Assalamu alaykum! Hello! My name is Lara Hoffer, and I'm writing to you from Uzbekistan, a country nestled in the heart of Central Asia. Uzbekistan is a majority Muslim country, meaning many people there practice a religion called Islam. There are beautiful historical cities and mosques all over the country. I'm living in the city of Namangan, known for its incredibly welcoming and hospitable culture. My duties as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) include assisting in classes, running clubs at the Namangan Institute of Engineering and Technology and working with a couple of other English language programs.
A bit about me is that I'm from Hanover, New Hampshire. I love to dance, hike, knit and play ultimate frisbee. In 2017, I participated in language and cultural exchange programs in Madagascar, Senegal and Thailand. These experiences inspired me to study International Studies with a concentration on Islamicate Civilizations and Cultures, which is a study of Islamic countries where Islam is the central cultural practice in the country.
I look forward to you all accompanying me on my travels. I hope through this travel together, we will see how living in a different place can help us to see the world in a new way and feel more connected with people from across the globe. We are all on this planet together, and our actions can impact people living on the other side of it. So let's see who some of those people are and what their lives are like there! Come join me on my trip to Uzbekistan!
