#45 Travelogue Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan Airways
Most Uzbeks aren’t that proud of their national airline. I do agree that the logo sucks but I was pleasantly surprised by two things:
Pricing
To become more competitive, the government has lowered either airport fees or taxes, or both, I don’t know, but ticket prices have come down a bit. Flying to and from Tashkent used to be much more expensive than Bishkek or Almaty. In the future Tashkent airport could become a hub.
Safety Video
It is international standard to play a video that explains passengers how to stay safe. These videos can be really boring but not the one on Uzbekistan Airways flights. They shot a Silk-Road-themed video with people in historic outfits dealing with stuff like seat belts and oxygen masks. Definitely worth watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7s17LVn1JE
---Vocab---
📍sth sucks = sth is really bad 📍hub = central point 📍outfit = a set of clothes
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
Most Uzbeks aren’t that proud of their national airline. I do agree that the logo sucks but I was pleasantly surprised by two things:
Pricing
To become more competitive, the government has lowered either airport fees or taxes, or both, I don’t know, but ticket prices have come down a bit. Flying to and from Tashkent used to be much more expensive than Bishkek or Almaty. In the future Tashkent airport could become a hub.
Safety Video
It is international standard to play a video that explains passengers how to stay safe. These videos can be really boring but not the one on Uzbekistan Airways flights. They shot a Silk-Road-themed video with people in historic outfits dealing with stuff like seat belts and oxygen masks. Definitely worth watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7s17LVn1JE
---Vocab---
📍sth sucks = sth is really bad 📍hub = central point 📍outfit = a set of clothes
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
#57 Travelogue Uzbekistan: Welcome to Uzbekistan!
Uzbek hospitality is legendary, there’s no denying that. So let’s say you’re a non-Soviet foreigner and want to work in Uzbekistan. Be ready for this:
Visa
You get a friendly service but prepare to reach deep into your pocket. You choose: a) $125 for a deficient single-entry visa that allows you to leave and come back only once in one year, or b) pay $250 for a multiple-entry visa.
Registration
This is an authentic travel experience for the inauthentic price of $210. Go to a small building that feels like shipping containers stacked into one another. Inside you find a big bunch of people asking who’s last and fighting over who’s next. Shouldn’t they be fighting for better service?
Conclusion
That’s $460 then please! The prices seem astronomical to locals, but globally they are within a normal range. If your salary isn’t globally normal do make sure your employer pays!
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
Uzbek hospitality is legendary, there’s no denying that. So let’s say you’re a non-Soviet foreigner and want to work in Uzbekistan. Be ready for this:
Visa
You get a friendly service but prepare to reach deep into your pocket. You choose: a) $125 for a deficient single-entry visa that allows you to leave and come back only once in one year, or b) pay $250 for a multiple-entry visa.
Registration
This is an authentic travel experience for the inauthentic price of $210. Go to a small building that feels like shipping containers stacked into one another. Inside you find a big bunch of people asking who’s last and fighting over who’s next. Shouldn’t they be fighting for better service?
Conclusion
That’s $460 then please! The prices seem astronomical to locals, but globally they are within a normal range. If your salary isn’t globally normal do make sure your employer pays!
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
#62 Travelogue Uzbekistan: Linguistic crossroads
Uzbekistan – the heart of Central Asia. A space of in-between-ness. Between a Russian past and an international future. Between different languages with different alphabets. No wonder that things get a bit messy sometimes:
English
When English words enter the Russian language they are put into the Cyrillic script. As these words travel on to Uzbekistan they are put back into the Latin script but don’t quite match the original English spelling.
Gibberish
English just looks so damn cool, doesn’t it? Right or wrong – who cares? Since when is KFC a dish? And do the French fries really not cost anything?
Russian
Hasty Latinisation can literally spell disaster! The Cyrillic E is YE in Latin and Ж in Cyrillic Uzbek is J in Latin Uzbek, not ZH. Good job, presidential school!
A bit of everything
“Osiyo Trade Biznes” – wow, that’s Uzbek, English and latinised Russian all in one.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
Uzbekistan – the heart of Central Asia. A space of in-between-ness. Between a Russian past and an international future. Between different languages with different alphabets. No wonder that things get a bit messy sometimes:
English
When English words enter the Russian language they are put into the Cyrillic script. As these words travel on to Uzbekistan they are put back into the Latin script but don’t quite match the original English spelling.
Gibberish
English just looks so damn cool, doesn’t it? Right or wrong – who cares? Since when is KFC a dish? And do the French fries really not cost anything?
Russian
Hasty Latinisation can literally spell disaster! The Cyrillic E is YE in Latin and Ж in Cyrillic Uzbek is J in Latin Uzbek, not ZH. Good job, presidential school!
