Wednesday, July 17, 2013

First Video Blog Entirely in Uzbek! (Birinchi Faqat O'zbek Tilida Gapirgan Video Blog!)

Assalomu alaykum!

We're almost to the end of the program! I know I've been not so consistent with posts so I wanted to share a video blog I made last night as a little culmination/documentation of what I've learned here at CLI Uzbek this year and last. With our final and closing ceremony tomorrow, I'll be saying goodbye to Arizona but definitely not to my language learning journey.

Check out the video below (or at this link), it's my first video entirely spoken in Uzbek for the site. Subtitles included for English speakers, don't worry! Let me know what you think in the comments below and I look forward to posting a final reflection before being on my way on Saturday. Thanks for following along this summer and for the nice emails readers have sent!

Xayr, Brian

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Intermediate Uzbek Weeks 4 & 5 In Review: Academic Life & Student Activities Plus Tempe Fireworks, Scottsdale Shopping & More

Assalomu alaykum!

Hi everyone! I'm back... Sorry I haven't posted at Uzbek Brian in a bit, it's been quite busy but a great two weeks here in Arizona at CLI. This post will cover a "week in review" for both weeks 4 and 5, which in some ways felt like one giant week (no excuses, though...!). Here we go:

The sunset from A mountain is always more beautiful each time! 

Outlook: Past two weeks have been great. I continue to love being here and at this point feel like I am in the normal life here as if I've lived here for years and do not want to leave!

The weather has been extremely hot (I think it's a record for June/July in Phoenix), usually over 115 each day, and with way more cloud coverage than last year—but still nothing near the miserable humidity I'm hearing about in many places over the East coast.

I've been feeling very productive and on track most of the time here and going through a lot of new ideas about how I want my life to unfold, whether it just be for the rest of the day or the week or summer for over the course of the next five years.

This week's workstation! Lots of computer stuff done
Class: This week was the turning point of our halfway mark so we have gotten through a lot of material as we finished our first "semester" (3.5 week) section and are now in our next semester.  Our focus of topic has been on student life, education systems (comparing UZ to US), and general university and academic vocabulary, which is quite relevant to us here.

I've been happy with results on the past three tests, all A+s, and know that what I'm learning is stuff I can actually apply and use especially if I do a study abroad in the region when in college. We did have a 6-day week due to our Friday postponed for Fourth of July weekend, but now having had the four days off, I'm grateful we got the work in early and were able to enjoy the holiday!

Enjoyed seeing the fireworks with the Uzbek crew at Tempe Town Lake!
Sat right by the water -- great view of the show
Free time: The first half of these two weeks was quite packed with homework, client work (launched a new website!), Uzbek Night (see presentations below), and even some other events like a luncheon with Uzbek classmates, but I was very excited to enjoy a luxurious 4 days off to myself for Independence Day.

The main highlight of free time these past weeks besides the fireworks and general hangout/time to get my thoughts and items together was making a trip to the Scottsdale Fashion Plaza, which is a destination mall with really excellent store selection reminiscent, if not better, than KOP.

Took a trip up there on Friday for the day and was thrilled to see what was there and always enjoy visiting my favorite luxury brands and chatting with sales associates to learn about the company and products. I visited Louis Vuitton, Prada (first standalone Prada visit), Bottega Veneta (same thing), Cartier, Barney's New York, Neiman's, Michael Kors, David Yurman, Tourneau and some others.

Visited the Scottsdale Vuitton store! 2 down, like 700+ to go! This was one was 2x the size of KOP
Trying on a watch at Cartier — this is the entry-level Tank I think I want to save up for  
Beautiful wallets and organizers with the classic woven style of Bottega Veneta

This week: This week I'd like to keep up with a good pace of learning and finishing work for class and really take in the last normal-schedule week I have here at CLI. Don't want the program to pass too fast without having really soaked it all in!

Also I want to keep up with fitness (have barely missed a day, very happy), and work on building up some business plans and finding some new clients for when I get home, particularly targeting local businesses in my area.

