Significant changes have occurred in the girl's life: her parents divorced when she was just 2.5 years old, and she was forced to grow up with her mother in the village of Sary-Kamysh.
Currently, Sypaiy lives with her family in Moscow.
“After studying at school No. 4 in Balakchy, I decided to continue my education at AUCA, successfully passing the tests, but the contract amount for tuition of 30,000 soms turned out to be unmanageable for my mom. I really wanted to study there, but in the end, I enrolled in a budget spot in the Kyrgyz Philology department at KNU named after J. Balasagyn. I tried to study hard and received a scholarship. However, in my third year, students were forced to clean the teachers' offices. After I poorly handled this task, Nuriza from the dean's office informed all the teachers of my name, and I began to face bias. While others were asked 1-2 questions in exams, I was asked 4-5, and in the end, I couldn’t finish my studies and became a labor migrant,” she shared.
Sypaiy revealed that her name was chosen by her paternal grandfather.
“My grandfather decided to name me after his grandmother (tai ene). The word ‘sypaiy’ translates to ‘delicate, polite, courteous.’ In childhood, I was very obedient and quiet, but over time my character changed. During my school years, I looked for other people with the same name and found a girl named Sypaiy who lived in the Ak-Suu district. We became friends and communicated for a long time. When I wrote to Russians about work in Moscow, they often thought I was a man. Even our compatriots couldn’t pronounce my name correctly and just called me ‘Sonya,’” she shared.
Sypaiy also admitted that for some time she was shy about her name.
“At the registry office, I was offered to change my name, and I thought about many options, but none of them suited me. In the end, I decided to keep my unique name, which is extremely rare,” she noted.
According to Akuluyeva, she lives in the Moscow microdistrict “Samolyot,” where many people from Kyrgyzstan reside.
“At first, I got to know one neighbor, who then told another about me. The latter, upon hearing my name, thought it was the name of some dish or drink. One day we met and started communicating. When I introduced myself as Sypaiy, the second neighbor laughed and admitted that she had heard of me but was sure it was the name of a dish,” she added.
Akuluyeva also mentioned her interest in IT technologies and her intention to pursue training in this field.
She is now married and raising two children: a daughter, Sumaiya, who is finishing the 3rd grade, and a son, Aidar, who is currently in the 2nd grade.
