Introducing myself

Jobs and professions

People tend to differ when it comes to the opinion whether one should change job frequently. On the one hand, many people think one should keep doing the same job all throughout the life where as other advise that is not the way to go. The merits of both the arguments will be analysed before a conclusion is provided.

Firstly, there are immense benefits that professionals enjoy sticking to a same job. But the most obvious ones are security and enhanced expertise in a specific domain that they gain during their tenure in the workplace. For example, a civil engineer who is designing the architecture of bridge for years knows all the nitty-gritty details of the factors for building a robust bridge. Because of his vast experience, his company will also be interested to retain him as the same level of competency cannot be expected from a newcomer. This supports the argument that continuing the same job over years has several positive facets.

However, many other people argue in favour of changing jobs recurrently. The main reason being when individuals work in several jobs they usually add more skills to their portfolio and this definitely improves their employability. For instance, when a wildlife photographer changes his job and joins an advertising agency, not only his skills get enhanced, he is also considered as more dynamic and versatile. Additionally, spending too long in a job also make people feel monotonous. This makes clear why the idea of shifting jobs is suggested.

My future career

It's rather difficult sometimes to choose a career and to speak about the future profession. I'd say it's because a lot may change in our life in a moment. There are lucky people who chose their profession in childhood and since that time have been doing everything possible to acquire proficiency. But they are few.

If we are not indifferent to our future, while thinking about the future career we are to pay attention to a number of important things. We should determine our abilities and inclinations. Then we should analyse job prospects. We must know whether the profession we have chosen will guarantee good living conditions and give promotion. We must be sure we'll avoid unemployment or at least will be able to apply our knowledge and skills in other fields of human activity. In short, we are to decide what we are going to do in our life and-feel satisfied, but not bored or disappointed.

When I was a fifth-former I dreamt of becoming a doctor. I wanted to be a surgeon and treat people and save their lives. I admired the courage and generosity of surgeons. But then I noticed I can't bare the sight of blood, I'm not able to deal with surgical instruments. And I gave up this idea.

At that time I realized that I was fond of English. I was always good at English at school. And when we got acquainted with the English and American literature, the lessons of British and American Studies I understood that I want to have a perfect command of the English language and become a good specialist in English.

Holiday

My First Holiday with School Friends

Until 5^th grade my parents did not allow me to go for school trips but as I entered my 6^th grade I got this chance. My school had organized a three day trip to Shimla during the summer vacations. Many of my friends filled the consent to go for the trip. I wanted to go to but feared that my parents would not agree. At first, I thought there was no point even asking because their answer would only be no but my friends insisted I should.

I still remember how I hesitantly handed over the consent form for the trip to my father and began telling him about the details of the trip. I also told him that many of my classmates are going for it and that I also wanted to go. Initially, he refused as he felt I was too young to go out without their supervision. It took me around 2 days to convince my mother to allow me to go for the trip and she in turn convinced my father for the same. I was finally glad and super excited about the trip. I promised them that I will not talk to strangers, always move with the group and be careful with everything during the trip.

Traveling

Almost all people are fond of travelling. It is very interesting to see new places, another towns and countries. People may travel either for pleasure or on business. There are various means of travelling. For me there is nothing like travel by air; it is more comfortable, more convenient and, of course, far quicker than any other means. There is none of the dust and dirt of a railway or car journey, none of the trouble of changing from train to steamer and then to another train.

With a train you have speed, comfort and pleasure combined. From the comfortable seat of a railway carriage you have a splendid view of the whole countryside. If you are hungry, you can have a meal in the dining-car; and if a journey is a long one you can have a wonderful bed in a sleeper.

Travelling by ship is also very popular now. It is very pleasant to feel the deck of the ship under the feet, to see the rise and fall of the waves, to feel the fresh sea wind blowing in the face and hear the cry of the seagulls.

Many people like to travel by car. It is interesting too, because you can see many sights in a short time, you can stop when and where you like, you do not have to buy tickets or carry your suitcases.

