About

I am a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Tajikistan for ten months. I am based in Khujand, in the northern region of Sughd.

I graduated from Yale in May with a bachelor's degree in History. While there I studied Persian (Farsi) for four semesters. I traveled to Tajikistan in Summer 2011 with the support of Yale College's Cohen Summer Public Service Fellowship, and spent two months in Khorog in the eastern region of Gorno-Badakhshan (also known as the Pomirs), where I volunteered teaching children's English programs.

I am leading classes and clubs at the American Corner. I am learning Tajik with a teacher - and also on the street and in shops. I love singing and am trying to teach myself how to play guitar, and hopefully learn some Tajik songs. I like hiking, and brought my binoculars (though I am still waiting on my Guide to the Birds of Central Asia). I am baking American apple pies in our kitchen. I am realizing how little I know.  I am making mistakes. I am learning.

I am writing to help myself process and understand it all, while sharing my experiences with others.

Why омӯхтан?

 омӯхтан (in the Latin alphabet, ohm-ookh-tan) means to learn in Tajik. 

Teaching is in my title, but really I am learning. Most of the people around me are trying to learn English, and I am trying to learn Tajik. More than the language, I am learning about Tajikistan's history, religions, traditions, culture, literature, food, schools, government - any and everything, some when I search and some when it is thrust upon me. And in the process, I am learning more about America and about myself. Writing helps me figure out what I am learning.

The background photo is a view of the road south of the Shahristan pass. I took it on the drive from Dushanbe to Khujand, moments before a tire fell from the sky, bounced on the road in front of us and rolled down into the valley below.