Meeting Students In Uzbekistan

Meeting and speaking with Feruza’s students is one of my favourite memories of the trip so far. ⁣

Feruza is a language-genius! She teaches students to speak English and Korean from her home and she can speak other languages too!⁣

She has her first class at 06:00 for 1 hour. I got up to speak with her students who welcomed me with the sign pictured. They asked questions about England and our bike trip. They were polite and a pleasure to be around. They were thrilled to speak with a native English speaker and Feruza said it will be a moment they’ll never forget and they will tell their friends all about it. Many of them took pictures with me and I managed to get a copy of this one.⁣

Someone had posted in our comments saying the boys we met in Kazakhstan would never forget our meeting, but hearing this from Feruza made it feel more special. It was such a pleasure to know we’d impacted some young lives so significantly, although it still seems rather odd to us!⁣

***⁣

In Uzbekistan people work really hard, particularly women. In fact there’s a saying that “women have 40 lives”. They get so much done in a day! Uzbek women are working in the fields, picking fruits and vegetables. They are tending to the agriculture, looking after the home, cooking for the families and they’re the primary carers for the children. ⁣

Feruza is no exception. As I said she starts her day with a 06:00 class, then she travels by bus to Tashkent (50 miles/80kms) where she studies for her masters. She then returns home to take a second class at 18:00 to teach Korean! On top of this Feruza and Otabek have a baby, Lymona.⁣

Lymona was placed on my lap within 15 minutes of us taking a seat in their home. She was the most relaxed, quiet baby I’ve ever held! This isn’t surprising because Feruza went back to teaching when she was 2 months old. Lymona would come to classes on Feruza’s hip. She was used to seeing and engaging with new faces.⁣

Being welcomed into Feruza and Otabek’s home was a real pleasure. Such a wonderful opportunity to see the dynamics of life within an Uzbek home. We also got to meet Feruza’s mother, who took great care of us and made sure we were (very) well fed! ❤ @ Sirdaryo