A very popular means of travelling is hiking. It is travelling on foot. Walking tours are very interesting. Hitch-hiking is a very popular method of travelling among young people. But it is not as popular in our country as abroad.
Ancient Cities of the world

Ancient Cities and Their Environment Ancient communities and urban centers have shaped the way that we as human beings have lived for thousands of years. These cities helped guide us in a direction that we have grown accustomed to by creating big urban centers that thousands of people live and work. In ancient times these cities were strategically placed in places that would give them an environmental advantage over other rival cities. Both the city and the environment that they were built in had many relationships that helped them thrive and grow into huge urban centers that could support thousands of citizens. Water ways, metallurgy, and trade were the three most important factors for these ancient urban centers to thrive. Water is the most important resource that any city or town can have. It gives us life, we can use it as transportation, and it helps grow food. All of these ancient urban centers are built on a major water ways that helped them to survive and thrive in whatever type of climate they were built in. Cities like Thebes in Egypt were built along the Nile River and they used it for many things other than drinking water. Ancient Egypt is located in the Sahara desert and is a very hot and dry climate where plants don’t normally thrive. The area around the Nile is very fertile land that can grow crops and support thousands of people. However, there plants would not get water and die. The Egyptians to combat this used irrigation or strategically dug ditches or banks to bring water to their crops. “They constructed a network of earthen banks, some parallel to the river and some perpendicular to it that formed basins of various sizes. Regulated sluices would direct floodwater into a basin, where it would sit for a month or so until the soil was saturated. Then the remaining water would be drained off to a basin down-gradient or to a nearby canal, and the farmers of the drained plot would plant their crops.” (Postel). By building on a waterway it created a relationship between the ancient cities and waterways that helped the Egyptians thrive for more than 5,000 years. Metal in ancient times was used for tools to help make everyday tasks easier, for weapons for warfare, and for prestige statues in their cities. Resources in ancient times helped cities thrive because of the trade value that each type of resource has. West Africa is rich in many different types of metals and is what their economy was built aound.

Historical places of our country

Khiva

The small slave trader settlement of Khiva encapsulates the best of Central Asian architecture within its mud-brick fortress walls. In the 19th century, Khiva remained out of reach for Russian colonial troops due to its remote location in the Kyzylkum desert, meaning it is well-preserved.

The Kalta Minor minaret dates from the 19th century and was supposed to rival the Kalan minaret in Bukhara. However, it remains unfinished after the architect fled out of fear of being killed by the khan. More than the shape, though, it’s the pattern-glazed tiles in shimmering turquoise, white and yellow that make the minaret worth visiting.

Khiva is tiny (home to just 90,000 people), so it’s worth exploring further. The best side trip goes to the desert fortresses of Khwarezm: impressive, lonely relics rising up from the barren floor, these were once flourishing settlements until the course of the life-giving Amu Darya river changed and left them parched and deserted.

Capital city of Uzbekistan

After a devastating earthquake in 1966, Tashkent was rebuilt by authorities to become the “beacon of Soviet power in the East” that would “light the socialist path to prosperity for neighbouring peoples of Asia.” A city built on a monumental scale, Tashkent offers a fascinating blend of 20th-century Oriental Brutalist architecture, medieval mausoleums and a fast-paced modern metropolis.

Besides monumental structures, Tashkent is also the place to indulge in some fine food – for instance, the capital’s 100 000-strong Korean community ensures delicious Korean-Uzbek food is not hard to find.

Few museums in Uzbekistan are worth your time; Tashkent is the exception. The Fine Arts Museum is stunning from the outside, but inside the visual feast continues, with an exquisite assembly of the best silk, woodcarving, suzani weaving, ceramics and jewellery.

Tashkent’s State Museum of History is another must-visit, if only for the spectacular shape of the former Lenin museum. It’s the place to really get a grasp on the long and diverse history of this land (but take a guide along, the museum’s English-language explainers are not very helpful). If possible, visit the museum at the end of your trip: you’ll get so much more out of the exhibits when you have been to the places they came from and understand the historical context, not just academically, but emotionally.

