It has become a tradition supported by the Office of International Education, PSU, and Association of international students of the Penza region to hold a cultural marathon “Around the world in two semesters!” among international students in the course of which each country demonstrates its culture and traditions. On the 5th of March it was the turn of Kyrgyzstan to do this.

Kyrgyz national holiday “Al-Kalpak” helped to see the fascinating atmosphere of the country with its rich history, unusual culture and a huge number of interesting traditions. The organizers created national Kyrgyz coloration by establishing a real yourt and tats for belt fighting. The event took place in front of the students’ residential halls where international students live.

The holiday was attended by a number of honoured guests: Rector of PSU, Aleksandr Gulyakov; Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, Sergei Vasin; Heas of Office for International Education, Damir Saldaev. The celebration began with the ceremony of passing the marathon cup from India to Kyrgyzstan; Rokhin Patil, a student from India, and Ruslan Talantbekov, a student from Kyrgyzstan, took part in this ceremony.

Then the guests visited Kyrgyz yourt and its decoration, tasted national cuisine. The Kyrgyz students organized a national concert for all the guests.

After visiting the yourt the guests headed by Rector A. Gulyakov took part in the national game “Arkan tartmai” – tug of war. Rector’s team won 2:0. Then Kyrgyz students from PSU competed with Kyrgyz students from artillery institute. It was a difficult battle but PSU students won.

All the viewers were looking forward to the main competition of this celebration – “Kuresh”, belt fighting. More than 20 international students from Penza State University, Penza State University of Architecture and Construction, Penza Artillery Institute and representatives from other countries registered to take part in the competition.

The celebration ended with tasting national Kyrgyz cuisine. Kyrgyz students cooked a lot of dishes: beshbarmak, bawyrsak, pastry straws, kattama, chak-chak, and naturally “Ayim-paloo” – Kyrgyz rice pilaf.

 “Cultural marathon “Around the world in two semesters” helps international students to tell Russian students and each other about the culture and traditions of their countries, which contributes to more effective adaptation and integration into Russian students’ environment”, - commented the organizers.