by Alexis Moore

Imagine joining a foreign exchange student program to travel to some random location, anywhere in the world, to learn for a year. Well, for Takhmina Buitekova, she didn’t have to imagine, because this year, she joined the El Dorado Springs Students this 2022-23 school year, coming all the way from Kazakhstan. For those who don’t know, Kazakhstan (pronounced kaa-zuhk-stan) is a central Asian country by the Caspian sea, bordered by China and Russia.

Mina was born and raised in Kazakhstan. She enjoys cooking, debating, walking, and hiking. Mina became a foreign exchange student for a number of reasons, but the main ones were to get experience that can’t be learned at school, learn a language that opens up many possibilities, broadens her horizons, and make new friends.

Mina is staying with her host family, the Wolfes, which consist of Ashley and Robert Wolfe, and their children Izzauh, Laney, Grady, and Asher. When arriving at ElDo, Mina expected friendly people, and so far, everyone has lived up to that standard. “I’ve met many interesting people, but there’s definitely been a culture shock. Although they’re different here, I know people are different everywhere, and making friends here is no different than at home.”

Mina enjoys staying in ElDo and likes going to other places surrounding it. She hopes one day to visit more cities and states.Her favourite thing about America so far is that there are no school uniforms and that we have brownies. Mina’s goals for this year are to live her best exchange year, spend time with friends and have fun, and spend time with her host family.