Port city fascinates foreign students
Sitting along the coastline of the Bay of Bengal and dotted with a number of entertainment venues, the port city of Chittagong bears every reason to be a tourist attraction.
This apart, it is also a cosy city for foreigners, mostly students, who have been residing here. A lot of leisure places and low living costs pull the attention of foreigners.
More than 1,500 students drawn from different countries, particularly of the South Asian region, are dwelling in Chittagong city.
As the city houses several university and educational institutions of international standard, the number of overseas students is increasing day by day.
To these foreign students, the problems apart, Chittagong city is a nice place to living and a great source of amusement. Some of them plan their career here too.
“The city is a great source of natural beauty, and in the last 15 months of my stay here, I have enjoyed a lot”, said Pen Den, a Bhutanese national.
Den is studying medicine at a university in the city. “Apart from the problems like crowd, dirt and archaic traffic system in the city, all other things are satisfactory".
Banazeer Yaqoob from Pakistan echoes Den's words. “Despite being a nice city, there is lot of dirt and crowd here”, she said.
“I have been in Chittagong for more than three years, and I like the city very much”, said Banazeer, who is a student at Asian University for Women.
She said she liked lazing on Patenga Beach, at Foy's Lake, and on the world's largest beach of Cox's Bazar.
The evening in Chittagong brings great joy for the overseas students as people from around the city swarm around the entertainment places, especially at weekends and on holidays.
Banazeer wishes she got a good job in the port city after completing her graduation from AUW.
Kashmir's Shoal Zeargar, a student of medical faculty at University of Science and Technology Chittagong, said he wanted to stay in Chittagong after his graduation.
"I have already been in the city for more than four years, and I am very much familiar with the people and the working environment here”.
A scenic beauty, Chittagong is also much-loved for its people, culture and traditional food.
“The typical Chittagong people are really cordial as well as the other city dwellers", said Khaushalya Artyathicaka, a Sri Lankan student at AUW.
"I do like enjoying the family programmes of the local people here”. For Khaushalya, the living cost in the city is very reasonable.
Nepalese student Susmit Shrestha said, “I have a lot of Bangladeshi friends who are mostly of Chittagong. They are very cordial and open hearted”.
Susmit is studying at University of Science and Technology Chittagong.
Tajuddin Ahmed, another student from Nepal, takes delights in Chittagong food, especially the spiced items and local snacks. He loves kebab, samucha, beef curries, and roshogolla.
Chittagong has a long tradition of the unique recipe of Mezban, a public feast where guests are served a special beef curry. The students of AUW have already delighted them in this Chittagong-only food item.
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