In 1949, teachers from the Osh Teachers’ Institute came to Gulcho to conduct entrance exams. Upon hearing this, I was delighted and set out from the village of Boz-Karagan to Gulcho. At that time, there was no bridge across the Gulcho River, so people crossed to the other bank through a ford.
Later, I learned that I had been accepted. The institute was located in the building of the current Philological Faculty. The dormitory was on the first floor, and classes were held on the second floor.
In the dormitory, I assembled a bed from old and broken ones. But there was no mattress, so in the first few days I had to sleep on a sweatshirt with a suitcase under my head. Then an Ingush woman, who cleaned the floors, sewed a mattress and a blanket for me. She didn't understand Kyrgyz or Russian, and it was difficult for me to express my gratitude to her.
Abdiev Tai, a graduate of the Osh Teachers' Institute
Excerpt from the book “Osh Mugalimder Institutan Bashtalgan Jol” (2014).