Jackson Free Press

"In my country," Saidamirkhon Rakhimov begins, then stops himself, smiling. "My friends are always making fun of me for saying 'in my country,' he says, leaning back into his chair, momentarily distracted by the muted soccer game playing above my head. Said's country is Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic just north of Afghanistan. Said grew up in Tashkent, the capital city, and earned a master's degree in international law from Tashkent State University of Law.

Until last November, the 25-year-old was teaching law at his alma mater, though he always knew that he wanted to pursue a higher degree. "His country" was not the best place to study international public law and human rights, however, so he began looking for political science programs in the United States that would prepare him for an eventual juris doctorate degree.

"I had a map, and I knew the name—the Mississippi River—it sounded familiar to me, so I said, 'let's check the Internet for universities,' Said says.

He arrived at JFK airport on a blustery November day where he caught a quick glimpse of Gotham and a Yankee autumn before boarding a Greyhound bus bound for Dixie. Twenty-six hours and seven states later, Said reached his new Jackson home.

Today, you're most likely to find him studying political science, practicing for the LSAT, playing soccer in Liberty Park in Madison or working at Jerusalem Café in Fondren. It can be difficult to be the only Uzbekistani in the Jackson area, Said says, but being "a foreigner" has not prevented him from making a slew of new friends. He points to the contacts list on his black cell phone and says: "When I first got here, I had maybe five or six names." Now he has 67. "For me, it's the same with Americans or people from some other country. If they're a good person, that's enough," he says.

Washington, D.C., Nashville and Atlanta are just a few of the cities Said has visited over the past 12 months. Wherever he goes, friends tease him for choosing such an unusual location to live. "Where do you live? In Michael Jackson?" they say.

"Maybe because of the people, maybe because it's the first place where I stayed for a long time by myself, maybe it's because of my friends … I can't explain it," Said says, noting that he enjoys sticking up for Jackson. Though he does not know exactly how long he will be here, Said is certain of one thing: A year is not enough.

"I know that New York City is the number one city—one of the best cities in the world," he says with a dashing smile, "but I'm always happy to come back to Jackson."