Zena, 26, is a Chinese teacher at Eurasia university in the republic of kazakhstan. In July, she received a graduate degree in Chinese from Beijing foreign studies university and returned to teach. In kazakhstan, China and Russia, South Korea, Malaysia, Italy, and as a study in the five countries of the most popular, as China become the biggest trading nation, kazakhstan kazakh people more and more willing to learn Chinese.
This young country, independent of 1991, has been developing rapidly for 23 years. Kazakhstan, in 1991, was overshadowed by the collapse of the Soviet union. Industrial production fell by 50%, agricultural production shrank by a third, transport logistics fell by two-thirds, lending rates were more than 400%, and fewer than 20m people in the country were left. In addition, more than 130 nationalities coexist and 1,400 nuclear warheads are waiting to be processed.
At the age of three, she lived in a rural village south of astana, playing with her mother's shuttle machine. Today, she is wearing a mink coat in and out of the government office, where she works as a simultaneous interpreter for prime minister masimov. She is a generation that follows the footsteps of this young country and represents the spirit and temperament of this country. In the eyes of President nazarbayev, they are the hope of kazakhstan. "Our generation has built an independent kazakhstan and paved the way for your future development. We are creating more jobs, and we are building businesses and industrial projects to raise incomes for your parents. All of these are for your future happiness. You are a happy generation.
She also felt that she was a happy generation, and that she could actually feel the increase in happiness.
Accommodation brings hope.
In 1997, kazakhstan's President, nazarbayev, ordered the capital to be moved from the balmy almaty in the south to astana, with an average winter temperature of minus 17 degrees. Many years later, Mr Nazarbayev was admired for his efforts, and even his own. Opponents had to admire Mr Nazarbayev's foresight. "He's always thinking about the future, always thinking about the future, not as short-sighted as the other central Asian leaders." "Said a researcher from the institute of central Asian studies at the academy of social sciences. Mr Nazarbayev's forward-looking performance was in 1997, when he proposed the kazakhstan 2030 national strategy. In 2012, he launched the kazakhstan 2050 national strategy.
The move was a long one, until the kazakh institute of strategic studies moved from almaty to astana this summer. The government department, which finally completed the move, meant that it took 23 years for kazakhstan to complete the move. For ordinary people, the new capital has brought hope to the people of the central region. A large number of rural people in central and central parts of the country moved to astana after the President ordered them to move, hoping to find more opportunities and a better life there.
It was in that year that her parents brought her and her brother to astana.
The job is not easy to find, but they can still live much better than in the countryside. Zarina entered the only kazakh school in astana at the time. In the early days of astana, ethnic russians accounted for 70 percent of the total population, and they had separate schools with the kazaks.
"Because faith is different, they like to eat pig lung, we can't accept it." There are few Russian figures in her circle of friends. In the streets, zena can accurately identify kazakh and ethnic russians, even though many kazakhs also have high noses, blue eyes and yellow hair. Ha and Russia race's estrangement from the Soviet era, with the collapse of the Soviet union, kazakhstan's independence, the dominant ethnic russians into an ethnic minority, the kazakh people to become the ruler of the country. Russian, once the official language, slowly became a second language after nazarbayev took power, and now kazakh is the official language of the country.
Study in China
Zarena says she is fully fluent in kazakh and understands more than 95 percent of Russian literature and Russian history. The reason she chose to study Chinese was to get a scholarship from the Chinese government for free postgraduate study.
In kazakhstan, Mr Nazarbayev sees it as important. Since independence, Mr Nazarbayev has introduced a series of free education policies. The basic education of the primary school to middle school for 11 years is free for all, which makes the population of 5 to 24 years old in kazakhstan to be 99% of the rate of education, and there is basically no illiteracy in the country.
In 2007, she studied international relations at Eurasia university. In the largest comprehensive university in kazakhstan, there are more than 12,000 students, about 30% of whom can get scholarships and complete four years of free education.
She was two points shy of a scholarship and needed to pay $4, 000 a year.
"The tuition was very expensive, but my parents insisted on me reading. So if I'm a graduate student, I can't spend my family's money." After graduating from university, she chose to study in China. The Chinese government scholarship she applied for was able to fully cover the costs of her time in China. "I wanted to continue to study international relations, or the economy, but the Chinese government has very little support for these majors, and most of the programs for scholarships are language classes."
