A Friendship Across Borders

During the summer vacation of 2022, shortly after finishing my high school entrance examination, I signed up for the “Silk Road Cloud” Chinese Summer Camp. I had just completed an important exam and was excited to learn about the wider world. Since the camp was held online, I did not expect it to lead to a lasting friendship. However, it was there that I met Malati Bahati, a Kazakh student from Haileybury Astana School.

Our first meeting was quite funny. When we introduced ourselves, he greeted me in Chinese and said, “Hello, I’m Malala.” I paused for a moment and wondered whether he was somehow related to the Nobel Peace Prize winner. Later, I learned that his Chinese name simply sounded like “Malala.” His actual Kazakh name had a very different sound and rhythm. This small misunderstanding helped us relax and gave us something to laugh about.

After the summer camp, Malati felt that his Chinese still needed improvement. He wanted to find a native Chinese speaker with whom he could practice, and I was happy to help. At first, our conversations were formal and sometimes awkward. We often had to stop and think about how to express ourselves. As we became more familiar with each other, our conversations grew more natural.

His interest in Chinese was stronger than I had expected. He did not only want to learn the language. He was also interested in Chinese history and culture. We made a study plan and spent time practicing Chinese and English together each day. We corrected each other’s pronunciation and grammar. By helping him with Chinese, I also became more aware of the details of my own language. At the same time, he helped me express myself more clearly in English.

In our free time, we discussed many topics, including cultural differences and international news. One conversation that stayed with me was about disasters, extreme weather, and desertification in Kazakhstan. Malati explained how climate change had affected his hometown and how desertification created problems for local people. I shared what I knew about China’s efforts to deal with climate change and protect the environment. Through these discussions, I learned more about Kazakhstan and began to see environmental problems from a different point of view.

As we learned from each other, our friendship grew through respect and understanding. Although we came from different countries and had different backgrounds, we found many shared interests. Our conversations showed me that differences in language and culture do not have to keep people apart. Instead, they can give people more reasons to listen to and learn from each other.

Today, we still share parts of our daily lives through social media. Sometimes, we write longer emails when we want to discuss our thoughts in greater detail. I often think back to that summer and remember the smiling Kazakh boy I met online. What began as a simple language exchange has become a friendship that crosses national borders.