Learn a little language

Tajikistan is full of kind hearts and inquiring spirits, but regrettably, many of them do not know English. All of my favorite experiences with Tajiks were in Russian; you can't ignore the importance of a shared language for deeper talks. So, before going to Tajikistan, try to acquire a little of the language.

Tajik is Tajikistan's national language. Despite being written in Cyrillic, this Persian language is quite similar to Iranian Farsi and the Dari used in northern Afghanistan. Farsi is a lovely language that has been utilized throughout history by Persian poets such as Rumi, Hafez, and Rudaki, and it is definitely worth investigating if you are interested in language or poetry.

Because Tajikistan is an ex-Soviet republic, Russian is widely spoken as a second (or third, or fourth) language. The elder generation is more likely to speak it, and many youngsters continue to study Russian at school. Russian is also more beneficial for travel than Tajik/Farsi because it can be used across the Central Asian'stans, and signage is written in Cyrillic.