Check your Privilege at Passport Control

 Being a dumb, middle class Ammerican white girl, I am able to move about the world with a certain amount of privilege, surrounded by conveniences that I take for granted, never noticing them until they aren't there any more.

I knew that Uzbekistan would shove me out of my comfort zone, but I didn't really unnderstand how far and how often I would be shoved.

So, without further ado, here are a litany of privileges I have in the US that I don't have here.  In the US:

  • I can turn on the faucet and get clean water that I can drink from the tap.
  • I can take a shower with water that is hot.
  • I can walk into a building or a room without breaking my leg.  (Notice in the picture the pipe on the floor across the doorway.  I'm sure you can imagine how I entered the room).


  • I have access to a bathroom with a flush toilet near my classroom rather than down two flights of stairs and across the courtyard.
  • I can go to a restaurant and be given a menu printed in a language I can read.
  • I can stay at a hotel that has a little refrigerator to keep cold drinks and snacks.
  • I have free WiFi everywhere.
  • I can turn on the TV and watch a show in a language I understand.
  • Actually, now that I think about it, I actually have a TV in my room.
  • The church I want to go to tomorrow has a website that shows the Liturgy start time, so I know when to show up.
At this point I sound like a whiny little White girl. And that isn't my intent here. I'm on a journey of personal and professional growth, and in this case my journey involves (and continues to involve) discomfort and trying to navigate a physical environment that is so different from my own home.   I'm documenting my journey here.  I'm loving Uzbekistan, and my students and my experiences.  And when I come home I will better appreciate what I have.

Location: Andijan, Uzbekistan

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Outdoor spaces

Image
It seems that every city I visit has some outdoor space - a city park with trees and walking paths for people to go, take a stroll, have a picnic, and just chill out surrounded by trees and quiet.  Pristina is no exception.  I spent the afternoon walking to the city park and taking a stroll.  It is a lovely refuge from the hustle-bustle and the street noise.  Of course there was a playground, and hearing the kids playing here like they do in playgrounds back home made me feel much more comfy in my new home. After strolling around the park I walked (Pristina is infinitely walkable) to the Xhamia e Madhe - the Great Mosque (sometimes it is referred to as Xhamia e Mbretit - the King's Mosque or the Imperial Mosque), built in 1461.  Below are lots of pictures of the scenes: Here is the entrance to the city park: There are several basketball cages scattered throughout the park.  I'm kinda liking the cages that keep the basketball contained instead of...
Read more

How to be an extroverted introvert

 I set three goals for myself for this Uzbek gig: try a lot of new food meet lots of great people break out of my introverted tendencies I don't think extrovert/introvert is a binary.  I feel it's more of a spectrum.  I can totally be extroverted: in front of my class, presenting at a conference, professional stuff like that.  Socially though is a different matter.  It takes some effort and awareness to get my extroverted side to shine through in social situations.  But I have to make an effort, and sometimes I'm not able to make that effort, and other people interpret that as aloofness.  Sometimes I just want to be inside my own head where it's warm and comfy rather than out with other people.   I decided that on this Uzbek gig I was going to really work at getting out of my warm comfy head and go out and be social.  I vowed to actually go out to dinner with my team (there are five of us teachers from the US as well as Jesse the boots-o...
Read more

Gracanica - my first outing outside Pristina

Image
First of all, it is pronounced GrachaNIcha, not GraCHAnica.  I tell my students all the time that syllable stress impacts understandability more than anything other aspect of pronunciation, and the very nice lady at the bus station couldn't understand anything I said until I showed her the town on Google maps.  She of course gave me a lesson (very politely of course) on how to correctly pronounce GrachaNIcha. Anyway, I got there for 1 euro, wiith two English Teaching Assistants along for company (the ETA program is a cute little program for recent college graduates who are very young and take themselves WAY too seriously but are basically cute and fun to have along on an outing).  There is a lovely llittle monastery in Gracanica built in the 1300s, and I wanted to go check it out so I can attend services there, seeing as how there isn't an Orthhodox church here in Pristina, or so I thought.  Surprise!  The very nice men at the monastery told me that St. Nicholas...
Read more