My mom grew up in a two-bedroom apartment in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan with her four sisters and her parents, deboning lambs and beholding white-peaked mountains from her living room window. She dribbled hacky-sacks with her friends rather than gamed, and ate canned fruit rather than DoorDashed. Her life was full of hard work and leaps of faith, and it is definitely worth sharing.
If you’ve ever invited someone to your house and apologized that it’s “such a mess,” my mom is there with you. She could have just bleached every table in the house. She could have dusted the carpet and plucked every cat hair off the TV, yet she would still apologize. You see, it all comes back to her roots: Kazakhstan, a predominantly Muslim country that prioritizes hospitality and family traditions. She carries these values wherever she goes by hosting tea parties, community groups, and even simple get-togethers with pizazz.
My mom makes food that would send any Global Studies student into a trance. One of her dishes is called Beshbarmak, or “five fingers” because you enjoy it with… well, five fingers. It consists of saucy flat noodles, chunks of horse meat, and slivers of onions on a big plate. Another favorite of hers is Plov—think CAVA basmati rice with juicy steak, chopped carrots, and more aromatic onions. I will never forget the first time I slurped up that yummy goodness, when the flavors were truly melting on my tongue. Lastly, she fattens us up these savory fried pieces of bread called Baursak. Golden brown, soft, and chewy, you can fill it or top it with sweet jam or seasoned meat. Her cooking easily no-diffs school lunches.
Being a World Languages academy, each student knows the importance of language. My mother’s naturally encouraging attitude and warm smile draws people in like a scholar to Mr. Denvir’s English Honor Society. More than being chill, she dabbles in three languages—English, Russian, and Kazakh (she also would consider herself adept in the “Brainrot talk,” but we don’t talk about that.) This has allowed her to meet people from all over the world. Like a Ukrainian lady from TJ Maxx and a mom from Russia. Her spread of friendly rizz is not overlooked, and the epic impact she has made on the Kazakh community will be forever appreciated.
Given Kazakhstan’s history, it’s surprising that people from Kazakhstan and Russia get along so well. It’s almost as surprising as Tallwoodians liking the morning announcement mottos. You see, today 84% know Russian but only 81% know Kazakh. In fact, if my mom spoke her native language in her own country, she would get side-eyed by strangers. Even today, I hear her chatting away in Russian with her sisters on Messenger more than she speaks Kazakh.
DID YOU KNOW? Kazakhstan went from nomadic to ruled by Genghis Khan to ruled by Russia. It began as groups of people who lived on horseback roaming around, living their best life. Then, Turkic-Mongolians entered the arena and split into three different tribes. We call them the Great, Middle, and Small Hordes. Time went on. In the 1920s, Russia “yoinked” Kazakhstan, and it became a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Basically, Kazakhstan’s authority changed as much as schools change principals.
A common misconception is that Kazakhstan was always part of Russia, but it wasn’t. They were controlled like many other Socialist Republics. Today, Kazakhstan is known as a peace-loving country who left nuclear testing and “Russification” in the past. Talk about a glow-up. When Kazakhstan reached independence from Russia in 1991, a lot of things changed, such as restrictions against religion.
If you’re like us, you’ve had McDonald’s since you were in the womb. You probably can’t even remember the first time you pressed your teeth into a monstrous, greasy double cheeseburger. Whether it’s from Mcdonald’s, Burger King, or Cookout, we’ve all grown used to the feeling of a beefy, vegetable layered burger. Mi mamá come una hamburguesa cuando tiene dieciséis años. Did you understand that, year 3 Spanish students? My mom devoured her first burger for the first time at sixteen.
Missionaries came to my mother’s school when she was growing up. She learned about American food, English, and the Bible because of them. My mom’s older sister, Raushauna, inspired by what they were teaching, confessed that she wanted to be a Christian. This was low-key crazy knowing that they grew up as nominal Muslims, but it was pivotal for their character development. Rashauna ended up scoring a scholarship to a college in America for her sisters, and this decision changed the course of their lives in a matter of days.
So, three teenage girls caught a plane and flew across the ocean one day. They waved goodbye to half their family and entered into a foreign world, full of Jet2Holidays and double cheeseburgers. Soon came college graduation, marriage, and eventually the birth of this author who learned all about the Kazakh heritage in a shabby apartment while making Beshbarmak and sharing tea with missionaries.
