Gochmyrat Gutlyyev - Feel yourself like at home

When at 2002 I was asked to be an expedition master for visiting my areas American scientist Victor Fet of Huntington, West Virginia, I did not expect to meet my future “khalypa” [1] “Khalypa” is Turkmen concept of a teacher, with philosophical and psychological meanings. It is more than a teacher in particular subject of study, or just a mentor. The person will be considered as a spiritual leader, giving lessons of life. . Not only on ecology and wildlife, but in writing as well.

Next year honorable Victor introduced me to other outstanding person. Steven G. Torres of Sacramento, California then became my host-advisor (and my future to-become-true friend) while my participation in exchange program with a residence in his part of USA. It looked like I became a family business for him, his wife Alison and their daughters and, of course, for Alison’s mother. Just during a long friendly conversation with them I started to put into fragmentary pieces some ideas “to deliver my folks’ mentality to a compassionate foreigner”. Moreover, much later, at 2017, even not knowing my inward inclinations to write, Steve and Alison created some conditions for me to concentrate full attention to finalize my essays, leaving aside routine chores, and to compose the present book. It was initially in Russian.

Then Victor and Steve, when I undertook myself to translate it, kindly agreed volunteering to correct my “self-learnt and vernacular” English and to transform it into proper and accurate lines.

I appreciate their efforts sincerely and whole-heartedly.

Let me repeat once again: in the beginning I put my thoughts and ideas into short sketches and fragmentary notes. Then for some period of time I nearly threw away all those text or left them on book shelf. Fortunately, at 2007 I was invited to participate in Central Euroasia Leadership Academy where I met Nancy Crossman. She was a story writer for a group, which I studied in. The lady chased me under every occasion with her endless questions regarding different sides of my folks’ mode of life. And made it in such friendly and tactful manner that I even did not intend to wonder: “why are you asking only me, not other members of Turkmenistan’s group?”. On the contrary, just thanks to her curiosity at the year I decided to try writing a full size book on the issue (Turkmen’ traditions and mentality).

Briefly, I am considering all above mentioned distinctive personalities as true inspirers of the book, if not direct co-authors of it.

Also I wish to thank my both sons Akmukhamed and Nowruz, who truly backed me up while crossing a hardship of recent years. And they still stand elbow-to-elbow with me in present days.

In 2004 I was contacted by a representative from the United States Department of State, who asked if I would be interested in participating in an international program that sponsors scientists from other countries. At that time, I was working for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife as a senior scientist overseeing over 50 statewide wildlife conservation projects, including those that benefited large and small mammals as well as endangered species and multi-species projects. The State Department official described to me a program administered through the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), a non-profit organization that helps facilitate education and leadership opportunities worldwide. After learning more about this interesting program, I agreed to host a visiting professional from Turkmenistan. I was especially enthusiastic to participate because seventeen years earlier in 1987, I co-hosted a visiting scientist, Dr. Victor Fet, and his family – coincidentally also from Turkmenistan. Dr. Fet edited and co-authored “Biogeography and Ecology of Turkmenistan,” the first book to detail the flora and fauna of Turkmenistan. As an ecologist and scientist, I became absolutely fascinated with this unique and ancient desert region that is home to so many important ancestral plant and animal species. The more I learned from Dr. Fet’s book, the more enthralled I became with the Turkmen culture and other parts of Central Asia. To many westerners, this area in general and the Turkmen culture in particular, are relatively unknown.

I will always remember the first time I met Gochmyrat Gutlyyev at the Sacramento airport, where he arrived after about two weeks of intensive training from the State Department in Washington, D.C. – a crash course about American culture and customs. Not knowing what he looked like, I stood beyond the security checkpoint holding a sign with his name on it. I scanned the sea of people coming off planes until at last, a slender, dark-haired fellow wearing a navy blue wool pea coat spotted my sign. He immediately broke into a huge grin, a smile that animated his entire face. “You must be Gochmyrat,” I said. After we greeted each other, we got his luggage and I drove him to my home. My daughters had decorated our front door with a homemade sign that said, in brightly colored crayon, “Welcome, Gochmyrat!” I was anxious to get to know Gochmyrat and I also felt a huge sense of responsibility because I wanted him to have a good experience in this international exchange program. I tried to picture how he must be feeling: I imagined myself coming to a country on the opposite side of the planet, a country about which I knew only what I had read and what a crash course had just taught me. Where would I even start? And what would it be like to stay with complete strangers?

