From Cameron to Komila: Why did the girl from Georgia move to Samarkand?
Hearing that his daughter wanted to study in Uzbekistan, an American father became worried about this decision. He tried to dissuade his daughter by telling her what he had heard about the country. However, twenty-year-old Cameron's decision to go to Samarkand was firm. Eight months later, she fell in love with the people here and intends to connect her future with Uzbekistan as well.
**From Cameron to Komila: Why did a girl from Georgia move to Samarkand?**
Our conversation with Komila Farriyeva — Cameron Farr, a student at the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages, began with language learning and continued on the topic of kindness and trust between people.
Komila Farriyeva was born and raised in the US state of Georgia. Although she has been in Uzbekistan for eight months, a genuine excitement was palpable in her voice when speaking about her life here.
According to Komila, she has been interested in languages since childhood. She began seriously studying foreign languages at the age of nine. First, she mastered Spanish and German, and later her interest in language learning brought her closer to other nations and cultures as well.
She says she can currently communicate in twenty languages, eleven of which she speaks fluently. She learned the Uzbek language through communication with Afghan Uzbeks in the US. Along with Turkic languages, she has also mastered Japanese.
For a girl so passionate about language learning, studying abroad was a natural choice. However, she did not choose a conventional path for this, but selected Central Asia, specifically Uzbekistan.
This decision came as a surprise to her parents. Initially, they opposed their daughter going to Uzbekistan. Komila, however, tried to convince them of her choice by explaining the country's culture, people, and life.
“At first, my father resisted, saying there is bride kidnapping over there. Later, after understanding the situation, he agreed to let me come here. ‘Just take care of yourself, that's all,’ he said,” says Komila.
Currently, Komila is studying at the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages. According to her, she likes the teaching methods, and the environment is convenient for learning and practicing languages.
However, university education was not the only reason she fell in love with Samarkand. She enjoys communicating with people here and learning about local life from the inside.
“Over the past few months spent in Uzbekistan, I have grown very fond of the Uzbek people. Very good people, they never withhold their help. Grandmothers in Uzbekistan, in particular, are very kind. They are loving and gentle-spoken.”