2. Cultural Shock

After 3h and 30min in a plane to Turkey and 4h and 30min in another plane, we finally arrived in Tashkent, Uzbekistan!

It was a long and tiring journey.

We met the group in the airport 3h before our flight. The check in and security were fine and quick. The group was really excited for the trip as we did not know what to expect.

Surprisingly, I haven’t met a big part of the group before in the university. We are all from the same department, but different years.

Sunset in Tashkent

We arrived in Tashkent at 7am, we had to stay in a long queue for passport control and visa check, but the policeman was really polite and kind. Then, we had to complete two forms declaring the reason we were coming here, the amount of money we brought and the valuable objects we had with us (cameras, laptops etc). The baggage reclaim was in the same area, some of the luggage were opened and most of them were on the floor. We had to pass our luggage through an x-ray and give one of the forms to another officer. I was a bit anxious about it, but the policeman was a football fan - football is a big thing here - and we had a quick chat about football and Brazil. From that moment I realized that Uzbek people are really friendly with tourists.

Weather in Tashkent - regretting the clothes I packed 

Once we left the airport, we were hit by the heat. It was hot and dry. Unfortunately, we got the wrong information about the clothes we should wear. We thought that the girls would have to cover knees and shoulders everyday, so, I only brought long trousers and skirts. However, women here wear shorts, dresses and vests. That was one of the first stereotypes we broke.
Back to our first day, there was a bus waiting for us to drive us to the dorms of the University. The journey took less than 10min. But, the city looked like nowhere I have ever been.

The reception in the dorm was great, everyone was really curious about where we come from and our experiences. We had no money and could not buy food/water. But, as I said before, Uzbek people are really friendly and they got us water and one girl even cooked for us.

We went to a restaurant for dinner. It was a lovely meal and everyone was kind and polite. In our way back to the dorm, we got the chance to see the city at night and it is incredibly beautiful.  The buildings are amazing and the city is so clean! You cannot find any litter on the streets. Also, we did not see any homeless person around.

Breakfast in WIUT

Today was our first day in the University and the campus is huge and fantastic. The site is really well equipped and it has air conditioner everywhere. All the students make an effort to make us comfortable all the time, they are always asking if we need anything and how we are feeling.

The food was great, the university is beautiful and the city is wonderful. But, definitely, the highlight of the first two days is the people. They are extremely good at hospitality and we have a lot to learn with them. I am really excited to see how the rest of the week is going to be.

Minor Mosque