We have the document with our American J-1 visa in our hands. One hurdle cleared. But it was still too early to relax. How many people have received their visas only to fail to reach their destination...? Fearing this, we kept our plans secret. Because there is a thing called 'envy.' It is a very delicate matter, and it can easily trigger jealousy in anyone around us. Even one person with bad intentions could ruin all our plans. Trouble is always lurking. Unexpected difficulties can arise at any moment, anywhere...

Zhuldiz and Aida might have told a few relatives and acquaintances, but only a few people knew that I was leaving for America. After returning from Astana, I went and told only my father. He allowed me in shocked mood. My mother didn't know about this either. You might ask, what kind of person doesn't even tell their mother...? But that was the situation. The two guys I lived with in the dormitory didn't know anything either. Only the faculty dean and some university professors knew. Having passed all exams in advance, on the evening of May 22, 2014, we boarded the Almaty-Moscow express train and headed to the Russian capital.

Our silent and sudden disappearance was a surprise to many of our classmates. Some, even without us saying anything, sensed that we were going to America...

We traveled by train for two days and reached Moscow. The Russian land is vast, and the nature is beautiful. If only the people were the same! Everything around is green. Lands that would be perfect for agriculture and other purposes are lying empty. People flock to Moscow in search of work. As a result, the villages are empty. No signs of life. And another thing I noticed is that there are plenty of signs here that remind one of the Soviet Union. We thought the English were a conservative people, but the Russians turned out to be even more conservative. Even though they are in first place in the world in terms of land area and cannot fully utilize their own land, these people are still eyeing Kazakh land. Calls to annex the north and east of Kazakhstan to Russia are heard from time to time. As if it wasn't enough that they already took some of the Kazakh lands...!

On the first day, the constant document checks on the train were exhausting. We leave Kazakhstan, enter again, leave again, enter again! We cannot reach Uralsk by rail without crossing the border. Having taken Orenburg along with its region, they didn't want to leave even a patch of land where the railway passes! On the other side of the border are Kazakhs, and on this side are Kazakhs. One line that divided one people into two!

I have two translators with me, what do I have to fear...? We arrived at Paveletsky station in the morning. The first photo reports from the Russian capital were made. To be honest, I didn't like Moscow at all! The people are heartless, the streets are full of trash... By noon, we reached Sheremetyevo airport. The airport is always crowded. But what surprised me here was not the crowds, but the 6 people lying on the stone floor of the airport among the people. Yes, 6 people. All members of one family. They are lying on their backs on the cold tile as if they were in bed! I was so surprised that I approached them and listened to their conversation, and they were Germans. I don't understand German. So I couldn't understand what they were saying. Father, mother, and 4 sons. Everyone looks at them with side-eyes, passing by with disapproval. They are not embarrassed by anything. Such an interesting thing happens...!

While we were wondering about the Germans lying on the floor, a tall, thin, fair-skinned girl came and sat next to us and started a conversation in poor English. She flew to Moscow from Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. She is flying further to Venice. So we are taking the same flight. Her name is Narmandakh. According to her, it means sunrise! If I remember correctly, she was 27 years old. Her English is very poor. We barely talked to her. According to her, she is going to Venice to live with her Italian boyfriend.

• Do you speak Italian?
• No.
• How will you live there, if you don’t speak Italian?
• My boy-friend know[s]....
• What does he know?
• He know[s] Mongolian...
• Is it your first visit?
• No understand...
• Are you going to Italy the first time?
• ... (She shook her head silently - Auth.).
• Have you ever been there before?
• ...(Silence again and head shaking... - Auth.)
• Ok. Did you go to Italy?
• No, It’s my one....
• The first time?
• Yes! - I wanted to ask her about the situation of Kazakhs in Mongolia. But she couldn't answer my questions. At the end of the conversation, I said to her, 'Have a good trip!'. But she didn't understand. Later, when we met for the second time, she repeated those words to me! Looking at her, she seems to come from a good family. Very confident in herself, but looks tired. This is also a poor soul looking for her own happiness... Of course, achieving happiness is not an easy task, but it is possible. Persistence and tenacity are not enough for that. To achieve happiness, one must sometimes take risks and make sacrifices. It is a pity, of course, that Narmandakh could not find her happiness in her own country. A girl hoping to find her happiness in another country is taking a big risk, sacrificing her own country, and going abroad... Sometimes the image of this Mongolian girl comes to my mind. I saw her for the last time at Venice airport. Whether her boyfriend met her or not, I couldn't see... About two years have passed since then. How is that girl living now...?

Narmandakh's actions instilled self-confidence in our girls.

• People travel even without knowing the language, how?
• That's what I'm saying.
• If our English isn't enough, we know Russian. We'll explain something somehow. How do they manage..?

The next character we met at the airport was an Italian named Giovanni... Zhuldiz, who was handing out candies to Aida and me, gave one candy to a middle-aged man sitting next to us. He looked at Zhuldiz with innocent eyes and said, 'Grazie!' with surprise. After that, our conversation went well. Our traditional question is: 'Do you know Kazakhstan?'. Giovanni, whom Narmandakh didn't know, knows Kazakhstan... We flew for about 2 hours and reached Venice that evening. Although the two girls spoke Russian to the Russian Aeroflot flight attendants, I spoke English. When we were getting off the plane, an elderly flight attendant, or rather an old woman, was standing at the door. Everyone was saying goodbye to her as they were getting off the plane. When I was getting off, I said, 'Arrivederci!', and she turned up her nose, looked at me with a chauvinistic look, and said sarcastically: 'Have you learnt the Italian language in one flight?'. I looked at her over my glasses and got off. It's not worth wasting words on such chauvinistic scum.

We didn't have a Schengen visa. That's why they didn't let us out of the airport. Even if they had, where would we go...? Evening had fallen, and it had become dark... We welcomed the morning of May 26 at Venice airport. The night was cool. We hadn't brought any warm clothes with us. At one point, an Italian customs officer brought us three warm 'Blankets'. How wonderful! We wrapped ourselves in the warm blankets and fell asleep. These blankets helped me in America too. Italians are a very kind people. It's a pity I don't know their language... In the afternoon, our plane arrived. That's how we headed from Venice to New York... We took the blankets given by the Italian officer with us to the USA as a souvenir and brought them to Kazakhstan.