Random topics of discussion and discourse, part II:

Why I like living in Uzbekistan:

• I can eat a great meal for less than $6.


• Non


• Uzbek hospitality


• Pouring tea three times


• You call older men “akya” and older women “opa” (Like the Korean “opa” and “unni” and “nuna”)


• The foreigners I meet here are inspiring.


• I can wear the same clothes for a week and noone cares.


• I can take taxis everyday!  They don’t cost much, they help someone make a living, AND sometimes, taxi drivers are the only source of any real information about what’s going on here.

Coming up next.. why I DON’T like living in Uzbekistan!

Random topics of discussion and discourse:

WHY AMERICANS ARE SO FAT

Today, during my Russian language lesson, we were reviewing the grammar that goes with saying “I think about… ” or “I dream about…” and what did I say?

“I dream about eating American food like barbeque and hamburgers”… namely Goode Company in Houston, Texas and McDonald’s,  even though my friend Desiree was telling me about the movie “Super Size Me”.  Well, I’m not ever going to eat McDonald’s every day, every meal like that guy did, so what’s it hurt to eat it once a month or so? 

Now that I’ve been here almost a year, I am a-ppre-cia-tive (I say this with hesitancy) of the prolifice Western media machine. Okay, so there’s a lot of trash out there, but there’s also great books to be read; movies to be watched; music to listen to!   Here are some that kept me sane over the last year:

Books:

The Perfect Spy by John Le Carre - I am definitely not a spy thriller enthusiast BUT, this was a really great read. 
A Royal Duty – (written by Princess Diana’s former butler) I bought this book at the airport on my way over here, and I found it ashamedly fascinating.
God of Small Things -  I resisted reading this for so long (it came out awhile ago, huh?) but I finally decided to read it and was really impressed.  I thought it was very original!
Whose Religion is Christianity?   – a very very cerebral read written by a Ghanese (Ghanian?) guy whose name I can’t remember right now.  Fascinating book about how Christianity can be translated into all cultures and how cultures benefit from Christianity.  I’ll need to read this book about 10 times before I understand it completely.
How to Pray  and The Glory of His Life – both by Watchman Nee.  Still reading, but I’ve already been inspired in the first few pages of each of these small, but powerful books.

Songs: 
Before I left, I copied almost all of my CDs onto my Windows Media Player. The songs I listened to the most were:
“Sliding Down” and ”BT” - both beatiful instrumental pieces from the album: Heartland, an Appalchian Anthology
“On Your Side” – addictive sound, slightly sentimental words from Pete Yorn’s “Musicforthemorningafter”
“Back to You” – catchy tune, slightly mournful words from John Mayer’s first album “Room for Squares”
“Love at First Sight” – really really catcy danceable tune from Kylie Minogue’s “Fever”
“This Side” – great lyrics and sound from Nickel Creek’s “This Side”
“Please Forgive Me” – David Gray’s “White Ladder”
“We Never Change” – Coldplay’s “Parachutes”
“Fast Car” – a classic from Tracy Chapman
“Rock your Body” – by Justin Timberlake!

Hmmm.. what does this say about my mood since I’ve been here?

Magazines:
National Geographic Adventure and Traveler - I can’t WAIT to come back to the States and roam around the USA more.  There are so many interesting places to visit!

The New Yorker (sometimes, I can get old issues)

Movies:                                                                                                                 I have managed to accumulate a good number of DVDs (they cost around $5 each here and are my only real source of brainless entertainment), most of them in Russian and English. Some of my favorites include:

• Some Like it Hot – now one of my ALL-time FAVORITE movies and one of the most famous movies here in Uzbekistan and throughout the former Soviet republics
  
• Singin’ in the Rain (only English)
  
• Babette’s Feast (FAV MOVIE of all time)
  
• Love Actually
  
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
  
• Ever After  
  
• Never Been Kissed
  
• Say Anything
  
• Bruce Almighty (HI-larious)
  
• Out of Africa
  
• Pirates of the Carribean

I also recently watched Spiderman 2 on video and loved it!

Of course, I still do miss the Sunday New York Times. And don’t even suggest that I read it on-line!!!   But all in all, I think I’m getting a healthy, liveable dose of Western thought and culture.