It is very important to represent own country in a good way. The behavior of every Kyrgyzstani person abroad carries a crucial role, which builds an idea about Kyrgyzstan in minds of the foreigners. Every success, any kindness will leave an unforgettable impression about us. Nobody is perfect; however, we have not lost sense of shame and thanks to some creative people, who find paths to represent own tradition and our country at all, the name of country takes foreigners to some reflection and visualisation.

One good example is the “International Students Day” at Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey. This event flourishes every May and it unites all students with different backgrounds under one big umbrella – a “friendship”. This event lasts two days. On the first day, students represent their countries by the help of stands full of information and nice pictures. Moreover, it is impossible not to notice flags, national musical instruments and souvenirs, like Mongolian “puzzle square toys”, Kyrgyz “kuurchaks”, etc. The second day is even interesting as each country prepares its show, like dances, songs and videos. What follows this program is the most desirable… Guess what? While most of students are watching the program in the hall, some other students are preparing food. Right after the program, they deliver the food in the middle of the campus and all students, disregarding the nation, are welcome.

As for the preparation of our students, it was clear that this time the voice and the charm of Kyrgyzstan were on the peak. The students started thinking of this event from the beginning of the semester. The dream was to build “boz uy” in the middle of South Campus, which would be for the first time in the history of Bogazici(Bosphorus) University. It was reached thanks to the effort of not only the students in Istanbul, but also all other compatriots from all over Turkey. For, example when Tacigul(Tajigul) Kuntuz Eje – an ethnic Kyrgyz who was born in Konya, Turkey, she did her best to help. Firstly, it was planned to bring “boz uy” from Ulu Pamir Village, Van that is located in the eastern part of Turkey. Thus, ethnic Kyrgyz people did not forget about home and were in favor to help. Finally, it was decided to bring “boz uy” from the embassy of Kyrgyz Republic, in Ankara. The funniest thing was that nobody of the students knew how to build it. The best solution came from Tajigul Eje; she called a Kyrgyz Aksakal(Jumabai Aksakal), who like others was very happy to hear about this project and to leave an effort in it. Even some turkish students rushed for help which is quite appreciable.

“Boz Uy” impressed all who saw it. It was clear that Europeans are more familiar with the history of the Central Asia. University faculty and students from Europe shared their ideas about “boz uy”. All who visited “boz uy” were given a chance to have a photograph in where they were wearing “chepken” and “kalpak”… For the food our guys prepared “plov” – it was so delicious that few people could stop running for more. Besides, there were Turkmen “plov”, Abkhazian marmelades, Azerbaijani salads and other food that were no less pleasant in terms of look and taste.

All in all, the moral here is not about the food and other small facts. Nevertheless, those small facts, like small “rivers”, evolve into a “big lake” – the portret of Kyrgyzstan. People swimming on those “rivers” reach the “big lake”. Maybe in the future they might forget about the “rivers” that is almost impossible, but they cannot avoid “la connaissance” about the “big river”. Living abroad one understands better that tradition and knowledge about own country saves his, or her identity…