Sorry it's taken me so long to post- I recently went to Uzbekistan to visit my boyfriend for 10 days, and we didn't want to waste a minute of the time we had together. It was the third country I've visited, my first country in Asia, and my first Islamic country. Needless to say, there is quite a contrast of culture, climate, and countless other details between the United States and Uzbekistan. However, I think that living in Germany before making this trip helped a lot with any culture shock that I felt- I'm used to being surrounded by people who speak a different language, and I'm getting used to just going with the flow and assuming that things might feel very different and overwhelming at times.
Most people I've spoken to about Uzbekistan have never heard of it. Uzbekistan is an ex-Soviet Union nation bordered by Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. It is a landlocked country with 12 provinces. My boyfriend and his family live in Toshkent Viloyati, in the capitol of Uzbekistan, Tashkent. Here is the Wikipedia link to Uzbekistan if you'd like to read more than what I write in my blog: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbekistan.
When I was coming into Uzbekistan, I was nervous. I had no idea what to expect- another first for me was seeing a third world country. I was immediately surprised by how friendly Uzbek people are. On my plane, I sat next to and behind two Uzbek women, both traveling with a baby. They both spoke English, and were very kind and excited for me to see their country. One of them gave me her phone number and told me that if I needed anything, or I just wanted company, I could call her any time. Once I was in the country, I saw this same friendly, generous behavior many times. Often strangers would come up to Artyom (my boyfriend) and I, and just start a conversation asking us who we were, where we were from, where we were going, etc. Unfortunately, hardly anyone spoke English, but Artyom was a very patient and reliable translator ;). Many times during my visit, Artyom would make friends with strangers and exchange numbers with them after just having a conversation and getting along.
Nearly all of the buildings in Uzbekistan reflect both Middle-Eastern and an Asian styles, especially in the shape of the roofs and the designs on buildings. The climate was actually pretty similar to Germany- a little warmer though. It stayed around the upper 30's-low 40's during my trip. It actually snowed once while I was there! It was a fairly dry climate, but not as dry as I expected. It rained a couple of times while I was there, and there are a lot of trees and grass. The soil in general is more red in color than in North Carolina. Tashkent is a big city, but it's much more spread out than cities in Europe, with buildings that are more sprawling rather than stacked high. One of my favorite things about Uzbekistan was the markets. To buy fresh food, people barter and haggle at bazaars- open markets. It was so interesting to see the many different vendors, selling everything from purses to pomegranates to spices. The food in Uzbekistan is fantastic, and one of the reasons is because of their quality produce. Almost everything they sell is locally grown, and it is all completely natural- no pesticides, insecticides, hormones, or genetic modification, and there really is a difference. Everything had a better and stronger taste. Even the colors of the fruits and vegetables looked brighter to me.
One of my biggest challenges in Uzbekistan was with all things bathroom related. Haha. The more I travel, the more I realize how many things I take for granted. One of them, I know now, is toilets. In certain places in Uzbekistan, rather than toilets with a seat and a lid, there are bathrooms that have a much older design...in fact, here's picture of one:
If you are a person who has only ever used toilets, then you can understand my chagrin the first time I saw a toilet like this. However, I am thankful for this challenge because it, like so many other situations I've experienced abroad, helped me to better understand that different cultures have different traditions and lifestyles. I have also learned how truly blessed I am to come from a home and a country where I receive so many privileges when there are lots of people who receive so few. Anyways, back to my bathroom blues: I had no clue how to use the first one of these toilets that I saw. Looking back, my different attempts to use it were pretty hilarious. When I came out and asked my boyfriend how the heck it worked, he laughed for awhile before explaining it to me- let's just say it's less convenient than a toilet seat. Another difference in bathrooms was that sometimes there were not separate bathrooms for men and women. There were just bathrooms with two or three stalls that were for everyone. This was also a big shock. In fact, once I was using the restroom (a normal toilet this time, thankfully), and when I came out to wash my hands a man was standing at the sinks! I gasped and jumped about two feet in the air, and scared him as much as he scared me. He dropped a roll of paper towels on the floor and started talking in Russian. It was embarrassing but very funny- we both started to laugh after a few seconds. I only had one encounter of this nature, but that was more than enough.
Uzbekistan still reflects Soviet influence. For example, nearly every citizen speaks Russian. Most citizens speak at least some Uzbek, the native language. The population of Uzbekistan is 14% Russians, yet everyone speaks their language. Artyom and his family are Russian, and thus he speaks and understands some Uzbek, but speaks fluent Russian. Some younger people and students in Uzbekistan speak or at least understand some English, but most do not. Unfortunately, that meant that I was unable even to order a glass of water. However, I learned a little Russian while I was there- it's a very beautiful language!
