Friends
When we left Uzbekistan two years ago, I had two young friends. One a lyceum girl I had met in Tashkent, and the other a shop girl in Bukhara….Over the intervening time, I would make comments on their photos or their posts and would then receive facebook “friend” requests from people I didn’t know. I always asked the same two questions to those requests: “How did you find me,” and “Why do you want to be friends with some old man half way around the world.” Sometimes I didn’t receive any answer, but when I did, I usually accepted….I told them that I was not interested in having thousands of “friends,” as so many people seem to have, but, rather, would be interested in being real friends where we could communicate and exchange ideas about life, culture, traditions, etc…..I was very interested in learning more about the fascinating land I had just visited.
And I found my new “friends” delightful people….Most of them were female…guys were not as interested in communicating….they just wanted numbers, it seemed…I never requested “friendship,” with these females….didn’t seem right for an old man to request friendship with beautiful young ladies…my hang up. But as time passed, the number grew and grew, until I had over 70 friends in Uzbekistan..more actually than I could count outside of family members in the US….
They range in age from 17 to 26…most of them university students working on language skills…they sent me papers they were submitting for their courses, which I would help correct and suggest different ways of expressing their thoughts…sometimes they told me intimate problems they were facing and I tried to be a voice of hope and optimism about their future…..sometimes they just wanted to know about my life and America….and a dozen other reasons as well for communication. It has been delightful for me, and I shared the messages with Carol and I wanted to return to Uzbekistan and actually meet these people I could now truly call “friends.”
We were invited to stay in homes, but were unable to do so, with the exception of Zazrafshon, because of Uzbek laws preventing such things, but we did visit many homes and schools and actually spent time with over 30 of the “kids,” as I like to call them. It has been everything I had hoped it would be and Carol has flourished by meeting them as well…They have called me Bobojon or Dodajon, Grandpa in Uzbek, Grampy, Grand pa, and Grandfather. Carol is now Bovijon, Granny, etc…naturally, they all love her and she has enmeshed herself into their lives smoothly and graciously.
Some were busy with exams and couldn’t see us, some didn’t make any effort to do so, but all those who did proved to be as delightful in reality as they were in cyber space…they were generous of their hearts and spirits and were so happy to share with us their homes and lives…it was truly the trip I wanted to have…Carol has commented that it was a very different trip….so people-oriented, not focused on places or things….I have always told my friends back home that the thing I liked about Uzbek young people is that they know nothing of the Soviet times…they were all born at, or just after, independence. Hence they do not carry any baggage from those days, but rather are filled with the enthusiasm and optimism of youth and believe that their future is a bright one….
They see their future tied to the west and believe this will provide them with many more opportunities to branch out from a traditional Central Asian nation to one that takes its place amongst the progressive nations o`f the world, where talent and ability take the place of privilege and status. They want a better education system for their country because they believe it still represents the old system where intelligence is not necessarily rewarded, but rather favoritism and corruption often determine who gets ahead.
In the west, Islam Karimov has a reputation of being a continuance of the Soviet system, but he remains very popular with most aspects of society, particularly with the young people. The only negative thing we heard was in Andijon, where we were told to watch what we said because “The walls have ears,”….the cotton season where young people are forced to pick cotton for six weeks is seen as a modified form of slavery in the west, but the young people see it as a way to demonstrate national pride, albeit a difficult experience…so all of these things give the young people of Uzbekistan a sense that their lives are full of hope and promise, and I am proud to call them true friends.
It’s been a memorable trip as we head into the home stretch.
We were invited to stay in homes, but were unable to do so, with the exception of Zazrafshon, because of Uzbek laws preventing such things, but we did visit many homes and schools and actually spent time with over 30 of the “kids,” as I like to call them. It has been everything I had hoped it would be and Carol has flourished by meeting them as well…They have called me Bobojon or Dodajon, Grandpa in Uzbek, Grampy, Grand pa, and Grandfather. Carol is now Bovijon, Granny, etc…naturally, they all love her and she has enmeshed herself into their lives smoothly and graciously.
Some were busy with exams and couldn’t see us, some didn’t make any effort to do so, but all those who did proved to be as delightful in reality as they were in cyber space…they were generous of their hearts and spirits and were so happy to share with us their homes and lives…it was truly the trip I wanted to have…Carol has commented that it was a very different trip….so people-oriented, not focused on places or things….I have always told my friends back home that the thing I liked about Uzbek young people is that they know nothing of the Soviet times…they were all born at, or just after, independence. Hence they do not carry any baggage from those days, but rather are filled with the enthusiasm and optimism of youth and believe that their future is a bright one….
They see their future tied to the west and believe this will provide them with many more opportunities to branch out from a traditional Central Asian nation to one that takes its place amongst the progressive nations o`f the world, where talent and ability take the place of privilege and status. They want a better education system for their country because they believe it still represents the old system where intelligence is not necessarily rewarded, but rather favoritism and corruption often determine who gets ahead.
In the west, Islam Karimov has a reputation of being a continuance of the Soviet system, but he remains very popular with most aspects of society, particularly with the young people. The only negative thing we heard was in Andijon, where we were told to watch what we said because “The walls have ears,”….the cotton season where young people are forced to pick cotton for six weeks is seen as a modified form of slavery in the west, but the young people see it as a way to demonstrate national pride, albeit a difficult experience…so all of these things give the young people of Uzbekistan a sense that their lives are full of hope and promise, and I am proud to call them true friends.
It’s been a memorable trip as we head into the home stretch.
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