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Volume 4 Issue 3
Kazakhstan , and on the east by the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan . Most of Central Asia was
conquered by the Russian empire in the last part
of the 19th century, and in 1924 Uzbekistan became part of the Soviet Union. In 1991, it gained
independence from the USSR.
Then I write about twelve adjectives on the board. We
translate the adjectives into the students’ native language of Uzbek; then we try to assign an adjective to a
face. I am pleased to see that about half of the words
are new for the students. After finishing this activity, we
have about ten minutes remaining, so we play
“Hangman” using English vocabulary words.
Now I have about one hour before 7-8th At 1:20 PM I
finally make my way to street to catch another taxi van
back to my apartment. When I arrive home at 2:00 PM,
all I really want to do is eat something and take a nap. I
grab a quick bite and then lie down. At 3:15 PM, I
check the internet again. I am waiting for a response
from an email I sent last week. Then I get ready to go
to Qarshi American Corner for a 4:00 PM class. I take
the No. 12 taxi van and get to the Kashkadarya Regional Library. I go inside, and see only 2 of my students. In the meantime, the American Corner director
Qodir aka (big brother) asks me to proofread some
documents he is working on. We do this, and I talk to
some of the people in the room. Then at 5:00 PM my
students show up…just as I am thinking about leaving.
“Our afternoon classes ran an extra hour today; we’re
sorry,” they say. School schedules can be fluid here,
and many students have afternoon lessons, not in the
morning like in the US, so I easily understand their
situation. “Just please call me next time if you’ll be
late,” I say. We work on English grammar until about
6:15 PM. Can you believe I am doing this class by request—students actually want to study grammar? I take
the van back to my apartment. I make some coffee to
pick me up. I think to myself, “I need to study Uzbek
language tonight.” But instead I only get something to
eat, and then climb into bed with a book.
Uzbekistan is the smallest, but most populous of the
Central Asian republics with a population of 27 million
and a land area of 173,000 sq. mi. It is located north of
Afghanistan and shares a small border with it. It is bordered on the west by Turkmenistan , on the north by
Over the centuries the area has been conquered
by Alexander the Great, the Persians, the Arabs,
the Mongols, the Persians again, and finally the
Russians. During the 14th century the Turkic
leader Amir Temir, or Tamerlane, created his
imperial capital in the city of Samarqand. His
grandson the Khan Ulug Bek was said to give
lessons in mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy while back in England Henry V was engaged
in the Hundred Year’s War with France. Uzbekistan contained three important trading posts
along the Great Silk Road, the cities of Khiva,
Bukhara, and Samarqand. These cities are
known today for their old and beautiful madrasehs, or Islamic schools, and their historic districts.
Today, the majority population is Uzbek, but there
are minority populations of Russians, Koreans,
Tatars, Tajiks, and others. Modern Uzbeks are a
calm and tolerant people. Many aspects of Russian culture pervade Uzbek life. As a Peace
Corps volunteer and American there, I was always made very welcome and found the teachers and students at my school, and indeed every
where in my site, eager to work with me and take
advantage of any opportunities I could bring. I still
maintain contact with friends and students from
my training community and work site. The Peace
Corps program in Uzbekistan was suspended in
June of 2005.