The cold weather has arrived with the start of December. The daylight hours are getting shorter and it is easier to stay in bed rather than get up and exercise in the morning. Nadia and I went shopping on Black Friday last week, although the “holiday” has not reached Uzbekistan yet. Nadia discovered Oysho, the Spanish sporting and leisure clothes store in the Tashkent City Mall. The clothes are fashionable, comfortable, and most importantly for me, look great on her!
I got to school early twice last week to work out with the fitness group. Frost was covering the ground and it was just below freezing. We put in a new fitness center in the school and they offer cross-fit workouts for teachers, parents, and students. I also enjoyed walking Obi in the evenings. The other night it was extremely foggy. The ground clouds make the mahalla look spooky.
As you may know, the economies of Tashkent and Uzbekistan are growing at a phenomenal 5-8% annually. One aspect of this is the influx of BYD cars, the Chinese electric car company. They make cheaper electric and hybrid cars that are not available in the USA. The Chinese government made a deal with the Uzbek government to produce cars in the city of Jizzakh. . The government has also responded by putting more charging stations around the city. I see more BYD (Build Your Dreams) cars every week, although General Motors still leads the market here. I don’t like taking Yandex rides in electric cars because I get motion sick from the acceleration. It feels like I am on a roller coaster at times. BYD is making progress here and I expect to see more in 2025, especially with Uzbekistan joining the World Trade Organization. The government is producing spare parts locally that will reduce the cost of the vehicles.
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