In kazakhstan, all foreign students can join a state-funded project called future plans. The project aims to provide full funding for all students who are able to go abroad. She did not join the "plan of the future" because it required all students to return home to work for their country after completing their studies. "I wanted to stay in China and didn't know the air was so bad in Beijing." "Said zarena.
In September 2011, she came to Beijing, and for the next three years, she studied Chinese. Now, she is able to use words like "cow force", "your master" and "don't leave the house". She also knows that there are two opposite meanings in different contexts.
When she was in graduate school, she worked part-time as a Russian translator in a Beijing publishing house. She liked the job. The translation allows her to show the best in Chinese in the Russian or kazakh world. "I have a dream to translate the Chinese TV series" wenzhou family "into kazakh or Russian and introduce kazakhstan, which is a big shock to our overseas students." The TV series, broadcast on China central television in 2012, tells the story of a farmer in wenzhou in the 1980s, who was uprooted from his hometown and worked hard across Europe. Zarena says it is very similar to the fact that kazakh students are studying abroad and looking for future real life.
After a year of freelance translation, she had a chance to stay at the publishing house with a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan. "I don't think this money will support my life." She contacted the embassy of kazakhstan in China, where she worked as an intern and hoped to enter the foreign ministry and relocate to China after graduation. "But it's very difficult. The foreign ministry has very little recruitment, and it has to pass the law exam, and then it starts with the lowest level secretary. It is very difficult." On the eve of her graduation, she also contacted the kazakhstan export and investment bureau's Beijing office and failed to be hired.
Look for the visible future.
In July, after graduating from graduate school, she failed to find a suitable job in Beijing and chose to return home. In astana, she was hired as a Chinese teacher at Eurasia university, earning $700 a month. She was not satisfied, "too little pay and no future."
The university teacher's job is good for her parents, who want her to find a boyfriend as soon as possible and then marry. Her younger brother is married, and for kazakh girls, age 26 is not a big deal. She wanted to go to Europe or the United States to read her PhD, but she assured her parents that she would marry first and then read with her husband, not now.
In kazakhstan, after marriage, a woman needs to change her husband's surname, and she doesn't want to change her name, which she says is something she can discuss with her husband. After working, she was so busy that she had little time to herself. She was in charge of teaching Chinese in the whole teaching and research office on weekdays, and she was invited to do translation when she met the Chinese guests. On weekends she needs to help her mother with the housework. "In our country, the division of labor is very clear, and women have to cook and do the laundry, which is what we should do." She said she could not imagine that one day she told her husband that I would not cook today. "It's not acceptable unless you're sick."
But she still prides herself on being a woman. At the gate of the mosque in astana hazare, she wrapped her hair in a scarf, took off her shoes and went quietly into the mosque. In kazakhstan, women who believe in Islam do not need a veil. "The kazakhs have their own traditions, and it is not our tradition to cover a woman's face. We are not going to go back to the middle ages because we are muslims, we are fighting for the future of all muslims. President nazarbayev said in a speech to his countrymen.
She is a devout Muslim, and she goes to a mosque every Friday, a rarity among her peers. As devout as the faith, it was zarena's love for her country. In China, have boys courted, Tina, she said "I can't find her husband in other countries, the people of our country is inherently less, if marry foreigners, the kazakhstan's future?" Her former idol was kazakhstan's former prime minister, akhmetov, who was detained half a month ago on suspicion of corruption. Now, zarina's idol has become the speaker of kazakhstan's upper house, tokayev, a veteran Chinese diplomat who has studied Chinese at the Beijing language institute.
The most admired, of course, is President nazarbayev. The President, who has been in power for 23 years, has succeeded in rapidly expanding his country, and has made it possible for the young people of her generation to feel better and better. In 1993, kazakhstan's per capita GDP was just $700, and in 2013 it was over $13,000. In kazakhstan, nominal wages have risen 45 times in nominal terms, and pensions have risen sixfold in the past decade. These tangible changes have given Mr Nazarbayev a strong civil support, and Mr Nazarbayev has won no less than 90 per cent of the four presidential elections since 1991.
She said she could not imagine what kind of leader would lead the country if Mr. Nazarbayev stepped down. "Fortunately, he has formulated the 2030 strategy and the 2050 strategy, and he has set the direction for the future of the country. Even so, I hope he will be in office for a few more years and I will not hesitate to vote for him. A friend of zarina's, said an official from the kazakh foreign ministry.
