Week 5: A Critical Point

This title is totally not a pun based off calculus. Basically, this week was a roller-coaster, to say the least.

ITINERARY

7/19 - Castles and Clothing**

7/20-22: Weekend Trip***

7/23 - Sick.*

7/24 - The Best and Worst Day of NSLI-Y**

7/25 - A Brief Health/Weather/Fashion Report*

Because I had limited WiFi in Dushanbe, I decided to journal everyday and upload blog posts / highlights after I returned! 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. :)

POSTS

Week 1: Welcome to Dushanbe

Week 1: 1st Day with My Host Family! (Рӯзи Аввал бо Оила мизбонам) - full day

Week 2: Easing In, оҳиста, оҳиста...

Week 2: Bet on It, Bet on It (A “Bazaar” Day)

Week 3: Tests, Dictionaries, Other Nerdy Things

Week 3: Embassy PARTAY & Hike!!!

Week 4: Hitting My Stride

Week 4: My Big Fat Tajik Wedding

Week 5: A Critical Point

7/19 - Castles and Clothing

After class today, we went to Kokh-Navruz, a palace-type structure with beautiful carvings (кандакор), mosaics (хотамкорӣ), chandeliers (чилчароғ), and lapis lazuli, among other precious stones. Of course, there was lots of decorations that were тилло, gold, and нуқрагин, silver-colored. Kokh Navruz was opened near the holiday of Navruz, which is why it’s called that! The “palace” is often used for important government and diplomatic meetings, and was opened relatively recently, a few years ago. There was also a bowling alley tucked in the corner (I guess for when government officials need to take a break?), but we unfortunately didn’t go bowling.

After the кох, we went to Elaine’s to try on the dresses/pants of our tailored Tajik outfits, and everyone was so cute!!! Farida didn’t put on the sleeves yet, so they wanted to see if there should be any last minute changes. I also saw their little sheep, гусфандак, and gave them measurements for JieJie’s dress! I hope they make it big enough - they sort of based it on my ченакҳо (measurements), though I did have a few from JieJie.

I went home and tried to pack a bit -- isn’t that sad? I had to think about heading back to the US soon -- but Amina (Hilola’s sister / my host cousin) was loitering in my room. At first she was cute, doing makeup terribly on me. But then, I had to go out to the store with that makeup and buy Coca-Cola for us. I was a bit too nice to her, so she kept trying to take my money and my phone, and kept asking me to give them to her permanently. For dinner, she brought osh in, but I was supposed to eat later outside, so my host mom got a little mad at her. I did meet my host mom’s brother’s daughter, who chatted with me kindly, and knew some English too!

To close out the night, I exercised a bit and showered, then went to sleep.

7/23 - Sick.

(I got sick, aka Tajik tummy, on the Iskanderkul trip -- check out that post soon for more details)

I woke up at almost 8! Didn’t eat breakfast! Headed to class!

Sorry about this, just know I was slightly incapacitated and delirious the whole time.

After class, we had a brief group meeting, and then got some WiFi time, so a couple of us enjoyed the fresh AC office WiFi and the fresh AC (I know I’m funny). After that, Maggie, Mikaela and I walked to Elaine’s house to pick up our dresses! We all looked super cute, and did get some curious looks from passersby.

For dinner, I was only able to drink the liquid from the soup and ate the chickpeas. It was a good time.

7/24 - The Best and Worst Day of NSLI-Y

I woke up a little early today to finish up some grammar points notes in my notebook. For breakfast, I ate a boiled egg for breakfast (couldn’t really stomach much else). On the way to school, I grabbed some water at the corner shop, and apparently some men said ni hao to me, but I tuned them out.

Class was great! Unfortunately, I had a nervous breakdown caused by 1) dizziness 2) lack of water and/or food in my body 3) stress 4) self-degradation, since my teacher was asking me to answer a question when my brain refused to respond to my pleads. So, I excused myself and stayed in the bathroom for half an hour.

Carly was a wonderful RD - she talked to me when I was crying, bought me a GIGANTIC water bottle and Korean pastries. I gave her a hug to thank her! I also took a brief 10 min nap after lunch in the air conditioning. A few details from our afternoon class:

⁃ Rayyan making up a candy cane story

⁃ The weird man-frog picture of Elaine

⁃ Ranking of waters in Tajikistan (water bottle brands)

After class, dance was cancelled, so instead, a couple of us went to American Space to discuss our final project. Strangely enough, there was a concert going on there, so we went to the AC office, but there was no room there! FINALLY, we decided to go to the tiny Korean bakery at Rudaki Plaza, but then Elaine kept taking pictures with my glasses and with Snow, so Yannick got pissed off, and it was HILARIOUS.

We also stopped at the bookstore next to Rudaki, where I bought a map of Tajikistan and a Rumi book. After walking home, Mikaela came over to my little guesthouse since her family didn’t answer the door, but then my fan started smoking. So we went to Rudaki AGAIN, where I got a choco latte (a cold hot chocolate, basically. I miss my American food), and we just chatted about anything! To round out this day of drama, the lady working at the bakery asked me if I stole a bun, since I was eating one that Carly had bought me earlier (do I look like a thief?!).

When I finally arrived home around 6:30 pm, in my room, there was another fan, and also Amina. I found out she was thirteen, when I initially thought she was nine, tops, because of how much she fooled around with me. Is this what it feels like to be an older sibling? Anyway, dinner was mantu! My family exclaimed, “we made it for you!” so I couldn’t refuse, even though I did not feel like eating.

You might think the day is over -- but wait, there’s more! I found out Amina had actually taken money from my phone case, so Firuza got it back for me and my family apologized. I soon showered, and for a little touch of homesickness, my mom called me on our brick cell-phones, and I told her all about my roller-coaster days of being sick.

Looking back, this was simultaneously my best and worst day of NSLI-Y. I had reached a tipping point in my health, daily living, language-learning -- but with the support of Carly, my friends, and my host family and real family, I was able to survive this whirlwind of a day in Tajikistan. If I could conquer this day, I could conquer any more obstacles that lay before me.

7/25 -A Brief Health/Weather/Fashion Report

Again, I could only nibble on yogurt and some bread. A couple of my classmates were ill as well… I took Mikaela’s electrolytes again to boost my immune system. Conveniently, class was about learning medical words, which we all needed at the moment. Oh right, we decided to wear our outfits today! At least I look okay, even if I don’t feel great (Just a disclaimer: period + шикамравӣ is not a good combination).

A couple of us went to the Korean bakery, where I bought a choco-latte and a big cream puff for 28c total!! When I got home, and the weather was so COOL. I mean, it still above 90, but compared to before?? Breezy. That’s how you know how hot the weather is in Tajikistan…

Oisha, my host cousin’s 2-year-old daughter, absolutely made my day at dinner. She was talking to herself, making up stories in Tajiki, and it was SO CUTE. It’s the little things that make harder days more bearable, right?