Week 6: CAT PICS!!! & A Busy Bee Week

This was my last full week in Tajikistan... How the time flies.

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

ITINERARY

7/26 - Friends n’ Family*

7/27 - Volunteering in Vahdat (Afghan-Refugee Edu Center)**

7/28 - SHOPPING SPREE!!**

7/29 - Ismaili Center*

7/30 - Lost and Found*

7/31 - Music &... My Family is Uzbek?!**

8/1 - Asia Plus & Chats*

7/26 - Friends n’ Family

I think everyone’s dropping like flies. Elaine wasn’t here because she’s sick, and Maggie showed up but slept in the other room because it has AC. Ava also was gone for half the morning since she wasn’t feeling well, and she went out with Carly to the Korean bakery. So, Mavjuda ended classes early throughout the day, so I went to AC, where the kitties crawled all over me and left paw prints everywhere on me -- which isn’t a bad thing, of course. Here's a compilation of cat pics from over the weeks:

We found out that we couldn’t go to the Gurminj Musical Instruments Museum because of an emergency meeting for Mehroj and Carly, so we all went to the Mirzo Tursonzoda Museum right near my house. I could actually understand a portion of what the lady said! Tursunzoda lived there from 1949-69! And he had lots of cool books and items he got from his travels, and in his writings, he wrote about those as well as friends, family, life, etc.

After that, I got a 2-somoni ice cream with everyone! Then a couple of us headed to Southern Fried Chicken, where we chatted about first impressions. I found out everyone thought I was scary in the beginning, which I’m a little sad about. Oh right, I split a chicken sandwich combo with Ava. In general, it was nice to spend time with my friends before heading back to the US the next week.

At home, I hung out with my family and ate some cute butterfly-shaped sambusas. Afterwards, like usual, I tried to study and fell asleep.

7/27 - Volunteering in Vahdat (Afghan-Refugee Education Center)

(I’ll post my official personal essay on this day soon. For now, this is an informal overview.)

I woke up slightly early to do some light exercise, just to get back into the swing of things now that I wasn’t dying of sickness. The test today wasn’t so bad, the practice OPI was a disappointment for me. I really could’ve done so much better, but I panicked and forgot the word for reporter, so I couldn’t do my scenario. I felt a little better, though, after I was able to talk to my classmates about Kafka, Ishiguro, and music!

At lunch, I grabbed ice cream with Tiffany, and after class, we drove to Vahdat! A CLS student tagged along (Norma?), and she had done research in Afghanistan for her Ph.D, including interviewing advisors from the US. At the Afghan-refugee education center in Vahdat, they had lost power, but everything proceeded as it should. Tiffany and I still went into a classroom for intermediate English learners. Most of them were from Afghanistan, and some were born in Pakistan due to immigration issues and the Taliban regime when it was in power. They had lived in these countries and also India -- and now Tajikistan! I especially remembered the humorous middle-aged man who asked lots of questions, and a girl who liked American songs and had a great American accent.

The students asked questions about:

our ideal guy
fashion (since that was one of their units)
Schools in US
America’s views on Afghanistan
women’s roles in Tajikistan vs. America
How we live in Tajikistan
Pop culture: Bollywood? Ed Sheeran? Taylor Swift?

and more! The teacher Salim was very kind, and he even offered us to be guests at his home to learn about Afghan culture. He also pointed out two Afghan students who looked East Asian, like myself. One sad thing that did happen was that the older man said he wanted to stand next to Miss America (Tiffany). I guess I’m… Miss China then. Nevertheless, I really wish we could’ve stayed longer, because I wanted to asked them so many more questions. I feel blessed to have had this opportunity to interact with people from a different part of the world that I’ve not had much exposure to before. It was a learning experience for me, just as it was for them. It’s about having these interactions that can gradually increase our mutual understanding and acceptance of each other.

7/28 - SHOPPING SPREE!!

I woke up at 6 to exercise today, and it felt great! After breakfast, I headed out with Firuza to go to Korvon. We walked about 5 minutes to a marshrutka stop, where we hopped on - I think I paid 3 somoni. The ride was surprisingly long, so I now know why my family wanted me to leave at seven am. Anyway, the bus driver said ni hao twice, once when I got on and left, so I guess he didn’t know how to say goodbye in Chinese. And he said this after I said I’m from America. I’m taking it in stride though!

At Korvon, we dropped by Firuza’s friend’s family’s stall, where they were selling blankets. At the bazaar, I bought a cardigan-vest from Turkey for my mom! The vendor was pretty fascinated by me and spoke some English with me.

