Experience Fulbright

This is going to be shorter post just because I am completely exhausted. I apologize in advance for any typos.

Yesterday was the big kick off event for my project. The Ministry of Public Education held a press conference and invited important members of the ministry and the Director of Cultural Affairs for the US Embassy. I was interviewed but the local TV station and had to give a presentation for all the officials. It was well received and everyone there seemed to enjoy the relaxation breathing exercise I ended with. The one bad thing was that the person assigned to be my translator apparently did not do a good job. The head of the project was very upset afterward with how he translated (she also speaks English, Russian, and Uzbek). We will have to get this sorted out before next week when we begin the trainings with the local school psychologists.

This press conference was really making me nervous so I’m happy to have that behind me. Afterwards, my team took me our for a traditional Uzbek lunch. As with many other buildings here in Uzbekistan, the restaurant was beautiful. The food was also tasty. I have some kind of lamb dumpling served with sour cream, a chicken kebob, and of course, traditional Uzbek bread. They have bread with every meal and it is delicious. It’s also considered sacred and cannot be wasted. Lucky for us that we love bread and have no problem eating it all.