Tojik

This is the building, where I work. On the top floor that is. Yesterday, the guard prevented me from entering because he "didn't know me".
DAY 9:
Greetings from the Office. If you'd like to see where I work, this is the website:
http://www.hrt.tj/
This morning I came to the office, and there was nobody here, so I went to Sadbarg and bought a pair of house slippers. After living in Iran, I can't walk around the house without special home slippers. It's wonderful that you can come to work and find nobody there, so you get to leave until after lunch.
Tonight we will visit Port Said, the disco where most expats go to find russian pop and extravagant dancing. The expat extravaganza was great last night-but only 10 people showed up so we had to foot a 20 dollar bill each, which was ridiculous for dinner in Dushanbe.

Thefts/Winter Coming/Expat Extravaganza

Day 8:
I can't believe it's been only a week +1 day. I am at the office right now, working busily on translating Russian news about human rights in Tajikistan into English. This is good for my knowledge of Tajik government and my Russian skills, but I am waiting for more substantive work related to the annual report writing on the country's human rights situation. Did I tell you all that I found a new apartment near the center of town with a single Tajik woman. Her son visits on the weekend. It's a nice flat, but I'll be taking the bedroom and she'll take the living room, so it's not too big. It's the most modern place I've seen so far, but not too large. Tonight is the next installation of the Thursday night dinners for expats. I'm especially looking forward to tonight's dinner because it will be at DBD, the Iranian restaurant in Dushanbe. Yesterday was an adventure. Went with Christine to Gissar, the fortress about 20 kilometers outside of Dushanbe. I wasn't feeling that great, so I sat in the car. She went to the top, and while standing on the ledge, with only three people in view, she had 250 dollars stolen from her bag. We proceeded to find the two young boys who helped her up to the edge of the top of the fortress and tried to get the money back. The only other person on the ledge with her or in reach of her bag when it wasn't on her neck was the man who takes the money for viewing the fortress. We spent over an hour arguing and asking for our money back, but 250$ is a lot of money, and surely they had no interest in giving anything back. I actually pulled the ramazan card because I was soo tired of them lying to us, and I said to them in bad Tajik that I had had enough of such conversations about who was lying because it was ramadan. It was really quite unfortunate for Christine. Went last night for Iftaar to my old host family with Christine. She thought the food there was amazing. The pumpkin filled samosa were especially delicious. The parents were soo nice and even drove us home.
Winter's coming soon. It's getting cooler and cooler every morning. Every Tajik person says that Dushanbe is not so cold, but then I ask "as what?" and they reply Siberia, so I don't really know at all how bad it's going to get. I brought with me no winter clothing because I didnt want to take up space and I didn't know what the winter fashion was here. I decided I would buy the essentials here. Mavluda, my old host mother, wants to take me shopping on Saturday, and since I have been paid my first two weeks' salary in Tajik Somoni I have plenty of money to get the necessary clothes. The other question is how the Tajik women wear their dresses in the winter. I asked Mavluda yesterday and she said that they don't - that instead they wear Bryouki, or pants. I find this hard to believe. I guess since I don't plan anymore on going to the Pamir, that I shouldn't need anything too crazy.
For those of you wondering, I do have a cell phone, but it's from an awful company called MLT which takes money off of my prepaid card whenever I get a call or make a call. In other words, I'll call you, or you may continue to send me emails.
There's one book here for foreigners to learn Tajik, but they are charging nearly 30 dollars for it. I can't imagine paying this amount for a book here, but I also would like to have something that I can look at for Tajik in my non-existent spare time.
My camera batteries have died, and I am looking for the charger. Hope to bring you more photos soon.

Skamyeka.

This bench is wonderful! I often see young Tajik couples here, comfortably enjoying their conversations. I am reminded that Love makes all things possible, even sitting on this bench.

Day 5/some photos.

This is the little Minivan parked outside my temporary apartment.

My fridge.

This is my fridge. When you feel the air inside, you scoff and think that nothing could possibly be kept cold, but then when you leave your water bottle overnight - it's nearly ICE the next morning. The fridge also says Moskva on it, so I had to take a photo.

New Baby in the House.