My three favorite foods... good avocados, mango kombucha and Evian! 

Resources:

Here are resources for this week, quite a few!

Uy Ishi June 27: "-ish" "-la" va "-lik"li Gaplar
Homework June 27: Sentences with "-ish", "-la", and "-lik"


Uy Ishi June 28: O’zbekistondagi 3ta Asosiy Universitet Haqida
Homework June 28: About 3 Prominent Universities in Uzbekistan


Uy Ishi June 29: Akademik Yili Vaqtidagi Jadvalim
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B50OtgK4oOsgcFd0TWRSNVhwRjg/preview

Uy Ishi June 29: Uzoq O'tgan Zamon Felili Gaplar
Homework June 29: Sentences with the Distant Past Verb Form


Konestoga Gimnaziyasi Prezentatsiya
Conestoga High School Presentation


Welcome to Uzbek Night Presentation


Thanks for reading, everyone! Be sure to subscribe at your right for email updates if you aren't already. Also, exciting news... Uzbek Brian has reached over 10,000 visitors! Check out this graph in my stats control panel for the distribution of visitors:


Hi if you're reading from Russia, UK, Latvia, Uzbekistan or wherever you are! :)

Xayr,
Brian

Monday, June 24, 2013

Intermediate Uzbek Week 3 Quick Review Guide: Uzbek City Transportation & Local Sights

Assalomu alaykum!

Here is my week #3 quick review guide for Intermediate Uzbek at CLI. This week's topics included describing city life, transportation methods, getting around a new location, seeing important sights in a city (e.g. Tashkent), and more having to do with anything city-related. Take a look below or feel free to view and print at this link. Enjoy!



Xayr,
Brian

Intermediate Uzbek Week 3 In Review: Uzbek Cities & Transportation, Homework Practice, & Figs!

Assalomu alaykum!

Hey everyone! Here with my Week 3 review, not to fret! Sorry I didn't post yesterday, wasn't really in a writing mood. Doing well now and off to the start of Week 4 -- I canNOT believe it's gone by so quickly, even though I will say that every time I look back.

We have just about reached the half-way mark as of tomorrow and Wednesday and I can say that it's been a great experience thus far! I am reminded of last year when at about this time I felt like I really was living here and that life was normal in the context of Arizona and Uzbek and all the great stuff here. Not bad! So here we go:

Outlook: As of right now my outlook is pretty good for this program and in general for the summer. I am happy to be busy, even though the work can be tiring at times, especially with a language that I really do enjoy. I have gotten some great feedback on my language learning here through homework, tests, and a presentation (will describe below) and I feel like this is something worthwhile to be doing.

Other life-wise, I feel good because I've been almost 100% consistent with my daily exercise, at the very least walking extensively around campus and usually 20-35 minutes cardio with some strength. Aiming to keep up! Can't let oneself go in this world or else things get really bleak!

FIGS!!! Happy Brian
Class: Class has been good. I continue to enjoy the variation with formal learning in the morning and more dialogue and exercises in the afternoon. I have really gotten into the timing swing of things with the 10:30 start and usually do my larger meal and daily Ugly Betty episode viewing to unwind during the midday break (almost done season 4 -- what will I do when it's done?!). Homework has continued to be interesting, with lots of writing exercises (posted below).

As for Friday's test, it was a pretty tough one, but I am happy with how I did. Basically the test was a full presentation that we had an hour to prepare, including the speech, slides, photos, and a small written text. Mine was about the small Uzbek city of Navoiy, going along with our theme of cities and transport. Aaand--I am excited to say I got an A+ on the test, my first yet here. Seeing as I did put a lot of work into the assignment, I am proud of this score.

Beautiful Arizona sunset seen from top of A mountain
Free time: Free time has been relatively small in quantity but I've been enjoying walking around the campus, exercising, listening to music, getting my items organized both online and in real life as far as what I want to finish as well as keeping things neat and orderly. I am continuing to work on sites for clients and am looking forward to launching towards the end of the month for one client. Lastly, I have been enjoying shopping at the local markets with friends (thanks to those of you guys who have cars!) and the fruit has been GREAT!

