
If one can simply get a copy of application form from unauthorized students, why should forbid the librarian to give R the original copy??!
R walked out from Dekanat. He banged the door. LOUD! Then he rushed back to the hostel to get Dean’s signature, returned the books, got the stamps. Everything went smoothly since he got the application paper though.
Then R ran again to Dekanat. Wow! That’s like the 100th time R traveled for the day. The day was warmer than usual. One might get a heatstroke. R did not care. His final aim was to get the visa. And he got it. Then, R rubbed in V’s face again: “You are working in one stupid system, you know…” R left the Dekanat without thanking V.
On his way from Dekanat to the bus stop, R almost fainted. His gait and coordination were unstable. The Russians were looking, what the heck is wrong with this foreigner? Then R realized that he’s hypoglycemic and dehydrated from running here and there to fulfill the bureaucratic requirement. There was an ice cream stand, and R bought one good ice cream. That felt so wonderful! From a very furious person, R’s mood had totally changed! He even showed off to the schoolchildren nearby by licking his ice cream goooood!!
Well, well, that’s a story from R. The new procedure seems easy. But that procedure almost cost R his health. But what do they care, fucking bureaucrats!
Ah yes, things we have to do to love our NNSMA… We have to love our beloved med school no matter how hard the administrators make us jump through hoops.
