the language of a smile

I went to buy onward train tickets this morning with trepidation. I had gone to the train station yesterday to do a little recon, and found it confusing and a bit intimidating. However, between the ticket seller and me writing each other notes, and a little assistance from interested bystanders, I now have a ticket to Samarkand for the 18th, and a return ticket from Bukhara to Tashkent for the 26th. In between I am going on a little desert jaunt involving a yurt and a camel.

On my way there, I passed a certain spot where I knew I would hear low murmurs of "change", or "dollars". This is a prime spot for black market exchange of money. I had $100 with me just for that purpose and so a transaction was made.  I was handed this:

and more in exchange for two $50's. Felt like a drug deal, or how I imagine a little deal would feel. The train tickets cost 92,000 Som, which seemed like a lot of money until I did the math on my way home. Just over $30.

I stopped at a small store on my way back and there were three people working. They asked if I was 'inglishe' or 'italia' -the first two most common guesses I hear. I assume it's because they don't see a lot of Americans. They spoke no English, and asked if I spoke Uzbek or Russian. I said neither, just a few words. This, oddly enough is readily conveyed with the use of gestures along with words. I asked the woman whether 'spasiba' or 'rahmet' (pronounced rahkmet) was appropriate, because that is one of my points of confusion. I know that at least here in the capital city, most people speak both Russian and Uzbek, but it is my understanding that since gaining independence from the former Soviet regime, there is some preference for Uzbek-unless you are a Russian who stayed here after independence, which many did. So I'm never sure which way to say thank you, or numbers, or hello (about the full extent of my Uzbek vocabulary, and the majority of my Russian vocab). She smiled and indicated that to others I should say 'spasiba', the Russian, but to her, it would be 'rahmet'. Clears that right up!