“Nice lipstick”. Those are the first words she pronounced when we started talking. Svetlana is 29 years old. She is originally from Uzbekistan. She was born in a small city near Tashkent.
Svetlana’s American Shot. Conversation in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Source: www.ritapouso.com
It was in this same Tashkent where she finished her 4 years career on International Relations. She speaks English, Russian and Uzbek fluently. She has worked as a booker in a travel agency in Tashkent organising reservations for tourists from Central Asia and she has had three jobs during her stay in Dubai at the age of 26; waitress, sales person and check-in agent in Emirates Airlines.
Currently, she works in Doctors Without Borders in Uzbekistan as a liaison officer. Every Sunday she goes to church with her parents. She is christian and protestant at a country where almost the 80% of the population is muslim.
What is happiness for you?
You know, I’m a very religious person. I believe in God and for me happiness is the state of heart in which I am. I feel happy just because I am. I am happy that I was born in this country, in this city, in my family, that I have my family with me. And I’m just happy to wake up every morning, to enjoy the view of our nature, of this blue sky. Yeah. This question is quite personal. It depends. And sometimes you feel happy or unhappy. It depends on some circumstances. But this is the state of your heart. I mean, this is a decision like to be happy. I think it all depends on the person. You just make a decision to be happy. You just feel it. I like to be surrounded by many people. I would say that I am happy because I have my life and I can live, I can breathe. I would like to do more for other people just to make them happy as well.
(Svetlana, Uzbekistan. 26th of June, 2015)
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