I Am From Kyrgyzstan

The unbearable lightness of being an expat from a little-known country.

If I got a dollar every time somebody told me “You are the first Kyrgyz person I have ever met”… No, I would not be a millionaire but pretty sure I could afford a nice car by now. Being an expat from an almost unknown country can sometimes be funny, but most of the time it is a tiresome experience. On one hand, it is for the difficulty of explaining the cultural fusion of Kyrgyzstan, which resulted from complicated history of the region. On the other hand, lack of information about my home country means absence of any stereotypes to judge me.

Even after many years of living abroad I still feel uncomfortable when hearing the question “Where are you from?” Mainly because I know well what kind of conversation will follow up. At the beginning it is entertaining, then it gets annoying, but after all, you get used to it.

Name

In 2010, when reporting on April revolution the CNN reporter Kyra Philipps started her speech with: “Kyrgyzstan: impossible to spell, hard to say, good luck finding it on the map”. Her words are not very far from truth.

When I say I am from Kyrgyzstan, everyone hears it as Kurdistan. The –stan suffix is also confusing, bringing to mind of listeners Pakistan or Afghanistan. I tried to change the pronunciation to Kirghizstan, Kirghizia and the Kyrgyz Republic to no avail. In case of the latter, some people heard it as Czech Republic, even though, I can assure you, everything is all right with my pronunciation of Ch’s and K’s.

Some other replies I received were: “K what?”, “Haha, that’s funny. No seriously, where are you from?’, “Wow, this country needs more vowels.”

So coming back to the most happening case, I start explaining that Kurdistan (which is as unknown as Kyrgyzstan), is in a completely another part of the world whereas my country is situated in Central Asia and that these two have close to nothing in common. Even after long explanations on the differences, I still might be asked whether my family is ok and has not suffered from recent ISIS attacks. Can’t say much but take a deep sigh and respond that my family is fine as they live far from the places of attacks.

Another most frequent assumption is: “Are you from China?” When I reply “no”, the guessing game begins. Like the one in a supermarket in Africa when the cashier thought he could have guessed my country in no time. There were ten people in the line after me and they gradually joined the “guessing game”. They went as far as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan but still were not able to guess where I was from. Finally, visibly upset cashier gave me a discount.

Look

For many non-Asians, all Asians are either Chinese or Japanese. “Konichiwa” might as well be my second name. Even Asians find it difficult to determine the nationality of Kyrgyz people. Usual options are: Mongols or Tibetans. However, the moment you start speaking they are flabbergasted: wait, a Chinese with a Russian accent?

After a brief history lesson that Kyrgyzstan used to be part of USSR for a while, some people with a big relief put a label on you: “So you are Russian!” Last name Karybekova [Nargis’s nee] is too difficult to pronounce so it turns into Kalashnikova instead. By that time I’m so exhausted with explanations that I nod and agree. In the meanwhile, the word of a Russian girl Kalashnikova travels around, and one day a Cameroonian guy might approach you asking for contacts of any Russian football clubs.

Because of international marriages and endless assimilation many Kyrgyz people look differently. Sometimes people don’t believe that me, with clear Mongol/ Chinese features, and my blue-eyed blond friend belong to the same nationality.

Language

Kyrgyz belongs to the Turkic family of languages which relates us to Turks, but usage of Cyrillic alphabet ties us to Russians. In Turkey, they call people from Central Asia “brother nations”: Kyrgyz Turks, Kazakh Turks, Uzbek Turks. However, if you end up at Aksaray neighbouhood of Istanbul: the sellers will hustle you in clear Russian to buy fur coats.

Many foreigners are surprised that Kyrgyz talk to each other in Russian or English. This is typical for those who grew up in the capital of Bishkek that is more international than other regions. There Russian is a lingua franca. As for English, according to Wikipedia, it is the fourth most widely spoken language in the country.

Religion

Since you hail from a country ending on –stan, many people assume that you are a Muslim. Sometimes I am asked if Kyrgyz people are Buddhists due to geographical closeness to China. Once I received a Chinese New Year note from a friend because I was “from that part of the world.”

Similarly to many Kyrgyz who were born or grew up in Soviet period, I used to believe I was a Muslim, although I knew nothing about Islam. The only Muslim practice my family members practiced was donating money for poor in holy month of Ramadan and reading verses from Quran at the funerals. Until recently I firmly believed that the only Islamic ritual which Kyrgyz people followed was funerals. Then I learned that Muslims bury the body within 24 hours, whereas we Kyrgyz keep it for 3 days for mourning ritual.

Since there is no official term for secular Islam with a touch of paganism, I now say that I do not practice any religion.

Traditions

Now that’s where we Kyrgyz got lucky! We celebrate all kinds of holidays: Zoroastrian, Slavic, Soviet, international, religious, and secular. We know our way around the Korean cuisine; we grow up in strict Asian families learning to respect traditions and elderly, but with a freedom of expression like in the West. It is a great advantage indeed. I have met so many people from different countries and cultures, and we always had common points.

I must admit that several times I have used the ignorance of others about my country to my advantage. Once in Africa when a very arrogant guy said he was a son of some Nigerian tribe chief, I promptly introduced myself as the eldest daughter of the chief of Celestial Warrior Tribe of Tian Shan Mountains. I believe we both knew we were lying. Another time was when in my son’s kindergarten I was asked whether I was going to throw a party on the occasion of his second birthday. I lied that in my country we do not celebrate even-numbered birthdays.

Another time I was asked by a Swedish guy why I could not ride a bike. I blame it on too much red wine but I made up a story that in my country children ride ponies and horses since an early age.

When you are from a little-known country with an unpronounceable name and complicated history like Kyrgyzstan, it is all up to you. On one side, it gives an absolute freedom from stereotypes and cultural expectations. However, it is also a big responsibility, because you might be the only Kyrgyz person some foreigners will ever know in their lives, and thus, they are going to build an image of the whole country based on your words and actions.

Co-author: Nargis Gill @Nara__Ray

Originally published on Sheisnomad.com

Want to know more about Kyrgyzstan? Check Tilek’s 7 interesting facts.