My escapades with Duolingo never reached its full potential - so far.

For some reason, I used the language-learning app in a merry-go-round fashion.

Shifting from Spanish to French and German within a week, it was utter chaos.

I have not travelled extensively but when insidethegames gave me an opportunity to cover this year's International Boxing Association (IBA) Men's World Boxing Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, I thought I could survive with English.

Boy, I was so wrong.

The first sign of things to come happened during immigration at the Islam Karimov Tashkent International Airport.

After completing all formalities, my priority was to get a bottle of water and with that in mind, I politely asked a local waiting for his luggage to guide me after not being able to spot a shop.

I am not going to go into the details of the conversation, but to put it short, it took 45 minutes and talking to three other locals to finally quench my thirst.

The second sign was when I stepped out to try some local cuisine for lunch the next day.

A few metres down the road from the City Palace Hotel in Tashkent, a cute street food stall caught my eye.

I walked in, mouth-watering because of the smell of good meat, and asked for a menu.

The response was some words I never understood. So, I asked him: "Do you speak English?"

Like reading out a menu, the waiter replied: "Uzbek, Russian and Kazakh."

Pointing to the grill in the food stall, I asked him: "shawarma?"

The waiter replied: "shawarma."

And just like that, all problems were solved. It was only one word, but it felt like a bonding moment. Food is the universal language after all.

After devouring that juicy shawarma, I started walking back to get on with work, all excited for the Opening Ceremony the next day.

With no knowledge on what to expect, I started my day with the official draw of the tournament.

It was a wonderful sight to see so many sporting nations gather in one place, eagerly waiting to know their route to the top prize.

Before the draw, a brief speech from Russian IBA President Umar Kremlev was followed by a huge round of applause.

Once it was done, I decided to go to the next destination - the Humo Arena.

At this point, I had no organisers with me. After being dropped at the venue an hour before the start of the Opening Ceremony, I immediately started searching for the media tribune, to get settled for the first day of the Live Blog.

If only I knew this was going to be the third sign! The Humo Arena is massive, and I am assuming the area surrounding the state-of-the-art complex in the heart of Tashkent is equal to a 400 metres athletics track.

As I began my journey in search of the media tribune, the first volunteer I approached simply nodded her head and walked away. Maybe the poor soul was having her own problems.

And so, I started circling the arena, asking multiple volunteers to point me in the right direction.

Within no time, I realised that I reached the point where I first started.

Then on, it was round two, three, four and five. I spent almost an hour walking - race walking to be specific and I think I set a personal best - around the Humo Arena and realised that I was not closer to finding the media tribune.

I had five more minutes before the Opening Ceremony started. I was pondering plan B but thankfully, I found one volunteer who finally took me to the right place.

A few minutes of delay for the programme helped me. Exhausted, I started setting up my laptop, when I was told there is no wi-fi. Internet has been an issue in all my adventures in the Uzbek capital so far.

But all that disappeared when Daria, the IBA organiser, helped me with a hotspot.

What happened next was truly a sight to behold.

Volunteers were showcasing the rich cultural heritage of Uzbekistan through various dance forms.

The tournament was declared open by Kremlev and more dance and acrobatic performances stunned the audience inside the Humo Arena.

But it was the final act that was the cherry on the cake for me.

A live Boney M concert with some favourite tunes like Rasputin and Daddy Cool ensured that an eventful day ended in the best way possible.

It is only day two of my stay here, but I doubt the next two weeks can top this (sincerely hoping it does).