Reality Bites

On Thursday the semi-finalists were announced for the Global U-Grad competition. This competition allows 2nd and 3rd year university students to study in the U.S. for one year. Last year I think about 11 students went from Tajikistan. It is a very competitive program administered by IREX in conjunction with the U.S. embassy. As soon as I came here I had people asking me for help with this competition and I didn't even know when the deadline was for applications. But on Thursday three great young people I know were selected as semi-finalists (2 women and 1 man). They attend my TOEFL class three days a week and all go to my university. The problem is many great young people were not selected. I talked to one young woman, on a bench in a park, for more than an hour because she was so distraught about not being selected. She had planned and worked her whole life so that she could study in the U.S. it was her dream and this year she is a third year university student so she can't apply next year. For high school students there is a program that allows students to study in the U.S. called FLEX. This young woman made it to the final round of FLEX but was denied. Last year as a second year univ. student she didn't make it so she felt like this was her last chance. So last night she was utterly crushed crying and feeling like her life was over. She worried about her future. She doesn't want to get married. She is only 20 but she knows and worries that she has too. I tried to console her and get her to look on the bright side but it was very sad to be around someone so young and talented who thinks she has no future and no hope. For the young people of Tajikistan the U-Grad program is a life changer literally after they come back they are never the same. Most want to return to the U.S. and study and many do so. They are disenchanted by the poor education here, the corruption, the low salaries, the poor living conditions and the lack of freedom. Studying in the U.S. opens their minds to a whole new world and it becomes hard to return to this one. This woman I talked to knew this and wanted this but it wasn't meant to be this time even though she is an extremely bright, hardworking and talented. There are a lot of stories like this one though. A few young people make new lives for themselves but many have to follow a path laid out for them by society.