The families in Uzbekistan are among the most loving, secure and tightest I’ve known during my travels throughout the world. Of course, I lived with a great family for two years in Kuvasoy, so I think my observations carry some merit.

In general, Uzbek families are big. Not only do they consist of the mother, father, and children, but oftentimes it includes the grandparents and in some cases cousins, too. Sometimes the line between family sizes can get blurry, which created confusion for me until I understood things a little better.

For example, once I visited a small village in the Ferghana Valley with one of my students, Azim. As we approached the houses I noticed that there were close to 100 children playing freely on the dirt road and having a great time. The noise was incredible! I've rarely seen so much fun happening in one place in my life and I wish I would've had the presence of mind to take photographs – but I was so overwhelmed that it never crossed my mind. So as we mingled within the cacophony and chaos, Azim announced to me that these kids were his brothers and sisters. I raised an eyebrow as I looked at him, begging for an explanation. As he talked, I began to understand that he was using the term “brothers and sisters” figuratively. But as I was about to discover, in this small village just about everyone is related to one another but more importantly, he saw his community to be so tight-knit that he couldn't distinguish between any of the kids. All of them deserved his attention and support not only while he lived in the village, but forever.

Since then, I've always understood that for Uzbeks, family is the most essential part of society. Nothing trumps the family – right or wrong. My time in Uzbekistan opened my eyes to the importance of family, and I've applied the lessons I learned from them with my own family.

My only hope is that when you come to visit Uzbekistan, you’ll get the opportunity to be a part of this amazing experience. It will change your life!

Posted by Greg Stephenson