IAESTE Review Cover 01

First lecture at IREX
From Sweden to Tajikistan
BY BJÖRN PAULSSON
When I applied for the IAESTE exchange in
Tajikistan, this part of the world was a white
spot for me. The reasons for applying for this
offer were: the possibility to improve my
Russian, a chance to practice computer science
and most importantly - to visit a region I
hardly knew anything about.
After a one-day stop in Dushanbe, the capital of
Tajikistan, I finally landed in Khujand in the
north of the country. Representatives from the
local committee met me at the airport. My
host buddy Nosirkhon took me to his family in
Chkalovsk where I was going to stay while in
Tajikistan. I felt very comfortable at once
and I was immediately counted as one of
the family.
The first few days I got acquainted with
the local IAESTE office and IREX, where I
was going to work, teaching Internet
Technology. The local committee was
really friendly and everyone I met tried to help
me as best they could.
My work at IREX was flexible and it was pretty
much up to me to plan everything. I had
classes in HTML, dynamic web pages and data
communication. I also held a lecture about
Sweden. This was very interesting since I got
the chance to see that we are quite similar
despite the big differences in background and
cultural traditions. The group I taught consisted
mostly of students but also some other people
attended. Many of them came there even
though they had summer holidays or a long
journey to get there.
The local IAESTE committee had a lot of
cultural and social arrangements for us trainees.
This was also the best chance to ask all the
questions I had about how young people live in
Tajikistan. While I was
there we visited the
Kairrakum Sea, the biggest
lake in Tajikistan, and
Shakhristan, which was a
beautiful place in the
mountains. We played
soccer at the same altitude
as the highest mountain
in Sweden!
From Finland to Uruguay
While thinking about my options about
what to do in the spring-term 2004, I
stumbled across the opportunity to go to
Montevideo, Uruguay, through IAESTE.
I did not hesitate even for a second before
sending in the application and you can
imagine the excitement I felt when I
finally got a positive answer.
It did not only mean an opportunity to work in
a field closely related to my studies, but also an
opportunity to familiarise myself with a totally
new continent and language.
As a student of mechanical engineering, I
worked in the technical department of the
company, Ing. Ulises Puig & Cia, S.A and this
was a great experience. I participated in many
projects and my assignments included thermal
balances-calculation, air ducts calculation and
A lake in Shakhristan, Northern
Tajikistan
The family I lived in was a big source of
information about Tajik traditions and living.
Many families live in a mixture of old and new
traditions. Since no special arrangements were
made for me, I ate the same food as the family
and had the chance to taste many specialties,
like the national dish plov. Tea is essential as a
part of daily life and
there are different teas for
different occasions.
Tajikistan itself is a
mixture of Muslim, Tajik
and Russian culture and
tradition. People can be
seen in the streets dressed
in traditional Tajik
The grandmother’s birthday party
dresses walking next to people in modern
western clothes. Since Tajikistan was a part of
the Soviet Union, Russian influence is still very
strong. Most people speak two languages
fluently: Russian and Tajik. The Tajik language
is related to Farsi, which is spoken in Iran.
People in Tajikistan are very friendly and when
I left my traineeship I also left good friends
whom I would like to meet again, hopefully in
Tajikistan.
design and pipe design. During my first weeks I
familiarised myself with the Carrier Technical
Development Program, which gave me a good
basis for the work. The work itself was not the
only good thing at the office though. The
people were great and I never went to work
reluctantly.
When I first found out that I was the only
IAESTE trainee in Uruguay at that time, I was
slightly worried, but I soon realized that I was
really lucky. I was actually forced to interact
only with local people and that gave me so
much more than being just with other fellow-
Europeans.
I will always be grateful for the opportunity
given to me by IAESTE, which not only
contributed to my work experience, but also
opened up my eyes to a new culture.
Rina Nikander, Finland
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