What more does one need?
This week: This week I have two exams actually, my final tomorrow, and my regular weekly test on Friday. My goal is to really stay on track with preparing for these and continue to get as much as I can out of class. I also want to crack down on organizing some of my online files for ebooks I want to put out soon, and help get some more tasks done for clients. Lastly, I want to keep exercising, and maybe even get around to posting up those vocab flashcards. :)

Staples! 

Resources:

Quite a few resources today! Here they are:

Uy Ishi June 17: Transport Turlari Haqida
"Homework June 17: About Transport Methods"


Uy Ishi June 18: Men Qalamman
"Homework June 18: I Am a Pencil (Spoof Monologue)"


Uy Ishi June 19: “-gi + Kel(ma)”li Gaplar
"Homework June 19: Sentences with "-gi + Kel(ma)"


Uy Ishi June 19: Sevimli Shahar Haqida
"Homework June 19: About a Favorite City"


Thanks for reading! Be in touch soon. Be sure to subscribe by email if you're enjoying the blog! We have almost reached the 10,000 visitors mark... Shh, it'll be a celebration!

Xayr,
Brian

Uzbek Film 'Dada' (2010) Quick Movie Review & Watch Free Online

Assalomu alaykum!

Brian here with a quick post on an interesting film we watched on a Friday class here at CLI Intermediate Uzbek. In addition to posting a link to the video to show an authentic sample of Uzbek film, I wanted to share a very brief review of this movie after seeing it and being able to understand the gist of most parts.

This introduction aside, this post will be in Uzbek, sorry everyone back at home! I like to include a few text posts with some of my Uzbek writings to help the blog reach more visitors particularly in Uzbekistan, as most of my homework documents are in Google Docs and will not really help much with search engine visits.

Essentially, the premise has to do with the story of a young man about to be married who has gained fame from his boxing/strength skills (Rocky-esque) — but everything in his life when he comes across a woman one day in the streets who is in labor with an illegitimate child (very stigmatized in Uzbek culture), with whose life he ends up entangled and caring for the child when she leaves unexpectedly one day to return to home to her future spouse as well. Interesting!

That's a very basic overview, sorry I am not the best on recounting story details. Regardless, the social dynamics and language use in this movie are pretty cool to view. And here is my Uzbek mini-review that I submitted for homework on Monday:


Aktyorlar (Cast) ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (4/5)

Ertak (Story) ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (4/5)

Dialog (Dialogue) ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (3/5)

Kino Sifati (Film Quality) ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (3/5)

Dizayn (Design) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (5/5)

Kichkina ko‘rik: Menimcha biz juma kuni ko‘rgan o‘zbekcha bir film juda qiziqarli edi.

Bu film juda ma’noli va balki haqiqiy mavzu haqida bol’di, ya’ni oila va bolalar bor bo‘lish.

Asosiy shaxs (ismi Zafar) qiyin vaziyatida jalb qildi, u haqida jiddiy qaror chiqarishi kerak edi.

Afsuski, Hanifa — Zafarning topgan bolaning onasi — aslida niyati yaxshi emas edi. Nimaga?

o‘zbekiston madaniyati va axloqi haqida o‘rganishni xohlasangiz, albatta bu filmda mumkin.

Mana bu internetda ko'rish uchun Vimeodagi video:



That's all for this post. Hi from Uzbekistan if you're reading/watching, thanks for stopping by!

Xayr,
Brian

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Uzbek Verb Form Complete Grammar Reference (O‘zbek Tilining Fe’l Shakllari)

Assalomu alaykum!

As a handy reference for Uzbek learners, here is a brief table I put together for CLI Intermediate Uzbek class that includes all the forms (past, present, and future systems) used in modern standard Uzbek. (More reference on verb and other grammatical element listings available at this link.)

