Global perspectives
Teaching in Asia brings new appreciation for other cultures, 'American dream'

The usual reaction I observe when I first mention where I spent my summer is a blank look, then a puzzled expression, followed immediately by, “What? Where?” 

I, too, displayed a similar response when I originally added Kyrgyzstan to a list of locations where I wanted to teach English. The small, former USSR country is far from a popular tourist destination, mostly serving as a stopping point, both historically and today, for cross-continental trade. I ended up finding a program, Eryim, that was looking for native English speakers to work with school children and adult women in their mission to help underprivileged Kyrgyz citizens. Despite my limited knowledge of Kyrgyz or Russian, they invited both my mom and me to teach English in the small town of Bazar Korgon, outside of the city of Jalal-Abad.

We arrived at the beginning of July, during summer vacation for Kyrgyz students. The program was held at Eryim’s office in Bazaar Korgon, adjacent to the local boarding school. The drastic difference between Kyrgyz and American boarding schools was immediately obvious, as the majority of Kyrgyz boarding schools are set up specifically for children without economic resources. Most students only board, because they are unable to make the daily drive to school. 

The buildings were dilapidated to the point of giving an abandoned appearance. Inside, even with a daily average temperature of 92 degrees fahrenheit, the rooms lacked air conditioning or even fans, and the tap water quality meant we had to bring our own water each morning. In place of water fountains, the students drank from pipes out of the ground (although they didn’t suffer from the same gastral consequences that I would have). 

We taught three groups each day: Kyrgyz English teachers; adult women with no prior knowledge of English; and schoolchildren. 

I greatly cherish the relationships we built with many of the women we taught. I especially learned a great deal about Kyrgyz society from the English teachers, with whom conversation was fairly smooth. Much of the information I learned about Kyrgyz society was fascinating to me.

 For example, although a Muslim country, Kyrgyz women are granted substantial freedoms, such as the choice to wear a headscarf or not, as well as to seek higher education and professional careers. The women whom we taught all worked full-time. The culture, however, still relies on patriarchal principles, as it was explained to us. When husbands arrive home after a long day, they may sit down and relax, whereas the women must care for all the children, prepare dinner and clean the house. 

“We don’t have time for anything!” I remember one of them declaring. It was true – in rural Kyrgz society, most women couldn’t make room for activities outside of caring for family. For this reason, we used a day to teach the women how to exercise. We found shade outside under a building and worked on several whole-body movements: jumping jacks, wall sits, planks and leg exercises. It was a unique activity for them, and far from anything they were used to, but they were smiling and laughing nonetheless.

The children were both teenagers and younger students. The vast differences in English skills proved a challenge for me to teach at the same time. Nevertheless, after a few days, I began to get the hang of it and was able to keep everyone (mostly) engaged throughout each lesson. One of the most valuable insights I gained was how deeply valued America remains in the hopes and dreams of people, especially teens, who seek to improve their lives.

Talking to students my age, I heard one thing over and over: “I dream of going to America.” Their fascination with America was projected through persistent questions about what we wear, our foods, my school, our music (as it turns out, our music tastes are similar, and several of us bonded over our love for Lana del Ray and Billie Eilish.) Much of this interest was connected to their desire to be selected to travel to the USA as exchange students through FLEX, a program that annually selects the most eligible students from around Kyrgyzstan and sends them to America for a year.

My initial reaction when hearing about their desire to go to America was one of amusement. Why on Earth would someone dream of coming to America? A country that I, my family, my friends, my teachers, often complain about. After all, an incredible amount of grievances follow us: the cost of living, the cost of education and gun violence, not to mention how we, as a society, are as divided as red and blue are on the color spectrum.

Yet as I thought about it, I wondered if perhaps the American dream isn’t dead; I live with the comforts and privileges of a first world country and am not under pressure to marry young and dedicate my life to my family. Instead, there are opportunities for me to travel the world and eventually find not just a job, but a career that will allow me to express my own creativity and freedom. Comparing my life as a teenager to my Kyrgyz peers, I realize how much I have to be grateful for.

Today, I am still in contact with several of the teenagers I taught – editing their English essays, helping them continue to develop their language skills, and simply sharing stories and laughs over text. Being around the students, conversing with them, has taught me an incredible amount about the culture of Central Asia and about the people who live there. We gain so much by seeing lives that differ drastically from our own. I believe that if more people had the opportunity to see and experience other cultures, we, as a society, would be less frightened of people who differ from us and more willing to share our own homes.

Gabriela Ferrell is a junior in high school. She enjoys traveling and  spends much of her time at spay and neuter clinics on the Navajo Reservation and in Ecuador. When in Durango, she enjoys riding her horse, painting, reading or baking, even if the results aren’t always edible.