In addition to the country's future, she worries about her future job. She signed a one-year contract with Eurasia university, and she needed a new job before the end of the contract. Foreign ministry, national security agency, strategic investment company, kazakhstan central television... These departments and units let her heart, she continued to pay attention to the recruitment information, and keep sending out resumes. "For me now, the first consideration is salary, and then consider whether to deal with Chinese. I hope to find a job where I can see the future.
"Will you come to Beijing again?"
"Must be"
In the temperature of minus 25, she was wearing a mink coat she had bought from Beijing. The dress cost her a month and a half, and that money, she had planned to travel to South Korea. In kazakhstan, it is very important to wear clothes. "You are what you wear." She says she likes the casual way the Chinese dress, but she still gives up on a trip to South Korea and buys a nice dress.
On December 1st, kazakhstan's first President's day, it was the first time in three years that she had spent the holiday in astana. She met the President in front of the cold opera house, and was moved by the President's speech as a generation growing up with independent kazakhstan:
"Independent kazakhstan will do everything it can to help our young people -- children.
Kindergartens, schools, stadiums, is for you, only to let your healthy growth, with a good education, become a real citizen of kazakhstan, better for the construction of our country.
You are a happy generation, because you were born and raised in an independent kazakhstan, a country that is respected all over the world. I sincerely wish you happiness and wish all your wishes come true in the coming New Year. The fairy tale will become a reality and always be happy!
26岁的扎勒娜是哈萨克斯坦共和国欧亚大学的一名汉语老师。今年7月，她拿到了北京外国语大学对外汉语专业的研究生学位，随后回国任教。在哈萨克斯坦，中国与俄罗斯、韩国、马来西亚、意大利并列为留学最热门的五大国家，随着中国成为哈萨克斯坦的最大贸易国，愿意学习汉语的哈萨克人越来越多。
