Editor's note: Kanatbek Kyzy Aliza is a Kyrgyzstani girl who studies in Yancheng, East China's Jiangsu province. During her studies in China, she has been participating in many sports activities. She has been helping organize training for the volleyball team at her school and once participated in a cross-country race on behalf of the college. Sports have enriched her studies in China. This is her life.

Kanatbek Kyzy Aliza who studies in Yancheng Polytechnic College. [Photo provided to english.jsjyt.edu.cn]

I come from Kyrgyzstan, a country on the ancient Silk Road. On the north side of the capital Bishkek there is a street named Zhibek-Joreh, which just means "Silk Road" in Chinese.

In recent years, more and more Chinese companies are investing in Kyrgyzstan, and there are more and more "Chinese marks" on the streets. Mastering Chinese means obtaining a good job in Chinese-invested companies.

My father, a fruit businessman who exports fruits to Kazakhstan and Russia, used to say to me half-jokingly, "Do you want to learn Chinese? In the future, you can export our high-quality fruits to China."

In 2017 I finally got the opportunity to study international business at Yancheng Polytechnic College.

Yancheng Polytechnic College. [Photo provided to english.jsjyt.edu.cn]

Loving Sports

I have been fond of sports since childhood, especially running and volleyball. I like to watch some international volleyball matches on TV or the internet. The Chinese women's volleyball team greatly impressed me. The girls are always able to work together and fight hard. I always dream of taking a picture with my favorite volleyball player Zhu Ting.

Luckily, our school soon formed its own volleyball team, and I took the initiative to organize the daily training for everyone. 

We also had students from Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Russia on our team. Although we came from different countries with different languages and cultures, we quickly united on the volleyball court, and volleyball became a bond of understanding that allowed us to fight for the same goals.

Kanatbek Kyzy Aliza (front, L4) and her teammates of the university's volleyball team. [Photo provided to english.jsjyt.edu.cn]

In the college's volleyball league in 2018, we co-operated and encouraged each other, and presented a wonderful game with our great dunking and blocking skills. We finally won the second place in the whole college.

Our hard work won us a lot of praise from the Chinese students, who gave us thumbs-up. We really appreciated the sport of volleyball at that moment, which made us really understand the meaning of "sports without borders" in a foreign country.

The proudest thing happened in 2019. Seven other international students and I formed the Yancheng representative team and participated in an orienteering competition in the beautiful Dongshan of Suzhou city. The competition was a treasure hunt in the tea garden, which was very interesting and exciting.

Kanatbek Kyzy Aliza (L5) participated in an orienteering competition. [Photo provided to english.jsjyt.edu.cn]

During the competition, my schoolmate Leng Yang from Kazakhstan fell down in the final sprinting and had skin abrasions, which received very timely treatment from the medical staff on site. Although we did not achieve the desired result this time, we still showed the sportsmanship of never giving up. We also made more friends from different countries in Jiangsu and appreciated the charm of Suzhou, a city where modernity and classicality meet. The experiences from this competition will stay in my memory forever.

Kanatbek Kyzy Aliza (L5) won the first place in an orienteering competition. [Photo provided to english.jsjyt.edu.cn]

What sports give me is not only the passion of overcoming obstacles and striving for the top, but also another window of understanding China, which have made my life in China richer and better.