A bit of everything
“Osiyo Trade Biznes” – wow, that’s Uzbek, English and latinised Russian all in one.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
#63 Travelogue Uzbekistan: Lessons from a rural school
November is month of foreign languages at schools in Uzbekistan, and why shouldn’t it! So I went to one of those peculiar school events at a rural school. Let me share some impressions with you:
Hospitality
Uzbek hospitality is overwhelming as always and visiting a school is a very official affair, making you feel like you are the president of your country. Check out the video of a performance about “the virus” and Uzbek hospitality.
Chiroylism
Schools are heavily decorated places even when there are no visitors. But on special occasions like these they go out of their way to impress the guests with balloons, cool English slogans and functioning technology.
Carrot & Stick
No school visit is complete without an open class in which the visitors can witness a carefully planned and perfectly delivered class. Watch the video of a modern and yet traditional classroom.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
November is month of foreign languages at schools in Uzbekistan, and why shouldn’t it! So I went to one of those peculiar school events at a rural school. Let me share some impressions with you:
Hospitality
Uzbek hospitality is overwhelming as always and visiting a school is a very official affair, making you feel like you are the president of your country. Check out the video of a performance about “the virus” and Uzbek hospitality.
Chiroylism
Schools are heavily decorated places even when there are no visitors. But on special occasions like these they go out of their way to impress the guests with balloons, cool English slogans and functioning technology.
Carrot & Stick
No school visit is complete without an open class in which the visitors can witness a carefully planned and perfectly delivered class. Watch the video of a modern and yet traditional classroom.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
#66 Travelogue Uzbekistan: Shop till you drop
If you thought Navruz was in spring you’re only half right. It’s actually all year round now at Andijan’s brand new shopping complex in Dubai-ish architecture. What’s there to explore?
Festive vibes
New Year? Christmas? The songs sound a lot like it’s Christmas but the big illuminated “2022” outside tells us it’s New Year. The big tree and the old man could both be Santa Claus and Father Frost. Whatever it is, let’s celebrate as it gives us a reason to consume!
Food court
The corporate approach to dining has finally conquered Andijan. That means added value through branding and exciting displays, engineered portions and flavours, standardised procedures and replaceable staff as well as maximum profits through minimising cost by the gram of each ingredient.
At Navruz you can feel international and Uzbeks totally love that. But I hope “KFC” will always just mean “fried chicken”, not the actual fast food chain.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
If you thought Navruz was in spring you’re only half right. It’s actually all year round now at Andijan’s brand new shopping complex in Dubai-ish architecture. What’s there to explore?
Festive vibes
New Year? Christmas? The songs sound a lot like it’s Christmas but the big illuminated “2022” outside tells us it’s New Year. The big tree and the old man could both be Santa Claus and Father Frost. Whatever it is, let’s celebrate as it gives us a reason to consume!
Food court
The corporate approach to dining has finally conquered Andijan. That means added value through branding and exciting displays, engineered portions and flavours, standardised procedures and replaceable staff as well as maximum profits through minimising cost by the gram of each ingredient.
At Navruz you can feel international and Uzbeks totally love that. But I hope “KFC” will always just mean “fried chicken”, not the actual fast food chain.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
#69 Travelogue Uzbekistan: What is English?
We all learn English at school. But what English actually?
The language of England
The Union Jack tells us it’s all about the UK while Big Ben, the Tower Bridge and the red double decker buses refer to London. All of the UK and London – let’s just call that “England”.
The language of English-speaking countries
Native speakers come from the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and then it gets complicated. Irish people are white, so let’s count them in. South Africa? India? Oh no.
A language of Uzbekistan
English looks really cool, not only on storefronts and people’s clothes but also in schools. It also sounds cool during demo classes. The best decoration ever!
Problem: Uzbek meets Indian. Uzbek struggles and blames Indian. Business doesn’t take off. Whose fault? Uzbek English teachers’! They fail to prepare their students for dealing with different Englishes.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
We all learn English at school. But what English actually?
The language of England
The Union Jack tells us it’s all about the UK while Big Ben, the Tower Bridge and the red double decker buses refer to London. All of the UK and London – let’s just call that “England”.
The language of English-speaking countries
Native speakers come from the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and then it gets complicated. Irish people are white, so let’s count them in. South Africa? India? Oh no.
A language of Uzbekistan
English looks really cool, not only on storefronts and people’s clothes but also in schools. It also sounds cool during demo classes. The best decoration ever!
Problem: Uzbek meets Indian. Uzbek struggles and blames Indian. Business doesn’t take off. Whose fault? Uzbek English teachers’! They fail to prepare their students for dealing with different Englishes.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
#71 Travelogue Uzbekistan: Showbiz
Who would have thought! Uzbekistan is full of talented actors, and all it takes to activate this talent is a camera, a proper professional outfit (put your mask on already!!!) and the right location.