After that, I bought some keychains, a teapot and four cups for me, and some for Mikaela. I was amused that in another store with fancy silverware, the TV was playing a Harry Potter movie. I convinced Firuza to take me to Door 1, because I swear Cooper got his knife near there. And I was right! It was actually a little ways down after Door 2, but I got a knife and sheath for my dad. Success! Gifts for everyone: achieved! After that, I bought ice cream for the two of us.

We looked around for a backpack for Oisha. Apparently she wants a specific style - sparkly but black. We couldn’t find it at the end, so we headed back on the marshrutka - but not without taking some photos!

After nearly getting my hand caught in the marshrutka door, we had a nice ride back home, passing by the Ismaili Somoni statue and dear ol’ Hotel Guliston (where we stayed before moving in with our host families!). The dynamic on the marshrutka was interesting. Firuza always got up for pretty much anyone except healthy young-ish men, and young men always gave up seats for older women and women with kids/lots of bags. I also see that in public transportation in China, but I don’t think those attitudes are as prevalent as they were before.

At home, I dropped off Mikaela’s wares at her house, then packed a little. After osh for lunch, I wrote down recipes for kasha and shirbirinj from my family! Yes!

Then, something really touching happened. My host family gave me a new blouse! It’s a little fancy with polka dots and sleeves, but it fit very well on me, I was so grateful, and I gave my host mom a big hug!! Soon, I got ready for TsUM and headed out around 3 pm. Carly and most of my classmates met in front of the Pet Institute, the big blue building along Rudaki. We walked together to TsUM, where I spent every cent I had on: two pairs of earrings (for my mom and sister); three wallets (gift-giving); a stone necklace; a bookmark (included); little statues for my grandparents; little music-man statue for my dad; two pomegranate pencil holders; a patterned cap; and two evil-eye bracelets for my friends.

The last two, I got from a different store but from the same young lady I saw at TsUM the first time, Nilufar! I was able to tell her it was my last time coming to TsUM because we’re going back to America. Even though she was not nice about my bargaining, I’ll still miss her (in a twisted kind of way).

After that, I was broke, but I split a choco cake with Tiffany at Segafredo’s, where the waiter was a young Russian teenage boy with braces, and he wrote “you’re welcome” in Russian on a napkin for Tiffany after she thanked him in Tajiki. Linguistic imperialism much?

Lucky for me, I caught a ride in Elaine’s taxi with Ian and Tiffany, and we went to Rudaki Plaza, where I spent my last 6c on a cold green tea. After some discussions later, and Elaine left earlier, I walked home and ate dinner. I chatted with my family, enjoyed Oisha’s presence, shared my cute doctor story from my test. That’s about as nerdy you can get, folks.

7/29 - Ismaili Center

All of us took a trip to the Ismaili Center Center today, where the FLEX Talks were occurring (like TED Talks for various FLEX alumni, Tajiks who’ve been on exchange to America). The center was so beautiful! We were walking around and taking pictures in the beautiful weather since we were early.

The talks included:

Bobby, about multitasking
Nona, about cultural differences, which was really interesting. One of the heads at AC, she’s interviewed 800+ students for FLEX! (Her speech talked about individualism vs. societal roles, community/socializing, parent-kid relationships)
Shuhrat, about helpful tools:

⁃ Pocket; Project Management: Asana; Lynda, LinkedIn Learned; Udemy, Udacity

⁃ PODCASTS: Stuff you should know, work life Adam grant, Revisionist History

Muna, about obtaining a job (where she travels to Belgium frequently!) by making a unique video resume, even though her “official” requisites didn’t match at first

One girl just came back from FLEX in a small town in Texas. We were ALL dying, especially Mikaela, because the girl had a stronger Texan accent than Mikaela, said her family was a “typical” Texan family with hunting/fishing, and said her favorite shirt was the one with YALL on it (the two L’s were boots).

After the talks were over, there was a snack break with desserts, and we took a tour of the Center, including the mosque. Information from what I’ve gathered from the Tajiki tour guide:

There are 5 minarets
Library with English, Tajiki, Russian, Farsi - books were gifts from the president
Ismaili Centers all over the world, including Canada!
The writing in Arabic script on the walls in turquoise/green (Firuza color?)
Cool hole/ceiling design to let in more light
Classes for English, Russian, etc, maybe 120 students a day.
For praying, maybe 900 people a day, but on Friday, a couple thousand (day of prayer)
Separate room for women to put their kids while praying
Square design on ceiling represents four sides / elements: dust, wind, water, fire! хок, бод, об, оташ!
Different designs on wooden floors were made from wood from different trees

Anyways, Gholib finally drove us back to AC after it all ended, and Mikaela and I got off early since there was a wasp in the marshrutka. We grabbed ice cream on the way back home --a trade-off with the wasp situation, perhaps.

