As we have lived in this world for several years now, it seems to us that we already know everything about it. At that point, the information about the New Year being celebrated in March or the tiramisu from Biedronka being the only Polish cake that is tasty, may fall on us like a bolt from the blue. In this conversation, Aidana, a UNC student from Kazakhstan, introduces us to her culture and shares facts from her life.
This interview contains more drastic information – it turns out that Poles don’t speak – we rustle and crackle, and our beloved szarlotka lacks sugar. Therefore, I am respectfully asking you to put your grandmas in a separate room, before you get down to reading this article, in order to spare them hearing about the disadvantages of Polish pastries. After all, as surprising as the Kazakh perspective may seem, it gives us a valuable look at the surrounding reality and at the same time, is a key to exploring the cultural differences present in our lives.
Kazakhstan is a country with an area of 2 724 900 km² and a huge part of it is located in Central Asia. Lowlands, highlands, rivers, grasslands and deserts are just a few of the landscape formations that the inhabitants of these areas can boast about. „Where’s the sea though?” – you may ask – and that this is exactly what’s missing in Kazakhstan. Unless you count in the Caspian Sea which has succeeded in being the impostor among the answers to Geography exams for many years now. However, this country has a lot more to offer than just beautiful views – its cultural diversity and irreplaceable fauna and flora can steal the hearts of many travelers. But before I make a National Geographic guidebook out of this article, it’s time for Aidana, who will best describe her homeland:
Therefore, don’t expect to see crowds of Kazakh people on campus on March 21-23. They will be celebrating their New Year, the way it is done in their culture, which is an inseparable element of each country and at the same time a thing that distinguishes one country from another, giving us the opportunity to discover new habits, holidays or cuisine. Unfortunately, the aforementioned cuisine often happens to be a ticking bomb – try telling a Spanish person that the rice in his paella is overcooked or an Italian person that his pasta is too salty so that you will discover what it means to cross the border and I’m not talking about the territorial one. However, it’s important to hear different opinions about the well-known tastes so as to see that not everyone perceives them the same way. And so, I invite you all to listen to the unique roast of Polish szarlotka:
Some prefer salty, some like spicy and others love sweet. There is this one thing though, that has been uniting nations, outdoing its opponents and delighting foreigners with its taste for many years – pierogi.
Ayyy… Polish… Always in shape. It loves to remind us about its existence and mark its territory from time to time. Although I must tell you that Aidana is handling the whole thing quite well – so let’s listen to her range of Polish vocabulary:
Getting used to a new environment is an important matter, especially if you move to a new continent, do not know the language, are just discovering the culture and what is more, you start studies here, look for a roof over your head and start slowly building your new life from scratch. It turns out that Toruń is just the right city to do it – everything is at hand; finding a market, park or even your uni isn’t a challenging task. The lights of the old town add to the friendly and welcoming atmosphere of our city, and people fit in the vibe, being open-minded and willing to share their experience.
Some students of the Nicolaus Copernicus University found their way here from Szczecin, Warsaw or Śląsk, but there are also those who came here from Indonesia, Belarus or in this case – Kazakhstan. This is why the fact that each one of them settled in, made friends and opened up for the new, different possibilities that this place is bringing, is so extraordinary.
I give the warmest raqmet to you Aidana for this lovely conversation, and I must also tell raqmet to all those of you who listened to this story.
By the way, have you already called Toruń home, or the time for that is just about to come?
[pics: Aidana Amangeldi]
[graphics: Tobiasz Troczyński]