Nigora's Women's Day

I called Nigora in Osh today to wish her a happy belated holiday. Her husband and sons gathered money to buy her some cosmetics and cooked her shashlik (grilled meat) and plov.

I asked her about her business. She said it’s finally starting to pick up. She has increased her stock from 14,000 som when she started to over 20,000 (just over $500). She found an Osh contact who makes wholesale purchases in Uzbekistan.

“So now, people can order things from me and I just go to her and buy them. It’s a little more expensive than what I paid in Uzbekistan, but given that I don’t have the transportation expenses and don’t lose my time, it’s good for me.” She told me that three people ordered items from her today.

I asked how she liked being in the working world. “I think I was getting bored at home,” she said. “I’m now a delavaya zhenshina (working woman),” she said with a proud chuckle.

Habib grabbed the phone in excitement to talk to me and update me on his university life. I could even hear reticent Faruh smiling on the other end.

I missed my Osh family and I missed Osh.