Good students
People expect to find them in a library, so let’s go there for some proper shots. Everyone gets a random book and acts as if they were fully immersed in it. And then have a student carefully sifting through the shelves in search for the perfect book – a real classic.
Happy foreigners
Up until 2018 foreigners working in Uzbekistan apparently had to go to Tashkent for their work visa. Now we get our work visa in the region where we live, so it’s relatively easier. Let’s celebrate that four years later and show some happy foreigners on TV. Little plastic flags, a smart-looking officer, documents with signatures and stamps, a pile of visa stickers, masks – all decoration.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
Who would have thought! Uzbekistan is full of talented actors, and all it takes to activate this talent is a camera, a proper professional outfit (put your mask on already!!!) and the right location.
Good students
People expect to find them in a library, so let’s go there for some proper shots. Everyone gets a random book and acts as if they were fully immersed in it. And then have a student carefully sifting through the shelves in search for the perfect book – a real classic.
Happy foreigners
Up until 2018 foreigners working in Uzbekistan apparently had to go to Tashkent for their work visa. Now we get our work visa in the region where we live, so it’s relatively easier. Let’s celebrate that four years later and show some happy foreigners on TV. Little plastic flags, a smart-looking officer, documents with signatures and stamps, a pile of visa stickers, masks – all decoration.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
#73 Travelogue Uzbekistan: Uzbekified Latin
The Latin alphabet doesn’t belong to one language only but the majority of languages in the world use it. The Uzbek take on the Latin script basically follows two principles inherited from Cyrillic and Arabic:
Spell as you tell
Spelling has to follow pronunciation. Foreign words enter through Russian and original Latin spellings are removed before they arrive. Some words like Internet survive this but most are less lucky, like chizburger (cheeseburger) or dizayn (design). If we insist on the foreign spelling people will punish us with mispronunciation, as Paynet, pronounced [paɪnet], not [peɪnet], shows.
One sound, one letter
In Cyrillic and Arabic, letter combinations exist but it’s not like English where two letters can be one sound (“sh”), four letters can be two sounds (“ough”) or one letter can be two sounds (“x”). “Tawkent” just feels better than “Tashkent”. Check out this earlier post.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
The Latin alphabet doesn’t belong to one language only but the majority of languages in the world use it. The Uzbek take on the Latin script basically follows two principles inherited from Cyrillic and Arabic:
Spell as you tell
Spelling has to follow pronunciation. Foreign words enter through Russian and original Latin spellings are removed before they arrive. Some words like Internet survive this but most are less lucky, like chizburger (cheeseburger) or dizayn (design). If we insist on the foreign spelling people will punish us with mispronunciation, as Paynet, pronounced [paɪnet], not [peɪnet], shows.
One sound, one letter
In Cyrillic and Arabic, letter combinations exist but it’s not like English where two letters can be one sound (“sh”), four letters can be two sounds (“ough”) or one letter can be two sounds (“x”). “Tawkent” just feels better than “Tashkent”. Check out this earlier post.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
#75 Travelogue Uzbekistan: Corona Society
The use of face masks, social distancing and hand sanitizers says less about the virus than people actually. What's there to analyse?
Face Masks
Uzbeks have worn them for some reasons other than protection: a) to go with the flow, b) to avoid paying a fine, c) to look more professional, d) to cover up as a Muslima or e) to distinguish oneself as a progressive global citizen.
Social Distancing
This was never really a thing here, thankfully. You can’t tell Uzbeks not to shake hands or hug. It spared them from the alienation that many westerners feel nowadays.
Hand Sanitizer
Some mask lovers got addicted to this ritual. It makes them feel health-conscious and modern. Sadly, some kids are still greeted by nurse-looking spray-bottle-wielding teachers every morning.
While the signs remain in place (laziness? decoration?) masks have been repurposed as number plate covers.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
The use of face masks, social distancing and hand sanitizers says less about the virus than people actually. What's there to analyse?
Face Masks
Uzbeks have worn them for some reasons other than protection: a) to go with the flow, b) to avoid paying a fine, c) to look more professional, d) to cover up as a Muslima or e) to distinguish oneself as a progressive global citizen.
Social Distancing
This was never really a thing here, thankfully. You can’t tell Uzbeks not to shake hands or hug. It spared them from the alienation that many westerners feel nowadays.
Hand Sanitizer
Some mask lovers got addicted to this ritual. It makes them feel health-conscious and modern. Sadly, some kids are still greeted by nurse-looking spray-bottle-wielding teachers every morning.
While the signs remain in place (laziness? decoration?) masks have been repurposed as number plate covers.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
#77 Travelogue Uzbekistan: More than just water
There’s a peculiar design of water bottles in Uzbekistan that seems like it’s from the same brand, but actually all are made by different companies. What’s going on there?