Form
O‘zbek 
English 
infinitive
bormoq
to go
present/future simple
boraman
I go, I will go
present progressive
boryapman
I am going
imperfect/past indefinite
borganman
I have gone, I went
past definite
bordim
I went
past continuous
borayotgan edim
I was going
pluperfect/past perfect
borgan edim
I had gone
past intention
bormoqchi edim
I had intended to go
past habitual
borar edim
I used to go
past inferential
boribman
I supposedly went
past obligatory
boradigan bo’ldim
I had to go
future intention
bormoqchiman
I will go, I intend to go
future possibility
borarman
Maybe I will go

Feel free to download and print this reference list using this Google Doc. Enjoy!

Xayr,
Brian

Intermediate Uzbek Week 2 Quick Review Guide: Family Vocab & Household Descriptions

Assalomu alaykum!

Here is my week #2 quick review guide for Intermediate Uzbek at CLI. This week's topics included describing relatives and extended family members in Uzbek, as well as giving detailed descriptions (e.g. using intensive adjectives, more detailed past tense verb forms, etc.) of household scenes and other daily life scenarios. Take a look below or feel free to view and print at this link.



Xayr,
Brian

Intermediate Uzbek Week 2 in Review: Uzbek Dialects, Household Descriptions, Video Update & More

Assalomu alaykum!

Hey guys! Hope everyone's doing well. Continuing my journey here at ASU with week 2 of CLI Intermediate Uzbek. To go along with last week's pattern, this post includes a brief "week in review" overview of my last 7 days here in Tempe. Here's a little video blog I recorded this afternoon talking about this week's class and activities:



And now for the remainder of the week in review post :)

I love Arizona at sunset! A view from the bridge near my dorm
Outlook: Feeling great this week, really gotten in the swing of things schedule-wise and life-wise here and very much grateful to be here. I've been aiming to keep busy with schoolwork and client work, as well as to take a little bit of time out each day if I can to work on fitness and enjoy the surroundings. I'm enjoying living on my own (but miss you guys back home!) and want to relish as much as I can from the Arizona desert sun before this summer is over--something I was thinking about a lot this week. Also, in general just feel healthier and happier this week.

Giving my little presentation (with a festive Uzbek-style hat, haha)
Class: Class has been productive and interesting! I feel like I am learning a ton this year and we are covering some interesting cultural, linguistic, and educational topics ranging from familial relations, household dynamics and common items, airport travel, and just in general getting better at giving in-depth descriptions and asking questions/giving answers in a more sophisticated way. It's been fun talking with Elementary students (on Fridays we do a Q&A to practice), as well as doing Uzbek club (see my presentation below), watching some Uzbek news and movies (starting to really follow the audio!) and much more.

Bridge overlooking A mountain area and stadium on way to dorm
Free time: This week during free time I was really looking to get back on my fitness kick and I've been enjoying using the Sun Devil Fitness Complex facility here, it's really a great place to get inspired to workout. Enjoyed the pool with friends a bit yesterday, as well as doing regular cardio on the machines, and a little bit of rowing and weights as well. Also enjoyed as always visiting the local markets--Mekong, Whole Foods, Safeway, Tempe Farmer's Market, and Sprout's--to load up on some goodies. Good eats lately! In addition, I've been working on compiling ideas for my web design business and getting documents and finances in order--nice to feel the productivity rush!

Enjoyed some durian and papaya with a friend for lunch
This week: This week I'd like to focus a lot on reading ahead before class in order to be better able to follow along, specifically with vocab and some phrasing constructions. I'm hoping to find time to make Quizlet vocab cards of all major words from the chapters thus far, even if a few, just to keep fresh. Also, I am looking forward to hopefully finish a website for a client, getting a bunch of product entries in for another client, and starting to put together a concept for a personal Brian Greco site.