这个独立于1991年的年轻国度，在23年的时间里飞速发展着。1991年的哈萨克斯坦，笼罩着苏联解体的阴云。工业产值下滑50%，农业生产萎缩三分之一，交通物流锐减三分之二，贷款利率超过400%，全国不到2000万人口中，200万人选择离开。此外，还有130多个民族共处，1400枚核弹头等待处理。
当时3岁的扎勒娜生活在阿斯塔纳南部的农村里，整天围着母亲织布的梭机玩耍。如今，她穿着貂皮大衣出入政府办公厅，为总理马西莫夫进行中文俄文同声翻译。她是跟随这个年轻国家的脚步成长起来的一代人，代表着这个国家的精神与气质。在总统纳扎尔巴耶夫看来，他们是哈萨克的希望。“我们这一代人建立了独立的哈萨克斯坦，为你们未来的发展铺好了道路。我们正创造更多的工作机会，为使你们的父母提高收入，我们也正建设着企业和工业项目。所有的这些都是为了你们将来生活得幸福。你们是幸福的一代。”
扎勒娜也觉得自己是幸福的一代，她能切实感受到幸福感的增加。
迁都带来希望
1997年，哈萨克斯坦总统纳扎尔巴耶夫下令，将首都从南部温暖宜人的阿拉木图，迁至冬季平均气温零下17度的阿斯塔纳。多年之后，人们赞赏纳扎尔巴耶夫当初的力排众议乃至一意孤行。当初的反对者们不得不佩服纳扎尔巴耶夫的前瞻性。“他总是思考未来，总是着眼未来考虑决策，而不像中亚其他领导人那样短视。”社科院中亚研究所的一名研究员评价道。纳扎尔巴耶夫的前瞻性表现在，1997年，他提出了《哈萨克斯坦2030国家战略》；2012年，他又推出《哈萨克斯坦2050国家战略》。
迁都的过程是漫长的，直到今年夏天，哈萨克斯坦战略研究所才从阿拉木图迁至阿斯塔纳。这个最后完成搬迁的政府部门，意味着哈萨克斯坦迁都历时23年终于全部完成。对于普通百姓而言，新的首都带给了整个中部地区人民以希望。大量中部、中西部农村的人们，在总统下令迁都之后，举家搬往阿斯塔纳，希望能够在那里谋求更多的机会与更好的生活。
扎勒娜的父母便是在那一年带着她与弟弟来到了阿斯塔纳。
工作并不好找，但他们还是能过得比在农村好很多。扎勒娜入读了当时阿斯塔纳唯一的一所哈萨克族学校。建都初期的阿斯塔纳，俄罗斯族裔占全部人口的70%，他们与哈萨克族分别有各自的学校。
“因为信仰不一样，他们喜欢吃猪肺，我们接受不了。” 扎勒娜的朋友圈里几乎没有俄罗斯族的身影。在街上，扎勒娜能够准确地分辨出哈萨克族与俄罗斯族，即便许多哈萨克族也是高鼻梁、蓝眼睛、黄头发。哈俄两族的隔阂自苏联时期就存在，随着苏联解体，哈萨克斯坦独立，原本占优势的俄罗斯族成为少数民族，哈萨克人成为这个国家的统治者。曾经作为官方语言的俄语，在纳扎尔巴耶夫执政后，慢慢变为第二语言，目前，哈萨克语成为全国的官方语言。
留学中国
扎勒娜说自己完全通晓哈萨克语，能够懂得超过95%的俄语文学及俄语历史。她选择学习中文的原因，是为了拿到中国政府奖学金，免费进行研究生的学业。
在哈萨克斯坦，教育被纳扎尔巴耶夫看得相当重要。自哈萨克斯坦独立之后，纳扎尔巴耶夫推行了一系列免费的教育政策。小学至中学11年的基础教育全民免费，这使得哈萨克斯坦5—24岁的人群受教育率达到99%，全国基本无文盲。
2007年，扎勒娜进入欧亚大学学习国际关系专业。在这所哈萨克斯坦最大的综合性大学里，有超过一万两千名学生，其中约30%能够拿到奖学金，免费完成四年学业。
扎勒娜的考试成绩距获得奖学金还差2分，为此，她需要支付每年4000美金的学费。
“学费很贵，但父母还是坚持让我读书。所以如果我读研究生，一定不能再花家里的钱。”大学毕业后，她选择前往中国留学。她申请到的中国政府奖学金，能够完全负担她的中国期间的开销。“我本来想继续学国际关系，或者经济，但是中国政府对这些专业的支持非常少，设立奖学金的项目大多是语言类。”
在哈萨克斯坦，所有的留学生都能够加入一个名叫“未来计划”的国家资助项目。这个项目旨在给所有有能力出国的学生提供全额资助。扎勒娜没有加入“未来计划”，因为它要求所有学生完成学业后，必须回国工作，为祖国效力。“我想留在中国工作，当时不知道北京的空气这么糟糕。”扎勒娜说道。
2011年9月，扎勒娜来到北京，随后的三年里，她苦学中文。现在，扎勒娜能够熟练使用“牛逼”、“你大爷”、“足不出户”这样的词，她还知道“窝心”在不同语境下，有两种相反的含义。
研二的时候，扎勒娜在北京的一家出版社兼职做俄文翻译，她喜欢这样的工作。翻译能够让她把中文里优秀的东西展现在俄语或哈萨克语世界里。“我有一个梦想，把中国电视剧《温州一家人》翻译成哈萨克语或者俄语，引进哈萨克斯坦，这部剧对我们留学生群体震撼很大。”这部于2012年在中央电视台播出的电视剧，讲述了上世纪80年代温州的一户农民，背景离乡，在欧洲各地艰苦创业，最终事业有成的故事。扎勒娜说它跟哈萨克学生出国留学，四处碰壁四处寻求未来的现实生活非常相似。
