hello, my name is sofya daroova, i come from kazakhstan from... the city of almaty.

by decree of the president of our country, my husband was appointed ambassador to the republic of belarus. and in september of this year we arrived in minsk, this is my first time here. well, our morning has begun.

usual, as always, oh, i’m preparing breakfast for my husband, and this is our traditional kazakh tea, it ’s brewed very strong, served with cream, with hot water, and of course, hot water, what i prepared for my husband is here we have kazakh baursaks, this is ours a traditional dish, all kazakhs love it very much, and i think that not only kazakhs love baursaks, but baursaks, cheesecakes, my husband eats healthy food, so we have porridge every morning, so i prepared everything for my husband, breakfast ready and we can go for a walk with you.

i come from kazakhstan, i was born and raised in the city of almaatia, it is a beautiful city, and can you imagine, from anywhere in the city you can see the mountains, because almaata is located in the foothills, i really love going to the mountains, moreover, my whole family loves go camping, my husband often organizes hikes and we go with the whole family. all with backpacks, we walk, we go up to the streams, but this is great, this is wonderful, now, if we talk specifically about today, the weather is not much different, say, from astana, because it is also windy and cold, and my husband was not so long ago in the summer appointed, and the ambassador of the republic of belarus, in connection with this, we had a move to minsk, for me it was very

pleasant, because it is a wonderful country, good people, by the way, very similar in mentality to the kazakh people, that is open, friendly, kind, this is my first time in belarus, of course, i know a lot about belarus, i have a friend from belarus and when we arrived here for the first time, i was in minsk not long ago for no more than 3 months, the first thing i noticed was i noticed that it was crystal clear air, i wanted to drink it, and of course, the space that opened before my eyes, i was very impressed, that is, the first impression was very, very fresh, very beautiful, because we arrived at 5 in the morning. dawn, i really liked it,

the first impression was incredible, because we flew from vietnam , there is a completely different climate and tropics, it’s hot, and here there is such a freshness of pine, by the way , it reminded me very much of ostana, not only ostana, but we have a pine forest place near ostana , it’s not far from kakchetav, and there are also a lot of pine trees, a lot of birches, the same wonderful fresh air, a new place is, i wouldn’t say it’s discomfort, it’s always some kind of expectations, some kind of experiences, because well... a new country, new culture, new customs, new people, again , i have no discomfort as such, i don’t feel it, i feel quite comfortable, i am

an economist by education, i graduated from the institute of national economy, i have always been a hard-working person, that is i have always had interesting work in different areas of my profession, upon arrival in minsk, literally, probably on the second or third day, i was invited, and there are communities in minsk, there is a club, the international minsk women’s club of wives of ambassadors, diplomats and foreign representatives, when i came to this meeting, it was very interesting , i met new ladies, and literally... a few days later they invited me to a meeting. in addition, they immediately offered me to head this club, the fact is that the previous president of the women’s club,

elvira ozhan, she is the wife of the turkish ambassador, their mission is ending in the country of belarus, and they needed someone else who could replace her... in this position, of course, i thought, probably for a week, whether to accept this offer or not accept when i i decided for myself that i was obliged to pick up and continue the work that the club, in particular the president of this club, was doing, a great responsibility, i understand this very well, and i will try to do everything right, if you can...' something then help, you must do it, because these children, these people, they need help, this particular club performs a very important function, it is engaged in charity, the club is about 30-odd years old, and this is not the club that deals with the leisure of wives , diplomats, and

this club has been supervising for many years maximum help and support, several... homes and in particular a psychoneurological dispensary, where people of varying degrees of severity who live in this institution and this club, buy some materials, in particular provide art goods, that is, through art therapy they have achieved very great results, they draw, they sculpt, they have... a printing house, and they do carpentry, they embroider, weave rugs, what i saw, i was deeply amazed that a healthy person cannot always do this , what did these people do, and the director of this institution told me that they, uh, have now

reduced the consumption of medications through art therapy treatment, we now have... in connection with this, a big major event is coming up, this is my first event, which will be under my beginning, i took up this work intensively, i created a working group, of course, the beginning was difficult , because this is a new country for me, to begin with, these are new people who were unfamiliar to me, in this short period, we became close , we found a common language, and the most most importantly, we have a very important goal: the goal is to hold the upcoming fair, a charity fair, which takes place every year in december, in minsk, before minsk we worked in vietnam for more than four years, and i was also a member of the club there, there were other