Alive and well!
Resources:

A bunch of homework texts this week, in addition to my dialects presentation! Check them out at the embedded boxes below or at the linked English names. Enjoy! :)

O'zbek Tilining Dialektlari Prezentatsiya
Uzbek Language Dialects Presentation


Uy Ishi June 11: Yoshligim Haqida
Homework June 11: About My Childhood


Uy Ishi June 12: Xonalarim Haqida
Homework June 12: About My Rooms


Uy Ishi June 13: O'zbek Uy-Joy Haqida Tasvirlar
Homework June 13: Descriptions of Uzbek Home Settings


That's it for this week! Thanks so much for reading, feel free to leave a comment or subscribe with the form on the right. For anyone who sent me letters, I am hoping to get them this week -- sadly haven't received yet, maybe just a delay! Will keep you posted. Talk soon!

Xayr,
Brian

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Intermediate Uzbek Week 1 Quick Review Guide: Airport Travel Vocabulary & Participles

Assalomu alaykum!

Interested in learning Uzbek or reviewing key vocab and grammar? Check out this first addition to my quick review guides I'll be making to cover my Top 15 vocab and Top 3 grammar points for each week here at CLI Intermediate Uzbek 2013. Click here to view the document in a separate window or take a look below. Enjoy!



Xayr,
Brian

Intermediate Uzbek Week 1 in Review! Uzbek Homework, Class Setup & More

Assalomu alaykum!

Hi everyone! With my first week at CLI Intermediate Uzbek finished, I wanted to post a "week in review" update here at Uzbek Brian to let you know what I'm up to and share some resources from this week. This year with a busier schedule and more familiarity with local sights and the general process of being at ASU or in an intensive program, I figured a weekly update with occasional intermittent video posts or bonus posts would best suit my blogging schedule.

So that I cover everything, I'll be writing in 5 main categories in these posts: general outlook, class activities, what I did during free time, goals for the coming week, resources and homework files, and then any extra photos or videos from the week. Sorry they won't be as detailed, but 4-5 hours a day of immersion Uzbek plus lots of computer work for clients only leaves me with so much creative energy left at the end of the day. ;)

On top of "A" mountain overlooking Tempe
Here we go for Week 1: 

Outlook: I am excited to be back in Arizona, but in all honestly also excited that this first transition week is over! As I wrote in my last post, preparation before arriving here was quite busy, from finishing school to packing to getting work and living arrangements settled. In addition, starting with this past weekend I was not feeling well physically due to stress and too much activity catching up on me, and this persisted largely throughout the week (throat, sinus, headache, etc.)

A bit under the weather and a lot in need of review for Uzbek especially for such a fast-paced course, this week was a little rough for me but I am faring much better now and ready to be more settled in for the remaining 6. I have met some great people this week in both my Intermediate class and in the Elementary Uzbek class, and am happy to see my teachers again as well as some local friends and favorite food shopping destinations (and hiking and walking areas!).

My Intermediate Uzbek class 2013
Class: Jumping right in and living up to the name 'intensive', class has been quite efficient and information-packed this week and I am glad we are moving along at a good pace. This year in Intermediate, all instruction is essentially conducted in Uzbek, whether it be explaining a new grammatical concept, learning cultural notes, watching an Uzbek video clip, or just conducting classroom question and answer. I feel like already I have learned a lot and will be getting very comfortable swiftly understanding and forming spoken sentences.

The general structure is as follows: We start class at 10:30 (yay, can wake up at a godly hour!) and have with our main teacher, Saodat, a 2-hour morning class in the likeness of a traditional language classroom—covering new grammar concepts, vocabulary, dialogues, and so on. Then, after a midday break, we have at 2:15 a 1-hour afternoon conversation and discussion session with my teacher from last year and after that another hour with some other students from Advanced and Elementary during which we do miscellaneous exercises and activities.

