Week 2: Bet on It, Bet on It (A “Bazaar” Day)
~Special Edition~: I get bet on, visit the Korvon Bazaar, and eat healthy food. Three very exciting things to occur in Tajikistan.
Because I had limited WiFi in Dushanbe, I decided to journal everyday and upload blog posts / highlights after I returned. Warning: it might be a mix of at-the-time journaling with current comments I add. And don't count on the tenses being consistent; I was tired every day in Tajikistan!
I’ll be breaking these up into weekly posts, with key events or days that made my Tajikistan experience special. I hope you enjoy reminiscing with me on my six-week journey. I miss it already. :)
Itinerary
6/28: 1st Full Day, Walking Tour of Dushanbe**
6/29: Embassy Visit*
6/30: Bet on It, Bet on It (A “Bazaar” Day)***
7/1: Hazrati-Mavlono Shrine, American Corner
7/2: Meeting Family / Neighbors*
7/3: ~Normal Day~
7/4: Mantu-Making, 4th of July Party**
* partial day described; ** whole day; *** whole day in separate post
POSTS
6/30 - Bet on It, Bet on It (“Bazaar” Day)
We went to Korvon Bazaar in the morning! It was GIGANTIC, with at least 10 different doors. It's like a labyrinth of walkways and alleys, selling anything from teapots to gigantic carvings to fresh non. Tiffany, Mikaela and I looked for fabrics to get our dresses made by the seamstress, and we miraculously found the fabric section of the bazaar. I found this really cute pink-based, floral cloth (3 meters) for 100c that I bargained down from 110c! Other people got theirs for less, but mine had rhinestones (my excuse for being a poor bargainer). I also got 3 magnets, bargained from 15 to 10c. Soon, we headed to lunch at an Iranian restaurant near Rokhat Teahouse, the best meal I’ve had in awhile: chicken, saffron rice, some beans/lentils. After that, I went to Rudaki Plaza, where I picked up medicine and brought back an angel bun from the Korean bakery for my family, which we shared at home!
Late afternoon, we headed to Carly’s apartment so she could make food for us, and we could get a break from heavy Tajiki food. I was feeling quiet & a little sad, but her dinner was absolutely delicious - pasta salad with cheese and veggies, chicken, and also yogurt with strawberries and BANANAS. I missed bananas so much; I think my family doesn’t like them.
Everyone scrolled through the funny channels on her TV. After that, we went to the outdoor Tajik/French music concert! I bought the 1c ice cream and sat by the fountain with Mikaela and Tiffany. A few Tajik men sitting next to us kept looking at us and took pictures of us, which was weird - they left after a while. Soon, we met Behruz, a FLEX student who had gone to Iowa and has AWESOME English. We chatted with him and with his friend Sino. So a couple of things:
Remember those picture guys? Well one of them came back to ask Behruz something, because they had placed a bet - if we were from Tajikistan, the guy’s friend would win his phone; if he wasn’t, he would. Pretty stupid bet that he won, since at least Mikaela and I don’t look near Central Asian. But the weird/funny thing is that they thought we were speaking Chinese since I look Chinese and was the one sitting closest to them. Yes, so the dude won the bet but thought I was Chinese... Behruz was so chill about it: “She’s from America, duhhh! It’s English!”
So, Behruz said that Sino told him he thought I was “зебо" - pretty. And I didn’t know how to react: “ah раҳмат?" I wasn’t sure what to say… Behruz, sort of surprised at my nonchalant reaction, explained that Tajik guys normally don’t say those things out loud and it’s unusual for them to pay compliments. So then I was just embarrassed because you’d think he’d say that to anyone other girl in my group. I think his statement is skewed, possibly, because of the social norms: before, I had leaned in a bit when I asked him to repeat his name because I wanted to remember it...? Is body language really different here, or no? Was a being too “friendly” or something? Hm. Not sure.
Anyways, meeting these new people turned my day around. I was feeling depressed since no one wanted to be my partner at the bazaar, and sad at just how it takes a long time for me to open up and have someone know who I am. In other words, I think I don’t outwardly express my true personality yet, and others don’t know what to make of me, so they don’t bother much at all. But I’m used to that.
After that though, I was smiling and laughing as we stood in a circle and watched Maggie and Behruz do the whip and nae-nae, Tiffany point to the trash can and say that’s what Mehroj is, and everything. For some reason, they thought it was shockingly hilarious whenever we knew a bit of Tajiki - номи тоҷикӣ ман Аниса аст. Or when he wanted to take a vid of us saying салом to a exchange student friend, and we didn’t start, and I said бахшиш. At some point, I also showed Ian my verb cards (we're nerds. But they were more шавковар than the music, no offense). We went home in high spirits!
But then, I think my pastry from Rudaki Plaza wasn’t the best idea, because then Muharam, to return the gift I guess, had Firuza take me to the Plaza AGAIN to buy a HUGE cake, which we ate at home at 10 pm at night. She was going to give me 2 HUGE slices, but I whittled it down to one. And, Firuza asked me if I liked cola, and I said Sprite - so lo and behold, a 1L bottle of sprite. Just for me!
On our walk to and from Plaza, we raced. I don’t think I’m athletically inclined, to say the least, but it wasn’t hard to run faster than Firuza - maybe girls don’t do as much exercise here. Oh, and I passed local coordinator + co. (classmates) TWICE and I nearly had a heart attack because I can only go out after 6 pm curfew with an adult. Nothing happened though, thank goodness.
I finally went home, showered, had Firuza in my room for a while, then fell asleep with my light on, things strewn on my bed, in a weird angle. I woke up spontaneously at 3 am to charge my phones and actually get under the covers. Whoops. I guess after being betted on, being called "pretty" unironically, and eating cake late at night, I was pretty beat.
Stay tuned for Week 3, when I really begin adapting to life in Tajikistan!