The place where I was born.

I was born in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is a multinational country. The two main languages are Uzbek and Russian but you will also hear several other languages including Korean, English, German, Tajik and Turkish. Besides the Uzbek population, Uzbekistan contains many other nationalities, all with their own mode of life.

People in Uzbekistan wear different types of clothes. In villages you will observe women wearing traditional clothes like long variegated dresses and scarves. In cities they are less traditional and more modern.  Men wear pants more often than jeans. Shorts are worn rather rarely and usually only by people in the city.

Being a guest or inviting someone into your home is a big thing in Uzbekistan. People will often visit a friend or neighbor without a special reason. Uzbek people are known to be very hospitable and find it an honor to have a guest in their home. There are even special seating arrangements for guests. The eldest person or honored guest is usually invited to sit at the head of the table, away from the door.

Great Britain

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. It consists of four parts: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. England, Wales and Scotland occupy the territory of Great Britain. Northern Ireland is situated in the north­ern part of Ireland.

The territory of the United Kingdom is about 244,000 square kilometres, it takes the 75th place among other countries in the world. The population is more than 57 million. About 80% of the population is urban. The capi­tal of the country is London. Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel which is 34 km wide in its narrowest point. The country is also washed by the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

The surface of Great Britain varies greatly. The north­ern and western part of the country is mountainous and is called the Highlands. All the rest (south, east and cen­tre) is a vast plain which is called the Lowlands. The mountains are not very high. The rivers are not long. The most important of them are the Severn, the Thames, the Trent . There are many beautiful lakes in the mountainous parts of the country.

Big cities of Great Britain

Other big and famous cities of the United Kingdom are Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, Belfast and others. They are famous for its companies, unique character and history. Birmingham is long famous as an international business centre. It has developed into a modern and exciting city, which buildings and shops are second to none. Birmingham is at heart of Britain's motorway system. Massive post-war development brought exciting new buildings, but the best of the old ones have been preserved. The city's museum and art gallery has some of the finest examples of European painting. Birmingnam's ultra-modern library is one of the largest and best stocked in Europe and includes the Shakespeare Memorial Library with 40,000 books in 90 languages. The city possesses several interesting churches and two cathedrals.

The USA

The United States contains a highly diverse population. Unlike a country such as China that largely incorporated indigenous peoples, the United States has a diversity that to a great degree has come from an immense and sustained global immigration. Probably no other country has a wider range of racial, ethnic, and cultural types than does the United States. In addition to the presence of surviving Native Americans (including American Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos) and the descendants of Africans taken as enslaved persons to the New World, the national character has been enriched, tested, and constantly redefined by the tens of millions of immigrants who by and large have come to America hoping for greater social, political, and economic opportunities than they had in the places they left. (It should be noted that although the terms “America” and “Americans” are often used as synonyms for the United States and its citizens, respectively, they are also used in a broader sense for North, South, and Central America collectively and their citizens.)

The United States is the world’s greatest economic power, measured in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). The nation’s wealth is partly a reflection of its rich natural resources and its enormous agricultural output, but it owes more to the country’s highly developed industry. Despite its relative economic self-sufficiency in many areas, the United States is the most important single factor in world trade by virtue of the sheer size of its economy. Its exports and imports represent major proportions of the world total. The United States also impinges on the global economy as a source of and as a destination for investment capital. The country continues to sustain an economic life that is more diversified than any other on Earth, providing the majority of its people with one of the world’s highest standards of living.

Culture

Cultures are what making the country unique and interesting. Each country has different cultural activities and cultural rituals. Culture includes material goods, the things the people use and produce. Culture is also the beliefs and values of the people and the ways they think about and understand the world and their own lives.

Different countries have different cultures. For example, some older Japanese people wear kimonos, arrange flowers in vases, and have tea ceremonies. Some countries oppose some things in their culture, like discrimination or religion.

Culture can also vary within a region, society or sub group. A workplace may have a specific culture that sets it apart from similar workplaces. A region of a country may have a different culture than the rest of the country. For example, in a large country like China or Canada a region may have a distinctive way of talking, different types of music, and different types of dances.