Promenade on the way to the fitness complex
Awesome pool! Great day to get some laps in always
Free time: This section is slightly an oxymoron for me this week, but during free time I was able to get quite a few Uzbek writing pieces together for homework as well as work on a bunch of projects for website clients. I am currently working on a site for a hair salon of a friend of a friend, as well as continuing my partnerships with existing clients doing any web-based tasks needed. Also I was able to get down to the fitness center a few times in addition to everyday walking and music-listening, though I need to get back on a fitness kick this week as far as strength and cardio. Today I was happy to get some work on personal projects in process too.

Enjoyed some perfectly ripe jackfruit this week! Here it is opened up
A portion of my fruit for the week -- great mangos and stonefruit!
This week: This coming week I would like to buckle down on some new vocab using Quizlet flashcards (check out my collection at Quizlet.com/UzbekBrian) as well as continuing work on making my homework exercises more accurate and complex. I am hoping for a good result on this week's test and if not will study up on prior new concepts to make sure I am all set as I continue to add to my arsenal of Uzbek knowledge. I also want to focus on fitness and work out in some form at least every day in addition to walking (and get back to my ab crunches on the machine!). Hoping to also head to a yoga class on Saturday at the studio I enjoyed a lot last year.

A little bio I wrote about myself in Uzbek (Click here to view the full document)
Resources: Quite a few homeworks, here they are:

Uy Ishi 3-Iyun: Aeroport Haqida
Homework June 3: About the Airport (Click here to open separately)


Uy Ishi 4-Iyun: Aeroportdagi Qoidalar
Homework June 4: Airport Rules (Click here to open separately)


Uy Ishi 7-Iyun: Uy Ishi: Zulfiya Haqida
Homework June 4: About Zulfiya (Click here to open separately)


“Mening Ismim G’anisher”
Practice Story Transcript (Click here to open separately)



Last thing: Write me letters!

Are you a long-time Uzbek Brian reader? Uzbek language speaker or learner? Just stumbled on the site? Friend or family from back home? I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to write me notes, letters, postcards (or send me books... :D) at the following address until July 20th-ish:

The Critical Languages Institute
c/o Brian Greco
Arizona State University
PO Box 874202
Tempe AZ 85287-4202


I decided I will post the quick review guide I made in a separate post with a hope for increase in possible traffic flow to Uzbek Brian since it is highly specific, summarized, and linguistic in nature. :) That's all for this week! Check back soon and feel free to comment or email me at uzbekbrian at gmail dot com!

Xayr,
Brian

Monday, June 3, 2013

Part 2 Begins! Back at CLI for Intermediate Uzbek Summer Program

Assalomu alaykum!

Long time no see! I'm here for my first day back at Arizona State University Critical Languages Institute, ready for another great summer of language study and desert sun. Hope everyone's been well - want to say hi to new readers that have visited the blog since last summer.

Continuing on from my Elementary Uzbek course, I'll be taking the Intermediate level this year and am looking forward to gaining a more in-depth understanding of the language. I'm definitely very rusty, particularly on vocab, but as classes begin I'm sure I'll be able to dust off the Uzbek files in my brain.

Last summer I very much enjoyed writing about my experience on this blog and I hope to do the same this year, whether to keep in touch with family and friends at home, share resources for other Uzbek learners, or just to document memories and ideas. While I may not be posting daily, at least every few days I'll be happy to compile some notable info to post here on Uzbek Brian.

This past week has been quite busy finishing up school early and getting all assignments and presentations in, work for web clients put together, and not to mention packing and shopping this weekend for supplies for the duration of my stay. A special thank you to my teachers for helping me prepare for an early departure and definitely to my parents for getting me all set for a great summer!

Thanks again for reading and I'll be in contact soon with some review material (a lot!), photos, and mini updates about what's going on. If you'd like to get posts delivered to your inbox free without having to check back, simply enter your email at the subscribe form to the right. Enjoy!

A couple photos from this weekend (dorm tour coming soon!):

Preliminary reviewing on the plane!
Relaxing by the falls at Tapatio Cliff
Best Asian market I've been to - stocking up!
View of Mill Ave
Ready for the first day!

Xayr,
Brian