tasks there, too there was a club for the wives of ambassadors, here it is in a slightly different format, different concepts, a different vision, and there are also charities in kazakhstan. club of wives of ambassadors and, it seems , diplomats, they annually hold fairs, charity balls, charity evenings, where they gather a lot of people, in general, this practice of charity with the involvement of spouse-ambassadors, it operates everywhere all over the world and somewhere there may be some differences, but everyone has the same goal. i am very glad to meet you, today we

will decorate the christmas tree, because the new year is coming, we will now assemble the christmas tree, make wishes, and so that our wishes will all come true. now we are in an orphanage, the children are wonderful, everyone who hung a toy on this tree made a wish, i also made my wish, and in general the tradition is interesting, make a wish for the new year, and as a rule , it doesn’t always come true, it’s a kind of magic that happens, looking at these children, and i’m so overwhelmed with emotions that it’s difficult to focus my words, and i would

really like for as many people as possible to provide some kind of help . then help these children, no matter how much , no matter how you provide it, the main thing is when you make some contribution to help the children, i am always interested in communicating with children, i think that... they feel it too, children in general these are so interesting in the sense that they they feel people if you show interest in them, if you are interested in a child, and you don’t deceive them, they immediately feel the falseness , that is, if you are sincere, if you talk to him as a peer, not like an adult child, the child feels it and he is reaching out to you. well, i don’t know how it happened that my children always respond to

me and this makes me very happy, and i love children, our club will do everything that is needed naturally, taking into account the traditions that have already developed over these 30 years, maybe even we probably don't we notice what we are doing today, because it is so important when you can...' organize, when you can do something for children, of which there are many, the event that we are now planning, an international charity fair, it will pass through the junctions of the three largest districts of the city, each participant will exhibit a stand immersing themselves in the country, this is very interesting, this is very cool, not everyone can get to some other country, some city, learn some culture, kids,

who, we invited to this event, this is also the first time, we invited the children of the orphanage, and to take part as a spectator in our, our fair, we will have a large concert program, where artists from belarus, representatives of different countries, diasporas will perform live here... the territory of belarus, as part of the fair, we will announce a competition for the best slogan for this event, that is, every person, either a participant, a child, an adult, a guest, he can come up with an interesting slogan and receive a prize for it, of course, everyone the funds were collected at this charity fair, they will be transferred, transferred to certain people, because we have a certain plan that we have drawn up, who

is in dire need of such specific help today, and i believe that this is very, very important for us today, our women 's club, all women, everyone has a family, everyone has children, grandchildren, we are out of politics, we are for the sun to shine, for the children to laugh. so that they rejoice, and if we can help, we must do so. we arrived at secondary school in minsk, named after mukhtar oyezov, this is our great poet, writer, publicist, and this school is located on the street also named after mukhtar auyezov, and here is a stand, you can see,

here are exhibits of kazakh culture, as well as books , copies of documents, i would also like to draw your attention to the fact that here at the stand there is a kazakh costume, a kazakh camisole, and also on the school grounds there is a monument to kazakh soldiers who fought on the territory of belarus, this monument was directly erected with participation, our embassy of kazakhstan, as well as... from the administration of the zavodskoy district, this is a direct connection between kazakhstan and belarus, also the fact that in this school they study the culture of kazakhstan, study the history of kazakhstan, study the kazakh language, and children dance when i

the first time i came to this school was when i saw belarusian children on stage, dancing kazakh dances , dancing kamazhai. it was simply magnificent, and the children read poetry in the kazakh language, staged a play in the kazakh language, that is, this is the generation of young people, immediate the connection between the peoples, kazakhstan and belarus, and this only strengthens us, connects us, and i believe that this is probably one of the most important points. i want to introduce you to the traditional kazakh dwelling, this is a yurt, the kazakhs were nomads, they roamed from one place to another place, they always carried their house with them, they chose a special place for the yurt, the door of the yurt was always located strictly to the south, because from

