A Meeting Outside of Warsaw

Tokyo Station is known for its beautiful red-brick design and serves as a central transportation hub for tourists and locals. Almost all metro trains connect at this stop, so people are always walking around, and there are plenty of places to shop or eat. We had the honor of meeting with Robiya and her daughter at Tokyo Station. We visited Aalto Cafe and got coffee and pie, then walked around the indoor shopping area that had everything from clothing, jewelry, and makeup to home furniture.  Robiya is from Andijan, Uzbekistan, and has been living in Tokyo for the past two years. She studied in Uzbekistan and earned her bachelor's degree in teaching English. Her family that she is very close with helped introduce her to her husband, who is also from Uzbekistan. He has been living in Tokyo for the past ten years working in the hotel industry but returned to Uzbekistan for them to get married. After getting married, they moved back to Tokyo and started growing their family. They have a two-year-old daughter and are currently expecting a baby boy. Robiya told us that she has enjoyed living in Japan and exploring the culture and food that is very different from where she was raised. She is currently learning Japanese because the biggest challenge to living in Japan is not knowing the language. Something she is thankful for is that in her apartment building she has other Uzbek families to connect with that also have children for playdates. We also talked about what the future might hold, and Robiya said she would love to continue her education and get her master's degree. We had such a great time getting to know Robiya and her daughter while exploring some of Tokyo Station.

Before we left Hungary, we were able to meet with Akkanat and Aizhan at a local coffee shop and sit outside enjoying the nice weather before it got too hot. We learned that the girls met back home in Kyrgyzstan and were able to reconnect in Budapest. Both are working on their master's in business and marketing after receiving their bachelor's in Kyrgyzstan. We talked about the differences they have experienced in schooling and how they operate differently, so it was an adjustment to study in Hungary, but they both really appreciate the European approach to education. The girls are currently able to work remotely for startups based in Kyrgyzstan and the United Kingdom and found their jobs around the same time. Working remotely has helped them be able to travel more and explore Europe. Gracie and the girls crochet as a hobby and were able to talk about the joys and frustrations that come with counting stitches and projects they are working on. The girls do a lot together and have grown their friendship here in Hungary but do not currently live together but are on the same street. We talked about living on your own compared to with parents; it is fun but also comes with much more responsibility. Some of the challenges are learning a new language and culture, then building a new community and dating. It was interesting to see how they also were a part of the Central Asian running club and knew most of the people we interviewed. We had a great time getting to know the girls and how they are adjusting to Hungarian life. Akkanat and Aizhan's friendship was evident, and we loved getting to laugh so much and bond with them over life and culture.

After exploring Budapest, we ended up at Mon Sheri, a popular coffee shop among students in the city, where we met our new friend. Kulsun is from Kyrgyzstan and is working at the coffee shop and helped serve us, so we asked her if she was willing to tell us her story and she agreed to meet up with us. We met up a few days later at Cafe Frei, which is a unique coffee shop with different styles of coffee from all around the world. She is studying at Corvinus University and is on the Hungarian scholarship that is awarded to only 200 applicants. She had just taken her Hungarian exam because one of the scholarship requirements is to get to A1 proficiency in the Hungarian language. Hungarian is one of the hardest languages to learn, so we discussed how learning languages can be extremely difficult. Luckily, Kulsun can use English and Russian, which she is fluent in because those are the most common languages used in Budapest outside of Hungarian. Kulsun told us about how she was determined to study abroad even though she did not have many options but really wanted to go to Europe, and then the door opened to Hungary. She has loved Budapest and the new opportunities it has afforded. During our conversation, we got to talk about the differences in culture between Central Asia and Europe and how the adjustment has been. Kulsun has adjusted extremely well and built meaningful connections with people from many different backgrounds, including fellow Central Asians, Hungarians, and other international students. She shared her experiences of studying abroad, adapting to life in Budapest, and maintaining aspects of her cultural identity while living abroad. We also talked about her life in Kyrgyzstan and how she looks forward to spending time with her family and friends back home during the summer. We had an amazing time getting to know our new friend and hope to see her again.

