2003-11-22 - 10:23 a.m.
On my return to Uzbekistan I feel that I have been enlightened- not really- but something I read last night did strike me as significant. It is easy to get caught up in comparing our modern American conveniences with the simplistic and labourious Uzbek methods, like washing dished by hand, using pit toilets, and investing in livestock instead of banks. Its this last example that I was impressed with last night. As I delved back into an LBJ biography, I was surprised to learn that on February 26, 1933 the state of Ohio issued legislation forbidding individuals from withdrawing more that 5 percent of their balance from local bank accounts. Of course, this was depression era rules trying to stave off any financial collapse or run on the banks, but it still existed- just the same as it exists in Uzbekistan today where banks refuse to give you large amounts of cash without asking why.
And so as I return from America, the best example the world has of a place where merit and effort are rewarded by financial independence and free expression, I try to remind myself that I am still in the process of a learning experience and that slow progression is also an opportunity for assessment and innovation.
With this internal advice on my conscience I prepare to face winter, and with it the extreme of Uzbek difficulties. So now there is nothing left to do but to re-enter the process. I'll update this journal as I get colder.
