Setting the Scene

     In two short days, I will be bound for Central Asia! My upcoming academic year will be spent in the relatively obscure country of Tajikistan. The country itself is located just north of Afghanistan and west of China. My new temporary home will be in the capital city, Dushanbe. My abroad program, American Councils, has arranged a home-stay for me during my nine-month trip.

     The local people, Tajiks, are ethnically Persian and speak a dialect of Persian, also known as Tajik. So the term Tajik will probably be thrown around a lot on this blog. The Tajik language is very closely related to the Iranian dialect of Persian (Farsi), but the Tajik alphabet uses the Cyrillic script, not the traditional Arabic script. Many Tajiks also speak Russian. English, however, is rarely spoken in Tajikistan. With this in mind, I have completed the equivalent of four semesters of both Persian and Russian language training. While abroad, I will be enrolled in three different Persian language courses and one Persian history course. 

     Tajikistan is the only place in the world where the Persian and Russian cultures have fused together. It is a completely unique country. From my time abroad, I hope to gain a better sense of non-Western values. As you can probably imagine, Tajikistan is not nearly as in touch with the Information Age as the United States. There are many fewer amenities available in Central Asia, and I am interested to experience how that can impact one's daily life, choices and views. And now that all that background info on the country is out of the way, I promise to produce a much more exciting blog in the coming months. Please stay tuned!

Tajik Fun Fact: The country is as large as Wisconsin, and has about as many people as New York City.