Born in Dushanbe, the capital of the Central Asian country of Tajikistan, junior foreign exchange student Islomiddin Turdumatov hopes to become an ambassador for Tajikistan in the future. Turdumatov hopes to work in diplomacy and international affairs, and views his time in America as a valuable chance to further his experiences and help him towards this goal.
On enrolling at RCHS, Turdumatov was initially astounded at the liberty he was allowed in customizing his own schedule, as in his home country students were not allowed to do this and were instead required to study each subject. This allowed him to fill his schedule with classes he enjoys, such as English, creative writing, and theatre/arts exploration classes at RCHS, all of which help him to improve his English. Turdumatov harbors a deep appreciation for language and the connections it can build between people.
“Language is a key part of any family, community, culture, and the human race,” said Turdumatov. “The ability to speak, read, write and understand more than one language is also remarkable and expands the liberties in life, especially for young people.”
Through studying devotedly for five hours each day, Turdumatov is now able to speak conversationally in English, Russian, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Kazakh, Iranian, Tajik, and Persian, and appreciates the opportunity America affords him to practice his English.
Turdumatov looks forward to returning home and sharing his experiences with others in his country.
“Throughout the month,” said Turdumatov, “I met a lot of good people, and I hope after finishing school to go to my home country and make presentations about US schools and share my knowledge with them.”