After leaving CIE Tatiana returned to Tajikistan where she did some freelancing and helped the international school, where she had worked before, to prepare for accreditation.

She then went to Israel for an education training course with Mashav before looking for new opportunities.  After looking at possibilities in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and China, she decided to take a position in China.  She spent several years teaching in an international school in Wuhan where she taught first and second grade students.  The children were from many different countries.

In China she met her future husband, whom she later followed to his home in France.  She is now happily married and lives in Normandy.  There she volunteers at a charity organization working with refugees, teaching French.  Interestingly, most of the refugees at the moment are from Afghanistan, the country bordering Tajikistan, and the country were Tatiana was born and lived before moving to France. Much of the work involves helping the refugees do the paperwork needed to seek asylum.

Since 2013, Tatiana has been involved with the Christian Women’s Leadership conference, which focusses on women from Central Asia, and more recently has included women from Asia and Africa. In 2022 she attended their conference in Turkey. At the conference Tatiana worked as a translator and helped with conference organization.  She commented that it “was just great to be part of this organization – amazing women, incredible stories.”

When not working, she enjoys gardening and making crafts and is teaching English to French children at the local library. [3-23]