the doors came the sun, the kazakhs built a daily routine... and from the sun, that is, it was warm in this yurt in winter, but because it made from above, it was made of felt, here is the felt lining of this yurt, it consists of several three important parts, the most important part of the yurt is the shanerag, if you pay attention, the shanerag we have... is present in the coat of arms of kazakhstan and has always been installed under the shonyrak the hearth, this is where the cauldron stood, and where the table stood, i also wanted to draw attention to the fact that the kazakhs from ancient times drank kumis and poured mare’s milk here,

after which they whipped it in this way, that is, milk was added and or horses, it was a gorgeous drink that he was very useful and it is still very popular, this is what i want to show, this is a specially portable little bag, it is called a torsok, it is made of leather, and usually kumys was poured here, tied to the saddle of a horse, the rider gallops , the kumiss is whipped up, he is in throughout the day... i’m thirsty, we took baursaks with us, i really love kumys, my whole family loves kumys very much, these bowls are also made of wood, they are very warm, they have a very warm energy, and pimys is made from them too, of course , i can’t help but notice, this is such a cradle, this

called besok, when a child is born, and he is laid down, the kazakhs generally have a lot of...traditions of all kinds of rituals, and there is a ritual of putting a child to rest for the first time in besok , and my middle son was in besak, when he was born, we came home from the maternity hospital , and my husband’s mother, she put my son in the weight, we solemnly wrapped him , packed him, and he lay with me, that is , look, she too... made of wood, a wonderful thing, and i have him until 3 years i slept only in besyk, if i went to guests, i took this little devil with me if we went somewhere on vacation, and in kazakhstan i took this little devil with me, he was already walking, talking, he was lying down here, he was trying to wrap himself up and shaking his head, that is, well,

this a wonderful thing, this is what concerns traditions, in general i want to note that kazakhs very much observe tradition, there are a lot of traditions that are passed on from generation to generation and from family to family, in my family, i always try to preserve traditions, increase them, and i have two daughters-in-law, from eldest son, second son, that’s when they came to my family, to our family, and i’m always trying to tell them, explain something, and the girls, very smart, reasonable, they will accumulate these traditions, because what i for example, my husband’s mother passed on what my mother passed on to me, i pass

on to my children, i add from myself, and they will pass it all on to their children, and so from generation to generation it will only increase, i have a fairly large family, i have three sons, adults, two already have a profession, our eldest son... he’s a sailor, which is surprising, very good for kazakhs, he has three children, my middle son, surprisingly, he had one profession, he graduated from school, oil major, he’s an engineer, he completed his studies, graduated magistrate, worked, at some point he decided to change his profession, studied to become a psychologist, now he is a practicing psychologist, he has... his own podcast, he hosts a program, very interesting, called, and this will pass, discusses very different topics, and the youngest son is a student, he is

a little over 20 years old, while he is still in in search, but i think he will choose what he likes, with my husband, i had an amazing story, we met him on the street, in almaat there is an exhibition in he often calls me: you are an achievement of the national economy, and we met, i was with my friends, we met each other halfway, that’s how we started a friendship, it grew into love , at first sight, practically, and we have been together for many, many years, my husband’s profession is complex, interesting, most importantly, it is beneficial and results, and... he is a diplomat, and therefore i am always with him and i always support him, i am always behind his back, the support of family, of course, is always important, and above all your family, your

loved ones, and my mother supports me very much, because due to circumstances we are not nearby now, naturally, we call we communicate with each other, in general we have a very large family , i have a large family, my husband has a large family, and we are very closely connected, we have a very close relationship, that is, kinship of souls, we often get together, of course, all the relatives are very supportive , let's say i have an aunt, this is her it turns out that i am the sister of my husband, my father, i very much feel her support in everything, in all matters, that is, i can always rely on... my relatives, what belarus gave me, it happened so very surprisingly, we just arrived and immediately immersed ourselves,

into communication, immersed ourselves in interesting meetings, because i didn’t have time , let’s say, to get distracted by getting used to it, as i wouldn’t say that there was any specific addiction, so we arrived, we immediately began to get to know each other, find new ones ... people, communicate, again, i began to engage in important work, which i believe is very rewarding.