My new daughter, Jadira, has grown up in Dashoguz, Turkmenistan, which is on the northern border next to Uzbekistan in Central Asia. She will be living with me until the end of the Iowa Falls-Alden school year. This semester, she is taking English III, Spanish I, U.S. History, cooking, photography, PE, and chorus.
She already has taken all the math and science classes offered. She also has taken 8 years of English and has studied Russian and the Turkish language. In her home, they speak Kazakh, her father's native language. The national language is Turkmen and she understands her friends who speak Uzbek. In Dashoguz, she can take classes where the teacher speaks either Turkmen or Russian. Her mother teaches Russian in another school and her father is a dispatcher for the city fire department where his brother is the captain.
She is a FLEX student here on scholarship. She has several mandatory activities that regular foreign exchange students do not have to do. She has to do 50 hours of community service/volunteer projects with documentation, 3 presentations with documentation, complete Three Point Action Plan projects with documentation, a community mentor/shadowing project with documentation, examine the origins of the ethnic group in our area with documentation, organize a community service project in Iowa Falls with documentation. She wants to be an interpreter but her father wants her to be a jurist (lawyer).
The Future Leaders Exchange program (FLEX) chooses intelligent students to study in the USA for a year to experience American way of life and culture and education. Usually this program chooses students who are currently at school on the 9th or 10th grade level. For older students American-Turkmen scholarships are offered to American University of Central Asia (AUCA) which is located in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Jadira plans on attending University in Kyrgyzstan. She says that it is very difficult to be admitted to a university in Turkmenistan. Only serious students are allowed to even attend secondary school. There are no extra curricular activities connected to the school but there are after school activities around the city.
There are many schools in Dashoguz, but few higher institutions. Students at her school attend from nursery school thru secondary school. She has 125 students in her class. Each grade level wears a different color uniform and each city school has different uniforms. Schools, universities and other educational structures are controlled by the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan. The schools begin on September 1 and end on May 25. Students attend school 6 days a week, with one week vacation in the fall, two weeks in the winter, and one week in the spring.
Places like Dashoguz captures the interests of many people and the government of the United States because of ancient places like Kunya-urgench. Early in its history, it was a popular stop on the Silk Road because it had a spring. In recent years, the Silk Route is again being used for the maritime and overland routes.
Jadira and I are enjoying our time together. She is delightful. I am happy being a mom again. Even if it is for a short time.
Julie Ziesman
Hampton Today made possible by sponsors like:
Michelle Hartman – Tupperware –641-373-8880
Denise Passehl – Watkins – 641-580-4052
Franklin County Farmers Market 641-456-4811
Patrick Palmer – The Computer Guy – 641-420-1234
Seven Stars Restaurant – 641-456-5378
Debra Brown – Melaleuca - 641-458-1114
She already has taken all the math and science classes offered. She also has taken 8 years of English and has studied Russian and the Turkish language. In her home, they speak Kazakh, her father's native language. The national language is Turkmen and she understands her friends who speak Uzbek. In Dashoguz, she can take classes where the teacher speaks either Turkmen or Russian. Her mother teaches Russian in another school and her father is a dispatcher for the city fire department where his brother is the captain.
She is a FLEX student here on scholarship. She has several mandatory activities that regular foreign exchange students do not have to do. She has to do 50 hours of community service/volunteer projects with documentation, 3 presentations with documentation, complete Three Point Action Plan projects with documentation, a community mentor/shadowing project with documentation, examine the origins of the ethnic group in our area with documentation, organize a community service project in Iowa Falls with documentation. She wants to be an interpreter but her father wants her to be a jurist (lawyer).
The Future Leaders Exchange program (FLEX) chooses intelligent students to study in the USA for a year to experience American way of life and culture and education. Usually this program chooses students who are currently at school on the 9th or 10th grade level. For older students American-Turkmen scholarships are offered to American University of Central Asia (AUCA) which is located in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Jadira plans on attending University in Kyrgyzstan. She says that it is very difficult to be admitted to a university in Turkmenistan. Only serious students are allowed to even attend secondary school. There are no extra curricular activities connected to the school but there are after school activities around the city.
There are many schools in Dashoguz, but few higher institutions. Students at her school attend from nursery school thru secondary school. She has 125 students in her class. Each grade level wears a different color uniform and each city school has different uniforms. Schools, universities and other educational structures are controlled by the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan. The schools begin on September 1 and end on May 25. Students attend school 6 days a week, with one week vacation in the fall, two weeks in the winter, and one week in the spring.
Places like Dashoguz captures the interests of many people and the government of the United States because of ancient places like Kunya-urgench. Early in its history, it was a popular stop on the Silk Road because it had a spring. In recent years, the Silk Route is again being used for the maritime and overland routes.
Jadira and I are enjoying our time together. She is delightful. I am happy being a mom again. Even if it is for a short time.
Julie Ziesman
Hampton Today made possible by sponsors like:
Michelle Hartman – Tupperware –641-373-8880
Denise Passehl – Watkins – 641-580-4052
Franklin County Farmers Market 641-456-4811
Patrick Palmer – The Computer Guy – 641-420-1234
Seven Stars Restaurant – 641-456-5378
Debra Brown – Melaleuca - 641-458-1114
Iowa Valley Continuing Education www.ivce.com
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