Two years ago, she concluded her career at the school where she began working after graduating from the Faculty of Philology at the Kyrgyz National University named after Jusup Balasagyn. Born in the village of Arashan in the Talas district, Altynkiz married her neighbor, and soon they moved to Kum-Aryk, where they settled down.
“After school, I decided to enroll in university, but I couldn't do it right away. The two years of waiting were due to my desire to become a lawyer. I failed to get into the law faculty because of a single comma in a sentence, which was extremely frustrating. At that time, competition was fierce — up to 12 people competed for one spot. During those two years, I stayed at home, although there were suitors, but I was sure that I wanted to get an education first. In the end, I chose the profession of a teacher, as I have always loved literature and reading. With my parents' support, I successfully completed my studies, and I was accepted as a teacher at my hometown school,” she shared.
When it was time to retire, Borbasheva decided to leave her job and give young teachers a chance to prove themselves.
“My children supported this decision and gifted me a trip to Antalya with my husband, which was very pleasant,” she noted.
This year, Altynkiz is spending the summer with her grandchildren, preparing traditional dishes such as “zhurma” and “kömöch nan” outside.
The couple has ten grandchildren, and Borbasheva recalled a few funny moments from her practice:
“For two consecutive years, I did my internship at the school where Nurgazy Sydygaliev studied, who played the boy in the film ‘Ak keme’ (‘White Steamboat’). He was very sensitive and sometimes joked. Once, I seated him at the front desk, and during the lesson, he started making strange sounds. I thought maybe he had something in his mouth, but I found nothing. In the end, when I said something funny, he laughed, and a candy flew out from under my feet. He admitted that he was indulging in sweets during the lesson,” she shared.
“Another incident happened in Kumaryk when I asked the students to read ‘White Steamboat’ by Chyngyz Aitmatov. I asked them to read the original, not to retell it. One of the students started retelling, and while I was listening to him, he suddenly stopped. I asked what happened, and he replied that he was watching the movie and was called outside. This amused me so much! I always said that a child who reads a lot makes fewer mistakes in writing. In the end, he finished reading the story, and I gave him a good grade,” Borbasheva added.
Gallery: Altynkiz Borbasheva
