Kazakh sisters Usmanova Kamila Hasanovna and Usmanova Nargiza Hasanovna are star students at Xi'an Jiaotong University in Shaanxi province, where many Central Asian students study.

With encouragement from their mother, who got divorced when they were very young, the two girls joined a famous dance troupe and performed around Kazakhstan. It gave them a sense of independence and a skill. It also taught them discipline, and this served them well when they had to study in a foreign country.

"My mother was employed by the local power authority and she also had two part-time jobs in medical firms to try to provide better living conditions for us. Mom's example taught us to be strong and independent," said Kamila, the older sister.