Occasionally, we get the chance to meet someone like us that loves and supports Central Asian culture without a true heritage in it. While we were in Tokyo, we met Odiljon, who is Japanese but now speaks Uzbek and continues to learn about Uzbek culture. Odiljon first came across Uzbeks in the city Nagoya. He was working there and was having a hard time making friends when he stopped into Tabassum an Uzbek restaurant. Once he showed interest in the food and culture, and in becoming friends with the Uzbeks working there, they offered him a job. He told us the cook only knew Uzbek, so he had to learn the language if he wanted to communicate with him. This was the beginning of Odiljon and the Uzbek community in Japan. But it continues and has even flourished enough for him to have traveled to Tashkent, Andijan, and Namangan. These days he lives in and works in Tokyo at a Japanese company, but he frequents the best Uzbek restaurant in the area, Samarkand Terrace. This is where we got to sit down and talk to him. When we walked in, he greeted everyone by name and with the Uzbek greeting. It was a joy to be with someone who knew the community so well in Japan and was able to introduce us as well. He shared his story over a delicious plate of plov, with interjections from the cook who was close by. Everyone in the restaurant was kind to tell us a bit about their stories as well. We are grateful to him for these introductions.  Odiljon told us that he sometimes volunteers at the Uzbek embassy for those that need help with translation. This is just one of the ways he continues to help the community there. We asked him what he thought the Japanese should know about the Uzbeks. He told us that he thinks if they could just make a connection with who they are and where they come from then they would enjoy them. He wants the Japanese to see the potential in the Uzbek nation and get to know more about them. The lack of knowledge among the Japanese is holding them back from welcoming the Uzbeks even more into their country. Odiljon is trying his best to tell the Japanese about the Uzbeks and show off their culture. In the future, he hopes to hold an event that would welcome Japanese communities to learn more about the Uzbeks and Turkmen in their country.

Ainash may be from Kazakhstan, but you wouldn’t know it if you passed her on the street in Tokyo. She moved from Astana to the beautiful island of Japan over 15 years ago. We were amazed at her ability to speak Japanese so well. Though her time in a Japanese company during her early years after graduating from university helped her to learn the difficult language. When we met her at White Coffee just outside the massive Shibuya Station, she told us that she now works in logistics at Amazon. She explained that her different work experiences in Japan have allowed her to see the culture and the different aspects of the work environment there. The work-life balance in Tokyo at Amazon provides Ainash the time she needs to pursue her favorite hobby, running. Like everyone else in the world who picked up a new hobby during quarantine, Ainash started running during COVID in 2020. She still runs quite often, and this year she even won the lottery to participate in the 2026 Berlin Marathon. She shared with us how she loves to travel and explore while participating in marathons. She has traveled all over Japan to many cities, running the race in the morning, which leaves the afternoons to sightsee. Ainash has excelled in running at the ultra-marathon level, as she once ran 100 kilometers. That is true dedication to a hobby. Running has also given her a community here in Tokyo as the whole world is getting into running. Ainash still gets a glimpse of Kazakhstan every year when her mom comes to visit her. It is during this sweet time that she enjoys traditional dishes and practices her Kazakh. Though she misses the people and the culture of Central Asia sometimes, her favorite parts of Japan are how efficient the country really is. They have mastered the art of the best way to do everything.  It was a humid afternoon in Tokyo, but it was spent well talking about Japan vs Kazakhstan and whether Ainash should start competing in hyrox competitions. I relish the opportunity to get to meet Central Asians all over the world and look forward to the day I can visit Astana and understand even more about where many Kazakhs that I meet come from.

We met up with Tomiris at the cutest coffee shop called Apricot. She has been in Hungary for the past few years on the Hungarian scholarship that is awarded each year to 250 students. Tomiris has already received and earned her bachelor's degree in media and communications from a local Hungarian university. Now, she is working on her master's in filmmaking and loving it. It was evident that Tomiris was passionate about what she was studying, and she told us that she decided to pursue her master's because she wanted to stay in Hungary. Secondly, as a little girl, she wanted to be an actress, but because of her religious beliefs, she knew there would be conflicts and challenges. So, she started looking into other avenues to express her creativity and then discovered how much she loves the producing side of filmmaking. It was extremely interesting to hear about her filmmaking lectures and that she collaborates with other students, such as those in the theater department, on projects. Tomiris is using her undergraduate degree to work remotely for a Kazakh brand running their social media accounts and communications. Tomiris speaks Kazakh, Russian, Hungarian, some Turkish, and now, because she has a Kyrgyz roommate, she is learning Kyrgyz. We were able to talk about how the national Central Asian languages are easier to learn after understanding some Turkish, since they are all based on Turkish; there are also some connections with Hungarian that have helped her learn it. While we were talking, it was extremely neat to see how the Central Asian community is strong in Budapest and that Tomiris knew many of the other people we interviewed in Budapest and other Eastern European countries. Some of the challenges have been how expensive everything in Europe is compared to Kazakhstan, then just adjusting to the culture in Europe, which can be very different from Central Asian culture. We loved getting to hear Tomiri’s story and her time in Hungary. She has been able to build community with other Central Asians, but because of her studies now she has more Hungarian national friends. We listened and learned about her faith background and how she has been able to keep her Islamic beliefs while living in Hungary. Tomiris loves to travel and learn, so we were able to talk for a few hours about a lot of topics. Hopefully she can find more avenues to stay in Europe after graduation, but whatever the future holds for Tomiris, it will be bright.