The currency in Uzbekistan are called soms. Approximately 2,600 soms are equal to one U.S. dollar, which is nice for tourists. However, vendors and taxi drivers know this and charge higher prices to foreigners. Luckily for me I had Artyom and all of his family to help me. I kept thinking while I was there that if I had gone to a country more like Uzbekistan to study abroad, it would have been so much harder- not speaking the language and having almost no English speakers, and being an obvious foreigner. It gave me a greater appreciation for my life in Germany.
My first day in Uzbekistan, Artyom and I traveled to an ancient city called Samarkand to do some sight-seeing. It was so beautiful, full of mosques and Madrasahs, educational institutions for Muslim people, in subjects that are both religious and secular. Samarkand was a main city on the Silk Road, an ancient trade route that stretches all the way from China to Europe. Inside the Madrasahs were lots of souvenier shops, and the owners were constantly letting us try on replicas of clothing that people used to wear- some of them were very funny! One of the costumes that I tried on was a green tunic covered in silver coins. The shop owner told us that in ancient times, if a man wished to divorce his wife and told her as much, she must leave at once and take nothing with her. Because of this law, women sewed their silver and jewels onto their clothes, so that they could leave and still have money to live. I got a beautiful scarf and several Arabic perfumes from the shops in Samarkand. It was such a majestic city. My favorite monument was the Bibi-Khanym Mosque. It was named after the wife of Amir Timur, the ruler of Samarkand in the 14th century who built the Timurid Empire in Central Asia. The mosque was named for his wife because she was very kind, and very respected by the inhabitants of the empire. It has been restored to its former greatness, and is truly a wonder to behold.
After returning to Tashkent, I met Artyom's family at a traditional Uzbek dinner hosted by Artyom's father. There was quite a spread of food, and all of it was delicious. The central dish was something called plov, a seasoned dish made of meat, rice, and vegetables. Luckily, most of the members of Artyom's family speak and understand a little german, so although we were unable to speak to each other in Russian or English, I managed to speak with them without Artyom translating the whole time. Another unexpected surprise was meeting Artyom's sweet cousins, two of which speak English, so I got to get to know them a little. They were very kind, and I had a great time meeting all of them.
One day I went with Artyom's father, stepmother, and his stepmother's sister on a drive to the mountains that are about an hour's drive outside of Tashkent. They are absolutely breathtaking. When I saw them, they had just been covered in a layer of fresh snow- it was beautiful but very cold! We wound around the mountains, stopping frequently to take pictures. We also stopped at a couple of little miniature markets tucked in the mountains. They sold lots of delicious foods, including fresh honey, nuts, seeds, bread, and fruits. We drove to a large lake contained by a dam to take pictures. The water was such a bright blue, I couldn't tear my eyes from the horizon. We got lots of great pictures, and then stopped at a traditional restaurant in the mountains. I got to try many different foods, each one of them better than the last. We started with a salad made of seasoned tomatoes and cucumbers and a stew. I think the largest difference in the taste of the food in Uzbekistan compared to what I eat in the United States is the spices that are used in Uzbek dishes. Also, in Uzbekistan, many people drink hot tea with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They make tea by putting tea leaves directly into their teapots and letting it steep the entire time they drink the tea, rather than using tea bags and removing them before drinking the tea. It has a more pungent taste, and it always goes well with meals. I especially liked drinking the tea with breakfast. We had roasted kebabs made with beef and lamb, and baked trout. The meal was so good and so big, I felt ready to burst by the end of it!
I went to see many different things in Tashkent with Artyom and his family. We went to the bazaars, shopping malls, restaurants, pubs, and so many other places. I also got to meet some of Artyom's friends, and they told me more about the culture in Uzbekistan, and even helped me find some great souvenirs. A wonderful surprise was when Artyom took me to an opera in Tashkent! It was in a beautiful hall decorated in white, blue and gold. We saw Bizet's Carmen in Russian! It's normally in French, and it was so interesting to watch it in Russian- I have heard less Russian music in my own music studies than other operatic languages. It was a great show, and afterwards we went to a delicious italian restaurant. That was the night before I returned to Germany, and it was a great way to end my trip.
I could write so much more about Uzbekistan, but I still don't think that I would be able to adequately describe the unique culture, or the open kindness of it's inhabitants. However, I hope that I have covered all of the basic details, and that my pictures will fill in the blanks. I'm thinking of all of my friends and family back home all the time, and missing all of you very much. I hope you enjoy my account of this adventure!
~Bekah