(Psst: I loved dinner this day. Quinoa I think, and corn.)

7/30 - Lost and Found

After class today, Yannick, Mikaela and I took a taxi to Segafredo’s for 10 somoni, and we found out the driver’s brother lives in Nebraska, apparently. Small world, huh.

At Segafredo’s (in case you didn’t know, the only nice cafe nearby), we ordered an espresso for Yannick, and Mikaela got a cold coffee drink. The two of us split the grilled cheese and banana cake, and I got a pina colada. Overall, a satisfying meal! After joking about how I could possibly get drunk from the possibly alcoholic pina colada, I called a taxi (with some vague trouble) and it actually came!

We went back to AC with time to spare for our dance class. After that, I realized I lost my glasses and hat, but since we were heading to the Iranian restaurant for dinner, which was in the direction of Segafredo’s, I asked Mikaela to come with me to pick up my lost items from there.

Unfortunately, we got lost and it took a good while to cross the dangerous street.... so after twenty minutes, we finally made it. I strolled in cautiously and asked the waiter/manager in Tajiki - ба фикрам ки кепка ва айнак фармуш кардам. They had this knowing smile, and whipped out the objects from behind their desk. YES!!!! I was SO relieved. On the way back to the Iranian restaurant, the two of us dropped by a bookstore that had Harry Potter in Russian!!

At the restaurant, everyone was already eating. We ordered a chicken kabob and a rice platter and it was SO GOOD!!!!!! My stomach felt perfectly satisfied.

7/31 - Music &... My Family is Uzbek?!

(This morning, we found out that there was a car incident where two US citizen bikers were hit and killed in the Danghara district. )

After class, we went to the Gurminj Museum for Musical Instruments, where a guy showed us the instruments from different countries all over the world, even an erhu! He also played some for us, like the song Munojot on the rubob, and the setor. Gholib drove us home, and I bought a 3c ice cream on the way - the 1c is still the best, in my opinion.

At home, I helped make тушбера, but I wasn’t able to eat the fruits of our labor, because Muharam, Oisha and I took a taxi to Muharam’s younger sister’s house, where there was a bunch of women sitting around lots of food. Cue eating: mantu, snacks, potato/bean salad. Amidst all this, I FINALLY found out my host family is at least part-Uzbek and that they speak Uzbek... my family was just SUPER good at only speaking Adabi Tajiki to me. Anyway, I think the sister’s son is having a wedding with a woman named Aruz in September, so they showed everyone an entire treasure chest-ful, entire ROOM-ful, of gifts prepared for the bride, including 10+ sparkly dresses, loads of towel sets and bra sets, a whole rack of shoes, and other gift sets. Did I mention Oisha was so cute?

Muharam’s khola said all the prayers (holding your hands like a book, then washing your face) and she was really funny, praying that the new family would have a lot of mantu and all that. Did I mention one woman kept wanting to speak Russian to me? The khola also wanted to get me a husband, so there’s that.

I ate an entire banana (second of the day!), but didn’t drink the soup, since I had a toothache. Muharam called me out on not eating a lot... I feel attacked. At last, we took a taxi home around 8 pm, and I took a nap until 9:30. After showering, I wrote my 500-word essay until 12:30 am. This work-life balance thing really isn’t easy.

8/1 - Asia Plus & Chats

This morning, Mikaela and I ran into a guy on the way to Rudaki, who stopped us and told us he studied in Montana and was looking for an English conversation partner for his little sister. Seemed sketch…

During lunch today, I signed up for the OPI. After class, we went to Asia Plus, which was really cool - it’s an independent news station, which is pretty hard to come by in Tajikistan.

The woman in charge told us about various events they held to appeal to the public - a concert at the Aquapark for young people, a Mother’s Day event, and something for reading to kids. Later, we met Umed, the guy in charge of Asia Plus - there’s a radio, newspaper, etc. included in all their forms of media. He spoke English to us, which was sorta funny, especially since a couple of us were attempting speaking in Tajiki. I’m proud because I asked questions in Tajiki! Like why did you want to work at a newspaper, and what famous people have you met. Apparently, he met President Obama and the First Lady when they celebrated Novruz at the White House. Isn’t that so cool?!

Update on the Danghara situation: ISIS claimed they were responsible for the attack on the two Americans.

Mikaela and I walked home to grab ice cream and fill up our phone balances. Carly soon came over to ask me about the host family, house, etc. - program policy. But then, she stayed longer because my host mom brought an entire platter of watermelon and cookies and fruit and also kompot to my room, haha. So we chatted for a bit, and I asked her to answer a few questions for New Semantics Magazine! All in all, a fulfilling day in the last week leading up to our departure from Dushanbe.