Budapest is a city of internationals and in a way that brings out the best community. When we reached out to Kamila for an interview, she suggested meeting at KOZO, a cheesecake café in the city. Not long after our meeting started, we ran into the owners of KOZO, two Turkish men, Ozan and Kuray, who had also moved to Hungary. We got to spend the afternoon talking about their experiences living abroad and sharing stories with new faces. It is moments when I get to hear about each different culture that make traveling so special. It got even better as we dove into Kamila’s story! Kamila is from a small town in Kazakhstan but has been living in Hungary for 7 years. She told us that she came to study at the university but already knew she wanted to stay for work. During her time at university, she was able to find a job and is currently working for a German company here in Budapest. She is proud of her work and even loves her job. Her story continues with love as she has now been married to her Hungarian husband for over a year. Now she has an even better reason to start improving her Hungarian language. But that’s not the only language she has set out to improve. Since Kamila is from Kazakhstan, even though she will probably continue to live in Europe, she doesn’t want to lose her culture or heritage, so, she is also working to improve her Kazakh language. Recently, she was able to take her husband to Kazakhstan and show him where she grew up. She told us that he loved it and the beauty of the Central Asian country.  She and her husband love to travel and hang out with their friends in Budapest. She talked about how, just like we ran into Ozan and Kuray, the international community was the best part of living in Budapest. I would have to agree with her about getting to experience it firsthand. Kamila has begun to make Budapest a home, and I can’t wait to see where their journey takes them.

We traveled to Debrecen, an extremely cute college town and the second-largest city in Hungary. Debrecen is also home to the University of Debrecen, which is known for its large international student population, including Central Asians. We met up at a park near campus with Abdykapar, who has been studying at the university for the past few years. He is from Kyrgyzstan and wanted to study abroad, so he started looking at scholarship opportunities and applied for the Stipendium Hungarian Scholarship and was one of 200 recipients of the scholarship. Abdykapar has loved his time in Hungary and lives with an Uzbek roommate, whom he told us that they both speak their native languages with each other and are able to understand each other in English. He speaks English, Russian, Kyrgyz, German, and some Hungarian that he can use to get around, but that it is indeed a hard language to learn. We asked him if it was hard to keep his Kyrgyz culture while living in Hungary, and he told us about how they have student organizations that help keep Central Asian culture alive. During the spring, they had an international food day for all the international students to show off their cultural food, with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan all cooking plov and other traditional foods.  Past students from Debrecen University started a Kyrgyz running club that then turned into a Central Asian running club, which is still meeting. Abdykapar attends when he can. He told us he is soaking up all the opportunities while living in Europe, and this summer has a great internship lined up working in logistics that will help him graduate. Originally from Osh, where he met his girlfriend, that came and studied at Debrecen before he did and was able to help him transition into life in Hungary; now he helps first-year Central Asian students get adjusted. We talked about his life in Kyrgyzstan and what all we need to do when we visit, along with the history and culture that has stood the test of time and even Soviet occupation. Some of the difficulties he has encountered were just the logistics of the move to Hungary and then the actual school, since it was different from what he had done in the past. We had a great time hearing about how he has embraced life in Europe and has kept his Central Asian culture alive and found a close community.

When we were in Hungary, our new friend had traveled back home to Kazakhstan but was still willing to share her story with us. So instead of meeting in a coffee shop, we got to video call with our new friend Elnara and hear about her time in Budapest. She has spent the last five years living in Budapest as part of the Hungarian scholarships that are awarded to 250 students from Kazakhstan. Elnara is studying business administration at Corvinus University and is vice president of a Kazakh community organization for the university. In Budapest, there is a strong Central Asian community with multiple organizations that include running, reading, and sports clubs for students to join. Elnara told us that Hungary was not her original choice; she wanted to study in the United States, but because of the COVID pandemic, it became increasingly harder. She then discovered the Hungarian scholarship opportunities, applied, and was accepted and moved to Budapest from Astana. She can speak Kazakh and Russian, and learned English in middle school, which is the language she primarily uses in Budapest. During her beginning years in Budapest studied Hungarian and is at an A2 level. Some of her favorite things about living in Europe have been how easy it is to travel and discover new places. Living abroad has also helped broaden her worldview and gain more independence than when she was living in Kazakhstan. One example she shared was how she found more freedom in expressing herself through fashion. She also has had more opportunities to have multigenerational friendships and learn from those older and help influence those younger. During our conversation, it was evident how much Elnara loved Budapest and has truly turned it into her home. If given the opportunity, she would stay and live if visa opportunities permitted it, but as of right now, it's hard to stay after studying. She has had the opportunities of a lifetime, making new friends, living surrounded by beautiful scenery and history, alongside getting to travel to other European countries. Elana told us, “If I wrote a book on my life, Budapest would be the best chapter,” and after hearing her love for the city, I want to live in Budapest now. We were extremely thankful to hear her story and how she, along with other Central Asians, is keeping true to their roots, building community together in Budapest.