The State Department official told me before Gochmyrat’s arrival that his areas of expertise and interest for this internship were wildlife conservation and cultural tourism. Accordingly, I arranged for Gochmyrat to travel the entire state of California to visit various wildlife management and habitat conservation projects. These projects included studying the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s methods for developing water sources for wildlife in the California deserts, as well as catching and handling mule deer, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, and endangered species for several conservation and research projects. I also arranged for Gochmyrat to participate in several helicopter wildlife surveys and capture projects throughout the state. So that Gochmyrat could get the widest range of cultural experiences with different people and projects, I decided not to accompany him on many of these trips. Instead, I arranged his travels so that he could work and live with each project leader. I was impressed with his ability to adapt to these different settings, people, and personalities. I was very pleased with the positive feedback I received from my colleagues who truly enjoyed working with Gochmyrat and having him meet their families. Gochmyrat had excellent English language skills and he quickly endeared himself to me, my family, other professionals and their families. As a side note, I should say that I consider myself to be an adaptable, adventurous person and I enjoy travels and new challenges. Yet I will admit to being humbled by Gochmyrat’s ability to adapt and take risks – he is even better at it than I am!

Gochmyrat’s visit was rewarding both professionally and personally. By the end of his visit, my colleagues and I (and our respective families) had developed a newfound knowledge about and respect for another part of the world – Central Asia in general, Turkmenistan in particular. We learned as much from Gochmyrat as perhaps he did from us. He was an excellent ambassador of his homeland, Turkmenistan. My colleagues and I developed an appreciation of the value of working with professionals and scientists from other countries. In fact, one of my colleagues, Dr. Vern Bleich, and I published a paper in a national wildlife science journal on the benefits of hosting international scientists. The editorial letter, called “On International Involvement in Wildlife Conservation,” was published in 2004 (Wildlife Society Bulletin 32:1013-1014). Gochmyrat’s visit ended with him having formed many friendships with scientists and their families, some of which will last a lifetime.

Over the past 15 years since his visit, Gochmyrat and I have stayed in frequent contact. He often sends me his writings, which I really enjoy. I have watched him blossom into a writer who can articulate the subtleties and nuances of different ethnic customs and cultures. In many of his essays, he contrasts Turkmen perspectives with that of other cultural perspectives. His work gives me new perspectives on my own country; as I read his essays, I can be an “outsider looking in” and I recognize that westerners can have a somewhat ethnocentric attitude. So often, people in modern countries feel the need to develop or modernize other, so-called “underdeveloped” countries. Gochmyrat’s writings remind me that we westerners might be better served by appreciating that Turkmenistan has been at the crossroads of civilizations for many centuries and that we have a lot to learn here.

This book demonstrates Gochmyrat’s devotion to preserving Turkmen traditions and promoting cultural understanding. His pride in Turkmenistan and in preserving its heritage is obvious, and his approach to using experiences and stories to do this is very interesting and effective. He hopes his book will serve as a starting point “for a conversation“ (to use Gochmyrat’s words) for a cultural guide to prepare for a visit to Turkmenistan, and to encourage teaching Turkmen culture to other guides as representatives of Turkmenistan. Most importantly, Gochmyrat encourages all of us scientists, world travelers, and global citizens to take time to treasure our own heritage and culture and to enjoy learning that of others, so that the world can be a better place.

In thinking about this collection of Gochmyrat’s essays, I am reminded of a quote that my dear friend, Dr. Victor Fet (now at Marshall University), is fond of reciting by 18th century Turkmen National Poet Makhtumkul: “Brotherhood is our custom, friendship is our law.”

It is my dream to someday visit my friend in Turkmenistan.

Even if the statement “sometimes for immediate effect it is best to begin a short story, a tale or mere conversation from it’s possible conclusion” is widely accepted, I am often inclined to use another, if not more, popular concept. The essence of this is paraphrased in the lyric “life is a ring, and ring has no beginning and has no end”.

It is not easy to explain how my dream to write this book was born, because with every passing day I get a stronger feeling that the idea has accompanied me for all of my life since childhood growing up in a remote multinational frontier town in Turkmenistan. Nevertheless, let’s start my story not from the end, but from the middle: In 2004 I was lucky enough to take part in an exchange program, within which I traveled “nearly on a foot tour” through several states of Pacific Coast of the United States. I was a guest, arriving from an unfamiliar country (of incomprehensible mentality and an unknown mode of life). This presented a serious riddle for Americans hosting me in their homes and families: how to receive me, what meals to offer, what to offer for entertainment during free time? As an illustration and to bring you a smile, let me share a small but expected example. Prior to my departure from Sacramento, California to southern California towards Mexican border, Leon Lesicka (my next hospitable partner and future friend-to-become) phoned to Steven Torres (my host advisor and newly friend, already) and requested to tell me: “please, tell him to talk in full voice, because Americans prefer a LOUD voice in conversations.” The honorable Mr. Leon did not know in advance that I possess a low voice and very sharp hearing, that’s why I would prefer to talk quietly. But on other hand, he did not know if I would be able to meet unknown company easily, and be able to communicate effectively. In my two weeks I stayed in the small Californian town of Brawley, nearly right on Mexican border.