Editor’s note: As part of an ongoing series, The MV Times is sharing the stories of some of the hundreds of students who received permission to work in the country under the exchange visitor visa, commonly known as J-1. We started with Tinatini Dvali, who came to us with the idea for this series. Her hope is that Islanders and visitors understand that J-1 students are more than workers, but an important thread in the fabric of Island life and culture. This time, we spoke with Dovran Eymirov and Didar Tajiyev, a pair of best friends from the same country who made the Island their home this summer.
Dovran Eymirov and Didar Tajiyev have been best friends since 2020, but have known each other for much longer. They’re both from Turkmenistan, a Central Asian country with tense ties to America (citizens of the country are currently under a travel ban by President Donald Trump), but they have spent much of their college years traveling. Working on Martha’s Vineyard for the summer in 2024 was a happy accident for them, and they enjoyed it so much that they returned. They are just finishing their second summer here.
“Martha’s Vineyard reminds me of my hometown, because it’s small and everybody knows each other,” Tajiyev said as he sat on a bench in Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs. He and Eymirov grew up in a coastal city called Turkmenbashy. “In every street, or every avenue, I meet friends.”
Eymirov, 24, and Tajiyev, 23, worked at the Fish House M.V. during the day, and then Back Door Donuts at night. In the mornings, they walked from their house on Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road to hop onto the No. 13 bus, head to their first shift, then navigate to Oak Bluffs for their shift at 5 pm, where they made and sold doughnuts to hungry late-night revelers until about one in the morning. Over the summer, they had one day off a week, but not the same one, since they’re the only two “fryers” of the doughnuts that locals and seasonal visitors line up to eat.
“We can’t have more days off — otherwise people won’t have doughnuts!” Eymirov exclaimed with a laugh.
Both Eymirov and Tajiyev described their first year on-Island — last year — as one of awe and adjustment. They only applied to work on the Vineyard because one of their closest friends had convinced them to. And the way they explained it, their friend was here on a whim as well. The Island was not a place they would have chosen to work, but they both said they were elated that they did.
“Usually J-1 students have this ability to choose,” Eymirov said. “In our case, it’s as if the Island chose us.”
When they first stepped off the boat last year, Eymirov and Tajiyev had different experiences, but both described a sense of wonder when seeing the Vineyard. Eymirov had spent a year in a study-abroad program in Texas a few years prior, and felt confident in his ability to navigate this new place. But he said he was a bit stunned seeing how different the Island was from the other parts of America.
“It felt kind of surreal. [There were] very bright colors, and also an arcade,” Eymirov said as he gestured to the houses around the park. “I was like, ‘Am I in a Disneyland kind of setting?’”
Tajiyev joined him soon afterward, and experienced even more of a culture shock. He was still learning the English language, and hearing people speak in different accents here was even more confusing. But when he first arrived in Boston and felt lost, he said he was stunned by how kind people were. People showed him around, helped him navigate the city, and pointed him in the right direction to head to the Island at last.
“We walked around, saw a lot of beautiful buildings, and met people. I felt like I was a movie character,” Tajiyev said as he smiled warmly at the memory.
This summer, both Eymirov and Tajiyev said they came knowing what to expect, and were more prepared. The only aspect they knew would be a challenge was housing. They didn’t have solid housing through either of their workplaces, and had heard horror stories from other J-1s. So as soon as they arrived, they started knocking on doors, asking homeowners if they had a room for rent.
A few homeowners almost offered them rooms on the spot, but eventually their manager at Back Door Donuts, Sam Ahmad, found them something stable through a friend of a friend.
Their housing for the summer was beautiful, they said. It was right by the Lagoon with a view of the water. But they couldn’t say the same for some other places they had seen. One of the options they toured was a house in Oak Bluffs that had six mattresses on the floor. The landlord said he could find a spot for another mattress if they didn’t find anything. They described it as ramshackle — there were no utensils or kitchen items, just a stove, mattresses, and personal items from other J-1 students who lived there.
“J-1s struggle with housing a lot,” Eymirov said. “There’s no way there’s no room for us … We come here as J-1 students, we contribute, and we bring some diversity to the Island. Our only, sole goal is to earn money to see the U.S., and to experience Fourth of July here and meet American people. And some people, like Didar, improve their language.”
Tajiyev and Eymirov said they’ve loved spending summers on the Island, working with the community, and providing services. They said they hope more people are aware of the conditions some J-1 students are living in. They clarified that they’re grateful they found a safe space to spend the hustle and bustle of the warmest months of the year.
“The kitchen [staff] from Back Door, they’re from all over the world,” Eymirov said. “We’re literally like a family … The Island is filled with J-1 students, so we all kind of understand one another and our struggles.”
At the end of August, both of them go back to other countries and to school, where they have two years before graduating. Eymirov lives in Lithuania and attends Kaunas University of Technology, and Tajiyev is in graduate school of management at Saint-Petersburg State University in Russia. Both are pursuing business management.
While they will spend the next several years in school, their dream is to see the world together — and they’ve already accomplished their goal of seeing the U.S.
“We are happy to be here — to work for people, to make them happy,” Tajiyev added. “It’s a pleasure for us to make people happy.”