Ryotaro Sorimachi
20 years old, from Takasaki, Japan
I studied at the Tsukuba Law University located near Tokyo.
I arrived in Astana in September this year. Last year I visited Kazakhstan as a university delegation member to strengthen relations between two universities. Arriving in ENU for the second time, I felt nostalgic.
I found some similarities between our countries, and this was one of the reasons I decided to study here. The second reason was the price. European education and accommodation is a little more expensive.
My friends study in ENU and Nazarbayev University. Being in Astana, we can be closer to each other.
I study in a group where we’re taught in two languages, e.g, we study international law in English.
I like my groupmates who really study a lot. Many people know that it's hard to study in Japan, yet we still like to relax. I was surprised that students in Kazakhstan are required to do more homework than in Japan. Japanese students are involved in social life, while students in Kazakhstan are focused on learning.
In ENU I like everything except weak Wi-Fi signal.
I’ve tried beshbarmak and baursaks, which I liked. In Japan we eat horse meat, yet add it only to sushi and not so much. I’ve noticed that local people, including students, are very fond of drinking tea.
Food prices in Astana are quite acceptable. For example, for a dollar you can buy one kilo of apples, while in Japan you cannot buy even an apple. It will cost at least one and a half dollars.
I’ll stay here until June of next year.
Zangjie Mei
35 years old, from Beijing, China
It’s difficult to study in China. I heard that children in schools and universities of Kazakhstan learn half a day, but in fact they don’t. Students occupy libraries of ENU dormitory up to 12-2am!
I have great groupmates who treat me well. ENU organized foreign students meetings, which I liked. I met many students, learned a lot of new things.
I like Astana because it is modern and young. I want to contribute a lot to China and Kazakhstan relations. I'm going to study at ENU for one more year, and then to get a PhD in Kazakhstan.
Ivan Popov
22 years old, from Lesnoy, Russia
I cannot stand still. I like to travel. Your country has many unique and interesting destinations to visit. I’ve been in Bektau Ata, and it was a little hard to climb mountains. There were 100 meters to the top, which I could not overcome.
I was lucky to come here in 2017: Kazakhstan has the 25th anniversary of the Independence; there will also be EXPO-2017 and the 28th Universiade. ENU arranges different events and forums, which I like. I’ve attended a Kazakh symphony concert and heard dombra and kobyz sounds.
I tried koumiss, but didn’t like it. The locals buy it in large quantities.
Mikhail Potikhonin
20 years old, from Riga, Latvia
I study in Riga, my major is “Regional Development and Urban Economics”. I deal with technology development and economic planning of a city. Astana has interesting architecture, your government has thoroughly planned the buildings layout.
Students aren’t bored, we can attend different events here. Many of them are arranged by students themselves. ENU has many student organizations that try to diversify students’ life.
Education systems in Kazakhstan and Latvia are very similar. Here, almost all foreign students live in a dormitory and each has a personal adviser. I also live in a hostel, and sometimes local students make baursaks. We even had a competition in pilaf cooking.
Once my Kazakh friend invited me to a tea party, and I thought that there would be tea only. Inviting someone to have tea in Riga, we really serve tea and desserts only. As for the Kazakhs, they also serve pilaf, manti, beshbarmak and ten other different dishes.
In Latvia, like in many European countries, horse meat isn’t eaten, but in France horse meat is considered to be a delicacy as well. I like the quality of meat in Kazakhstan.
