The key facts

  • Komila Farriyeva from Georgia speaks twenty languages and knows eleven perfectly, including Uzbek and Japanese.
  • Her parents initially opposed her move to Uzbekistan, but eventually agreed.
  • She fell in love with Samarkand and the Uzbek people, especially praising the kindness of local grandmothers.

Komila Farriyeva, a student at the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages — our conversation with Kameron Farr began with learning languages and continued with talk of affection and trust between people.

"My father objected, saying there is bride kidnapping there"

Komila Farriyeva was born and raised in the US state of Georgia. Although she has been in Uzbekistan for eight months, there was sincere excitement in her voice as she spoke about her life here.

According to Komila, she has been interested in languages since childhood. From the age of nine, she began seriously studying foreign languages. She first mastered Spanish and German, and later her interest in language learning brought her closer to other peoples and cultures as well.

She says she can now communicate in twenty languages, and knows eleven of them perfectly. She also learned Uzbek through communicating with Afghan Uzbeks in the US. Along with Turkic languages, she has also mastered Japanese.

For a girl so interested in learning languages, studying abroad was a natural choice. But instead of a typical destination, she chose Central Asia, specifically Uzbekistan.

This decision came as a surprise to her parents. At first they opposed their daughter going to Uzbekistan. Komila tried to convince them of her choice by explaining the country's culture, people, and way of life.

"At first my father objected, saying there is bride kidnapping there. Later he understood the situation and agreed to let me come here. 'Just be careful,' he said," Komila says.

"I love Uzbek grandmothers!"

Komila is currently studying at the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages. According to her, the teaching methods appealed to her, and the environment is convenient for learning and practicing languages.

However, it was not only her university education that made her fall in love with Samarkand. She loves communicating with people here and learning local life from within.

"Over the past few months in Uzbekistan, I have come to really love the Uzbek people. Very good people, they don't hold back their help. Especially the elder mothers — the grandmothers in Uzbekistan are wonderful. They are kind and sweet-spoken."