Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

On one of the major downtown boulevards of Tashkent is the Central Asian headquarters of Huawei, the now highly controversial Chinese telecommunication equipment manufacturer. The blue glass-tower, split into an A and a B wing, both emblazoned with giant red flower logo of the firm, are truly conspicuous on the streets of the Uzbek capital dominated by faceless concrete apartment blocks. It is around noon, and Uzbek employees, company IDs hanging from their necks, stream out of the towers front doors for lunch.

The Uzbek word for "hello" and "thank you" are respectively "salam alaykhum" and "rakhmat," but in part of Tashkent, one will only hear "zdrastvuyte" and "spasiba," their Russian equivalents. Bring a foreigner makes hearing Russian more likely, as it is the "high" language used for communication with foreigners (just like French in Arabic-speaking Morocco), but unlike Morocco, many people in Uzbekistan, even if they are not ethnically Russian, choose to speak among themselves in the high language.

One thing that was great about the Soviet Union is just how much effort the state put in to popularize some of the canons of Western classical arts. From ballet to opera to orchestra, classical arts, within the limited, non-political forms, thrived even in the remotest parts of the USSR, helping to spread their reach and training a cadre of excellent performers, who found ready audiences among the urban elites, who had little alternatives for entertainment.

Walk around the backstreets of the main tourist cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva in Uzbekistan, and one would never be too far away from a "hotel" or "hostel" sign hanging from a building. On some streets, it almost seem as if every single building has been converted into family guesthouses seeking to get in on the roaring foreign tourist trade. Along with restaurants and to a lesser extent, tour companies and independent guides, tourist revenue is trickling down the most entrepreneurial members of the local society.

One of Uzbekistan's most evocative sights is Registan, a trio of 14th century madrasas that are famed for their beautiful blue tile work and geometric decorations. As Uzbekistan open up to foreign tourists, it is becoming the major draw to the city of Samarkand, a major Silk Road city frequently mentioned in Western classics on the topic of Central Asia. And sure enough, on a Saturday, the complex is full of tourists from across Asia, Europe, and America getting a firsthand look at the famed destination.

The "tech bro" way of dressing for work is becoming a global phenomenon. The idea of T-shirts and jeans have gone from the image of the broke college student to the newly minted millionaires of the IT sector, making what used to be considered sloppy dressing a symbol of technological sophistication, hard work, innovativeness, and wealth that does not come from old money handed down the generations. "Dressing down," along with corporate welfare in the form of perks like free food, massage chairs, and "play-working" facilities have become hallmarks of successful IT firms.

Often, communication among people of different countries, unfortunately, boils down to "it is like this in Country A, but it is like that in Country B." People quickly just to country-to-country comparisons, utilizing overgeneralized stereotypes that assume everyone in a particular country follows a certain set of norms universal yet unique to the country. Such assumptions quickly bring down in countries where different cultures coexist, especially in migrants-dominated societies like the US and African countries, where borders are arbitrarily drawn by colonists ignorant of local cultures.

Talk to people well-versed in pop culture of the 1990s and early 2000s and one would find few people that have not heard of Pokemon. The Japanese anime became a global phenomenon, sparking countless translated reruns of the original (and still ongoing) TV series, video games, and movies. But even the most celebrated piece of pop culture reaches popular fatigue after some time. For Pokemon, despite the continued introduction of new characters, the tired storyline of adventuring Pokemon trainers seeking new friends and victories can no longer excite some of the original fans.