After spending eight years living in the United Arab Emirates before the birth of their daughter in the late 1990s took them back to Canada, teachers Zora and Dave Keffer were no strangers to exploring the world.
And so, after she grew up and graduated, the couple came across a teaching opportunity in Central Asia, and decided to hit the road again on an adventure that would take them first to Kazakhstan and then later to a small city in Uzbekistan.
Despite initially fearing they had found themselves in an austere-looking former Soviet backwater, prone to power cuts and intolerable heatwaves, the couple say moving there was an incredible experience that offered positives no longer found in the West.
According to Zora, originally from the former Czechoslovakia, they âfigured it was time to resume our nomadic existenceâ after their daughter left home. When they discovered that Kazakhstan was looking for teachers, the couple thought it âsounded like an interesting project,â and signed up, spending nearly five years there.
âI think most people are not aware (of) how large the country is geographically and how many minorities live there,â she says.
New adventure
Once theyâd finished up in Kazakhstan, the Keffers accepted a work contract in Kuwait, and ended up getting âstuckâ in the Middle Eastern country during the Covid-19 pandemic. When border restrictions began lifting, they were ready for something new once again.
âItâs difficult sometimes, to get back to normal living,â Zora says of their desire to keep moving from place to place.
âYou get to experience this sometimes highly unpredictable existence. Itâs sometimes frustrating. But itâs exciting.â
In March 2020, Zora and Dave received job offers at a school for âgifted childrenâ in Uzbekistan, and began to mull over the possibility of moving over there.
Although they were less than enthusiastic when they looked up where theyâd be living in â Nukus, the sixth-largest city in Uzbekistan â and found the description less than inspiring, they ultimately decided to give it a go.
When they arrived in Uzbekistan in 2020, Zora was struck by the architecture of the country, describing it as âa mixture of unflattering, utilitarian, Soviet-era buildings side-by-side with modern high rises.â
While the country was still âunder the Covid cloud,â Zora and Dave, who both had a multiple-entry work visa, settled in relatively easily, and were warmly welcomed.
âThe locals are polite and friendly in the extreme,â says Zora. âAnd Dave and I have been fortunate to participate in and to enjoy many of the traditions that such a colourful society offers.â
Cultural differences
Although life in a country like Uzbekistan can be difficult for newcomers to adapt to, Zora explains that their time in Kazakhstan meant that it wasnât quite such a tough adjustment for the two of them.
âItâs all Central Asia,â she says. âThey are both ex-Soviet republics. Very similar cultures. So Uzbekistan was not a culture shock.â
And while the Keffers initially had reservations about Nukus, which has an estimated population of around 329,000, they loved living there, and felt at ease within the community.
âThe people just love practicing English,â says Zora. âItâs actually really funny. They stop you all the time, and they want to chat (in English).â
As neither Zora or her husband speak Uzbek, they often relied on Google Translate, when it came to communicating with locals.
âGoogle Translate is your best friend here,â she adds.
One of the things Zora loved most about Uzbekistan was that she was always having new experiences.
âItâs never boring,â she says. âThereâs never a boring moment here.â
However, there was one thing she was never able to get used to: the frequent power outages which occurred around the time Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
âItâs hot here,â she says. âSo when you canât get the air-conditioning working, itâs not fun. I (can) tell you that much.
âYou have to be very flexible, because you just donât know whatâs gonna happen. Flexibility is number one. This is not a place for rigid people.â
While Zora and her husband adapted to life in Uzbekistan easily, she points out that having each other to lean on made a big difference, and she says itâs likely much harder for those who relocate by themselves.
âItâs a small community,â she says of Nukus. âYou definitely do not have the same kind of pool of expats that say, Tashkent, the capital, has.â
âYou donât get that here, because itâs a small town. So you have to work a little harder at meeting people.â
Sense of community
Zora says she was heartened by the strength of the local community and its members who were ready and willing to go above and beyond for their neighbors.
âThe community is much stronger here,â she says. âFamilies, they are tighter. We kind of lost that in the West, if you know what I mean.
âPeople here still depend so much on each other to some degree. Because you donât have the same social safety net. So itâs a necessity really. If things go wrong, youâve got your family.â
While they spent most of their time in Nukus, Zora and Dave traveled to capital city Tashkent every six weeks or so âfor a nice getaway weekend.â
In 2021, the couple took some time off work to explore the cities of the old Silk Road â Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva.
âI cannot imagine actually leaving Uzbekistan without seeing these fabled cities,â she says.
âThey really are truly amazing. Itâs like going back in time. And falling into one of those stories like âOne Thousand and One Nightsâ (a collection of Middle Eastern folktales). Itâs magical.â
According to Zora, she and Dave were impressed by Khiva, a small town situated in the southeast of Uzbekistan.
âPeople donât know much about Khiva, because itâs not in the region where Samarkand and Bukhara are,â she says, before describing the âscary experienceâ of climbing the Islam Khodja minaret, which measures 45 meters (148 feet).
âSo many people miss it. But itâs also a wonderful city with beautiful architecture.â
When asked of her favorite thing about living in Uzbekistan, Zora says that this was undoubtedly her students.
âThe kids here are so nice,â she says. âThat is actually the biggest plus, in my opinion, as a teacher, because we donât have any discipline problems.â
Zoraâs also a big fan of the food in Uzbekistan, describing the fruits and vegetables as âout of this world.â
âThey are so good compared to say, Canada or North America because of the weather,â she says.
âYouâve got sunshine here all the time. And the taste is really amazing compared to the supermarket products in Canada.â
Developing country
Although they found Uzbekistan to be very affordable, Zora notes that this is âall relativeâ as they were earning a âdecent salary.â
âIf we were earning a local salary, then obviously it would not be much cheaper,â she says.
When asked what she missed about living in Canada, Zora confesses that going to see blockbuster movies that arenât dubbed over was high up there on the list.
However, the couple did manage to go to watch some live ballet and modern dance performances in Tashkent.
âThat is a big plus,â she says. âBecause the tickets are very inexpensive for us. And those pieces were wonderful.
âSo youâve got to focus on that. No movies, but wonderful dance.â
The couple were able to participate in traditional celebrations, including Nowruz, a festival marking the Persian New Year, which is an official public holiday in Uzbekistan every March 21.
âBoiling a pudding in a huge cauldron for 10 hours is a big part of it,â explains Zora.
One of the downsides of living in a place like Uzbekistan was that the coupleâs visitors from home proved to be few and far between, mainly because âitâs really far.â
âThatâs (the distance) one thing,â she says. âAnd the other thing, even more importantly, is that we donât get any time off (from work).â
The couple returned to Canada every summer to catch up with their friends and family.
âItâs nice just to reconnect,â she says. âJust to see that itâs still there.â
Zora says sheâd advise anyone considering a move to Uzbekistan to take into account that itâs âstill a developing countryâ and they likely wonât have access to the same amenities and lifestyle they were previously used to.
âOne should not expect the same level of comfort and efficiency,â she adds. âIt would really help to be very flexible and have a great sense of humorâŚ
âI have become a lot more open-minded, and even more flexible than I had been prior to this experience.â
After four years in Uzbekistan, Zora and Dave once again decided to bid farewell to their place of residence and seek out a new adventure.
Now retired, they plan to spend the next year or so doing âa lot of travelingâ before working out their next move.
Although they will be returning to Canada briefly, Zora says they have no intention of remaining there permanently.
âWe love Canada but that doesnât mean we intend to stay put,â she says. âI hope weâll never lose our wanderlust.â
When asked which destination is next on their list, Zora stresses that theyâre still figuring things out.
âThe future is opaque,â she says.