bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Name: Sauranbayev Murager Amangeldiuly

Age: 19

City/country: Almaty,  Kazakhstan

Star sign: Cancer

Kazakhstan is  a land of ancient nomads.  Last century it was part of the USSR,  it became independent  in 1991.

It  is the ninth biggest country in the world. It has a lot of mineral resources,  including oil, gas and steel.

It is  very multinational.  There are more than 120 different cultures and religions but people live friendly and peacefully.

I live in Almaty, which is the biggest city, and the financial and cultural centre of the country.

My favourite musician and idol is famous Kazakh conductor and  traditional instrumentalist  Nurgisa Tilendyev. He created an orchestra of traditional instruments and made Kazakh music very popular among  young people.

Last month I participated in the first international championship of performing arts  in his honour. As I had practised a lot,  I won the grand prize.

My favourite sport is called kokpar. It is traditional game  with similar rules to football and rugby.

But the difference is participants play on horses and use  a dead sheep or goat instead of a ball.  It is a very popular sport in central Asia

I enjoy Kazakh cuisine.  We eat a lot of meat: horse,  beef,  mutton and goat, almost anything except pork.

We also have traditional drinks like shubat and kumiz that are made from camel and horse milk.

But the best thing is that you could stop at a stranger's house  and they will feed you. Kazakhs are very hospitable and welcoming.

Our most important festival is Nauriz on March 22 when  we celebrate the spring equinox and  animals and plants start their new life. It is our New Year  and people all over Central Asia celebrate  for one month.

During that time, people forgive others for mistakes made and offences committed.  Everybody wears national  costume, invites people to their homes, cooks traditional foods and organises traditional games.

My school life  is very busy but interesting. I used to study at the school of Arts, where I had to attend different musical events. I played in concerts and took part in different competitions  against students from all over  Kazakhstan and in world performing arts championships  in Hollywood, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia.

Now I am a third year student  at the Kazakhstan Institute of Management Economics and Strategic Research. I  study media management in the department of journalism.

I chose this specialization because  I want to make a contribution to the process of Kazakhstan's  media,  which still suffers from corruption after collapse of USSR.

My mother tongue is Kazakh.  It is  related to the Turkish  language, but the writing is similar to Russian. I also speak Russian, which is the main  language of communication  in Kazakhstan.

At school I study English and Persian languages.

Last year, the heads of Kazakhstan and Hong Kong signed an agreement to share new technology, bank systems and social  development ideas.

As part of the collaboration, four Kazakh students were sent to study  at Hong Kong Baptist University  on an exchange programme.

We were the first Kazakhs  to study in Hong Kong as international students. I was astonished by the high standard of living and the level of development there when I first  arrived.

The city is awesome. I fell in love with it from the  day I arrived. I like the people: they are very friendly and open. I really miss Hong Kong!



e-pal