Copying
Why come up with something new when you don’t know if it works? Copying gives you that sense of security. It's even a compliment for the original – it’s so good that it is copied.
Conventions
When products look alike then customers will also recognise them more easily. Like in the UK for instance full cream milk has a blue lid, semi-skimmed milk a green lid and skimmed milk a red lid.
Collectivism
Ultimately this is a deeper cultural pattern – one of valuing sameness rather than difference. Both producers and customers depend on the judgment of others and want to feel that they are normal.
It’s not just water bottles. It’s also chocolate bars, fake shampoos, numbers on pharmacies or naming shops after famous brands, to name just a few.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
There’s a peculiar design of water bottles in Uzbekistan that seems like it’s from the same brand, but actually all are made by different companies. What’s going on there?
Copying
Why come up with something new when you don’t know if it works? Copying gives you that sense of security. It's even a compliment for the original – it’s so good that it is copied.
Conventions
When products look alike then customers will also recognise them more easily. Like in the UK for instance full cream milk has a blue lid, semi-skimmed milk a green lid and skimmed milk a red lid.
Collectivism
Ultimately this is a deeper cultural pattern – one of valuing sameness rather than difference. Both producers and customers depend on the judgment of others and want to feel that they are normal.
It’s not just water bottles. It’s also chocolate bars, fake shampoos, numbers on pharmacies or naming shops after famous brands, to name just a few.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
#1 Travel Notes: Khoresmic Shower
🆕 Travelling is not just an activity, it’s a way of looking at the world around you. Here are some brief travel notes where I’m sharing one impression at a time, letting you travel with me!
▶️ Water goes in somehow, heats up naturally, and splashes down on your dust-covered body. Found in a small town near Urgench. Spot the cat in the picture!
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
🆕 Travelling is not just an activity, it’s a way of looking at the world around you. Here are some brief travel notes where I’m sharing one impression at a time, letting you travel with me!
▶️ Water goes in somehow, heats up naturally, and splashes down on your dust-covered body. Found in a small town near Urgench. Spot the cat in the picture!
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
#2 Travel Notes: Amu Darya
🆕 Travelling is not just an activity, it’s a way of looking at the world around you. Here are some brief travel notes where I’m sharing one impression at a time, letting you travel with me!
▶️ Much can be said about the ecology of this river and how it’s carrying less water than it should and is too weak to fill the Aral Sea and all. However, you can still appreciate the beauty of the river and the landscapes that surround it.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
🆕 Travelling is not just an activity, it’s a way of looking at the world around you. Here are some brief travel notes where I’m sharing one impression at a time, letting you travel with me!
▶️ Much can be said about the ecology of this river and how it’s carrying less water than it should and is too weak to fill the Aral Sea and all. However, you can still appreciate the beauty of the river and the landscapes that surround it.
👉@afandi_english👈 #travel #uzbekistan
Forwarded from Hoffmann's Old Travelogue
This & That 🇺🇿Uzbekistan #5: A longish bike trip
▶️ Last weekend I went to a village in the Tashkent Region. As always there's a lot to discover on the way:
City vs Region
As soon as you cross the border into the region things get shabby (=low quality). The roads, the houses, the cars, just everything. While I'm not shocked by shabbiness I'm shocked by the difference. It'll be difficult to close the widening gap between Tashkent and the regions in the future.
The Riverside
There was a faster route staying on the main road but I thought riding by the riverside would be nicer. I was wrong. The river is barely (=almost not) visible and it's an industrial zone more than a recreational area (=place to relax). Dusty unpaved (=no pavement, no asphalt) roads with one truck after the other don't make for (=result in) a pleasant ride.
On a lighter note (=less sad or serious), I saved a kitten from getting run over and just as I was holding it a car stopped next to me and I gave it to them. Meouw!
#uzbekistan
▶️ Last weekend I went to a village in the Tashkent Region. As always there's a lot to discover on the way:
City vs Region
As soon as you cross the border into the region things get shabby (=low quality). The roads, the houses, the cars, just everything. While I'm not shocked by shabbiness I'm shocked by the difference. It'll be difficult to close the widening gap between Tashkent and the regions in the future.
The Riverside
There was a faster route staying on the main road but I thought riding by the riverside would be nicer. I was wrong. The river is barely (=almost not) visible and it's an industrial zone more than a recreational area (=place to relax). Dusty unpaved (=no pavement, no asphalt) roads with one truck after the other don't make for (=result in) a pleasant ride.
On a lighter note (=less sad or serious), I saved a kitten from getting run over and just as I was holding it a car stopped next to me and I gave it to them. Meouw!
#uzbekistan