Language Immersion in the Steppe September 17, 2025

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The rigor was entirely in the language aspect. The courses did not cover anything very difficult in concept.

On-site administration of your program

Nazarbayev was very responsive to any problems, and was eager to make us comfortable. That being said, the school is having financial problems and it felt like sometimes we were paying for services I am not sure we needed to pay for.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

So fantastic. My roommate was incredible, and we became great friends. The dorms were more comfortable than my college in the US.

While the dining hall food is dining hall food, the system works really well. You can get food on campus from a dining hall 6am-1am, and there are grocery markets, cafes, and restaurants operated by private businesses on the campus that are almost always open. with the US $, food is cheap. The water in the city is not drinkable.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I felt pretty integrated into Kazakhstan, but taking classes only with other native english speakers was a huge setback. I would have rather taken courses in english with local students, than courses in russian with american students. Other than this, I felt very comfortable in KZ by the end.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I didn't have any, but it seemed like the coordinators did a great job helping students get to on campus medical solutions, or off campus clinics.

Generally it is very safe, I never felt uncomfortable walking around at night in the cities or anything. In bars and clubs it was a different story, and I felt as though if something bad did happen there would be little to no police response.

While Nazarbayev University has its issues, Kazakhstan is amazing, and studying there is the best thing I could have done to further my REEES major.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

There is no dining plan, so each meal just costs what it costs and can get expensive.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Language pledge

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• Dorm

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• Local Students

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• Americans
• International Students

• Language Pledge
• Group Travel Experiences
• Yuliya Kozitskaya's courses

• Adressing the fact that we are in Kazakhstan, NOT Russia
• Kazakh Language component
• Nazarbayev should do a better job picking professors for the courses

The Nearly Native or Trail Blazer