兼职一年翻译后，扎勒娜有机会留在那家出版社，月薪五千元。“我觉得这笔钱无法支撑我的生活”。扎勒娜联系了哈萨克斯坦驻华大使馆，她在使馆里实习，并希望毕业后能够进入哈萨克斯坦外交部，再外派来中国。“但是很难，外交部招人非常少，而且需要通过法律考试，进去之后要从最低层的秘书做起。很难。”毕业前夕，扎勒娜还联系了哈萨克斯坦出口和投资局驻北京办事处，也没能被录用。
寻找看得见的未来
今年7月，扎勒娜研究生毕业，她没能在北京找到合适的工作，选择了回国。在阿斯塔纳，她成功应聘为欧亚大学的汉语老师，每个月收入为700美金。对此，她并不满意，“工资太少且看不到未来。”
大学教师这个工作对于扎勒娜的父母而言是不错的，他们希望女儿能够尽快找到男朋友，然后出嫁。扎勒娜的弟弟已经结婚，对于哈萨克族的女孩来说，26岁是不小的年龄。扎勒娜想过去欧洲或者美国读博士，但她跟父母保证，会先结婚然后跟丈夫一起去读，而不是现在。
在哈萨克斯坦，结婚后的女性需要改姓丈夫的姓氏，扎勒娜并不想改姓，她说这是可以跟丈夫商量的事情。工作后的扎勒娜忙碌得几乎没有自己的时间，工作日她负责整个教研室的中文教学工作，遇到政府接待中国来宾时她会被请去做翻译；周末她需要在家里帮母亲做家务。“在我们国家，男女分工非常明确，女性必须做饭洗衣，这是我们应该做的。”她说自己无法想象，有一天她跟丈夫说今天我不做饭。“除非是你病了，否则这是不被接受的。”
但她依旧为自己是一个女性而自豪，在阿斯塔纳哈兹拉特清真寺门口，扎勒娜用围巾将头发裹好，脱掉鞋，悄声步入清真寺。在哈萨克斯坦，信仰伊斯兰教的妇女不需要带面巾头纱。“哈萨克人有自己的传统，蒙住女人的脸不是我们的传统。我们不会因为我们是穆斯林就把国家倒回中世纪，我们为全穆斯林的未来而奋斗。”总统纳扎尔巴耶夫在一次讲话中这样对他的国民说道。
扎勒娜是一个虔诚的穆斯林，每个星期五，她都会去清真寺做礼拜，这在她的同龄人中并不多见。与信仰同样虔诚的，是扎勒娜对祖国的热爱。在中国，曾有男生向扎勒娜求爱，她说“我不能找其他国家的丈夫，我们国家的人本来就少，如果都嫁给外国人了，那哈萨克斯坦的未来怎么办？”她曾经的偶像是哈萨克斯坦前总理艾哈迈托夫，其半个月前因涉嫌腐败被查。现在，扎勒娜的偶像变为哈萨克斯坦上议院议长托卡耶夫，一位曾经在北京语言学院进修过中文的资深外交官员。
当然，最崇拜的人，还是总统纳扎尔巴耶夫。这位执政23年的总统，成功地让他的国家迅速发展壮大，并让扎勒娜这一代的年轻人切实感受到生活越来越好，机会越来越多。1993年，哈萨克斯坦人均GDP仅为700美元，2013年超过13000美元。哈萨克斯坦居民月均名义工资增长45倍，近10年来退休金提高6倍。这些切实的变化让纳扎尔巴耶夫获得了极大的民间支持，1991年至今的四次总统选举，纳扎尔巴耶夫的得票率从未低于90%。
扎勒娜说自己无法想象，如果纳扎尔巴耶夫退位之后，该由怎样的领导人来带领这个国家。“好在他制定了2030战略，2050战略，他规定好了国家未来的发展方向。即便如此，我还是希望他能够多执政几年，我会毫不犹豫地把选票投给他。”扎勒娜的朋友，哈萨克斯坦外交部的一位官员说道。
除了这个国家未来的走向，扎勒娜也担心自己未来的工作。她与欧亚大学签了一年的合同，她需要在合同结束前确定好新的工作。外交部、国家安全局、战略投资公司、哈萨克斯坦中央电视台……这些部门与单位都让她心动，她持续关注着招聘信息，并不断投出简历。“目前对我而言，首要考虑工资，然后考虑是否跟中文打交道。我希望能够找到一份可以看到未来的工作。”
“以后会再来北京吗？”
“必须的‘必’”
在零下25度的气温里，扎勒娜穿着她从北京买来的貂皮大衣。这件衣服花了她一个半月的工资，而那笔钱，她原本计划用于去韩国旅游。在哈萨克斯坦，穿着被人们看得非常重要。“你穿什么样的衣服，你就是什么样的人。”扎勒娜说喜欢中国人对着装的随意，但她依旧放弃了去韩国旅游而买了一件好衣服。
12月1日，是哈萨克斯坦的首任总统日，这是扎勒娜三年来第一次在阿斯塔纳度过这个节日。她在寒冷的歌剧院广场门前见到了总统本人，作为与独立的哈萨克斯坦共同成长起来的一代人，总统的发言让她感动不已：
“独立的哈萨克斯坦会尽一切所能，为了我们的年轻人——孩子。
幼儿园、学校、体育馆，是为你们准备的，只为让你们健康成长，受到良好教育，成为真正的哈萨克斯坦公民，将我们的国家建设得更美好。
你们是幸福的一代，因为你们出生和成长在独立的哈萨克斯坦——一个受全世界尊重的国家里。衷心祝愿你们幸福，祝愿即将到来的新年里，你们的愿望都能实现，童话变成现实，永远幸福快乐！”
扎勒娜相信总统的话，她的弟弟告诉她，只要她坚持，就能寻找到看得见的未来。