A group who acts or speaks differently may be said to be, or have, a subculture.

Ethnic groups such as the Romani people in Europe have a distinct culture.

Customs and traditions

Traditions and customs of Uzbek people remained almost unchanged despite the desire of many invaders to impose alien culture on. The Arabs had the greatest influence on Uzbek customs and traditions, through the expansion of Islam throughout Central Asia. Islam traditions were closely intertwined with pre-Islamic beliefs and traditions, local culture, and firmly settled in the mode and minds of the Uzbek people.

Centuries-old customs and traditions of the Uzbek people are carefully maintained and passed on from generation to generation. Like many Asian nations, most festive Uzbek customs are related with major family celebrations: wedding and birth. These events include many rites and rituals, involving parents, children, brothers, sisters, immediate and remote relatives even neighbors and guests, each one has its own role. Uzbek traditions are based on hospitality, respect for elders, collectivism, manifested especially vividly in makhallas (Uzbek residential quarters) – repository of age-old national basis.

Meals

Breakfast is the first meal of a day, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work. Some believe it to be the most important meal of the day.^[4] The word breakfast literally refers to breaking the fasting period of the prior night.^[5]

Breakfast foods vary widely from place to place, but often include carbohydrates such as grains or cereals, fruit, vegetables, protein foods like eggs, meat or fish, and beverages such as tea, coffee, milk, or fruit juice, juices often taken first of all. Coffee, milk, tea, juice, breakfast cereals, pancakes, waffles, sausages, French toast, bacon, sweetened breads, fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, baked beans, muffins, crumpets and toast with butter, margarine, jam or marmalade are common examples of Western breakfast foods, though a large range of preparations and ingredients are associated with breakfast globally

English meals

The two substantial meals of the day are lunch and dinner. Lunch is usually taken at one o'clock. For many people lunch is a quick meal. Office workers usually go to a cafe at this time. They take fish, poultry or cold meat (beef, mutton, veal and ham), boiled or fried potatoes and all sorts of salad. They may have a mutton chop or steak and chips, followed by biscuits and a cup of coffee. Some people like a glass of light beer with lunch. Pubs also serve good, cheap food. School children can have a hot meal at school. Some of them just bring a snack from home.

Tea is very popular among the English; it may almost be called their national drink. Tea is welcome in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening. The English like it b and fresh made. The English put one tea-spoonful of tea for each person. Tea means two things. It is a drink and a meal. Some people have afternoon tea, so called «high tea» with sandwiches, tomatoes and salad, a tin of apricots, pears or pineapples and cakes, and, of course a cup of tea. That is what they call good tea. It is a substantial meal.

National meals of Uzbekistan

Among dishes taken from other nations there are roast, kebab, bogursak, straws, pelmeni (meat dumpling), manti, lagman and etc. However in turn such native Uzbek food as plov, dimlama, buglama, shurpa, mastava and many others are served at tables of many countries of the world. Due to warm climate rich harvests of grain and legumes (green gram, pea) are gathered, and great variety of fruits, vegetables, grape, watermelons, melons, gourds, greens, berries and nuts raise here. All this gastronomical splendor is used in preparation of Uzbek food.

Pastry and sour-milk dishes take an important place in Uzbek food. The national Uzbek food is characterized with wide use of meat: mutton, beef and horse meat. By the way, different regions of the country cook in their own way. On the north the preference is given to plov, roasted meat, pastry and lepeshka (bread). On the south people prepare wide variety of complex dishes of rice and vegetables and also make excellent desserts.

Uzbeks generally eat by hand and sit at the floor or at the low table – dastarkhan. At the beginning the table is served with sweets and fruits. Later it is served with vegetables and salads. Then it is the turn of soups – savory shurpa, thick mastava, etc. Repast is finished with main dishes – manti, lagman, shashlik and plov.

Uzbek food is probably one of the main sights of Uzbekistan, which will become the discovery for all gourmets.