As I wrote, I went to see my old host family. There's a new neice for my host mother. Here she is with the grandmother. The baby, at eight months crawls up a storm. Behind the baby is the Gavara, or the baby crib. It's an amazing contraption. As you can see, it's already covered with a red velvet thick cloth. Whenever the baby is asleep, the child is covered. This made me nervous, as I inherently wanted the child visible to make sure it was OK. They assumed, however, that the child was OK if there was no crying. Maybe they just assumed the child should sleep in the dark, and since there wasn't a separate room, they would put the thick cloth over the bed. Actually, the tajik gavara is an amazing cultural contraption because the baby never needs to wear diapers. The thing is made of wood, and then there's a small mattress of straw and then a second layer of cotton. In both of these mattresses, there's a hole and the baby uses the hole as a bed pan. In the hole, a jar with a plastic bag is placed - underneath the baby that is. The baby is then strapped into the crib so that it can't roll over or change position and a little plastic thing is placed on the baby so that it always does its business directly into the jar. The genuis is never having to change diapers, and for busy tajik women, they can basically leave the baby alone in a separate room while they cook or clean house. The negative is that the baby is completely strapped in and this may change the shape of the head, as it always must lie on its back.

Police Training Day

Here is a picture of the training room we were working in on Saturday. If you zoom in, you'll see lots of material on the wall about human rights in Russian. The lady at the front is Nigina. She's a champion and everyone knows the work she does for human rights in Tajikistan.

Vlasim Park

In the park of Vlasim.

- what a great castle. :)

in Vlasim.

Back in time a bit. Here is me in Vlasim, standing next to the statue of Vlasim? Ok, there wasn't anyone by that name for which the town is named, but...I loved this town center, and Adam kindlz took a photo of me. I am once again in my favorite shirt too.

Police Training and Birthday Party

Hello!
Day 4. Police Training in Varzob was a Trip! I really enjoyed the 10 hours of constant lecture in Russian. I learned a lot of words, or remembered them. The training location was amazing, and I will gladly go back for 10 more hours tomorrow. It was the first completely clean, smell free bathroom, kitchen, and dining room I have seen on such a trip. The scenery from the windows is amazing, only problem is sitting still most of the day and listening to lectures in Russian about basic human rights - definitely good for my language skills. Up till now, I've also been returning home to an apartment that only has russian and tajik language television channels, actually three channels only, and one of which is Russian Planet. I went to see my old host family last night for my host mother's birthday. The two bedroom apartment had 30 people in it, and about 6 girls under the age of 6 who were thrilled to see me. :) The grandma has moved in, which is one of the reasons I've been prompted not to return. Till later.

Arrived in Tajikistan - once again!

Hello Everyone,

I'm here, arrived in Dushanbe.! The flight got in at 3:30 am, but the airport didn't seem to expect us, because we waited on a packed bus that was driving us to the room that houses both the two luggage carousels, three windows/boxes for passport check and the immigration room. As some of you may know, I didnt have a visa when I arrived here! I can't imagine something more annoying than to arrive to a new place with no idea where you're going to live, who precisely is waiting for you, and how to get a visa when you're at the border. In any case, I waited on a line for about an hour and just as I was at the desk, I read a paper on the desk of the official which said in Russian letters, "Karin Andrew", I exclaimed that it was mine! I was really grateful to have seen that letter because they wouldn't otherwise perhaps have known who I was. In any case, I then got the visa put into the passport and sent into another room, where I handed over some more documents left for me, and the visa was signed and stamped. This was despite the fact that I didn't even have with me a photo. The official looked at me and said, "well, I need a photo, so what are we going to do?" I said, I didn't know and pretended to look for one. A minute later I exclaimed again that I had no photo. I sat back down, and was nonetheless issued a stamped visa. Apparently, the photo wasn't needed after all. Unfortunately for those of us arriving from Istanbul, we were only ten minutes before a second flight from Yekaterinburg. That flight though, mostly emigrant workers from Tajikistan, returning home from their jobs abroad, was definitely not the airport's priority. They had to wait until everyone from the Istanbul flight got through the passport check. And by wait, I mean they stood locked outside the glass doors of the passport check room for forty minutes with their noses pressed to the glass. By the time I got out of the visa room, I had to wait behind fifty men who smelled quite bad from their journey. Nonetheless, all the passengers from the Istanbul flight were still waiting for their luggage which was only then slowly coming out on the carousel. I left with my luggage shortly, to where they carefully made sure I had the right suitcase picked up. I politely told a British man that he was waiting behind the workers who were getting thorough customs inspections and that he had to push through the people towards the tiny door opening. He didn't believe me until I passed right by him, and the door guard let me through. As soon as I left the room, housing all the services, I was bombarded by men trying to take my luggage. One man, probably just wanting to assist me coming down a ramp, tried to grab my large red suitcase, but I yelled NO in some language or other and gave him a really bad look. I walked around the airport exit for about two minutes cursing myself because I didn't know if the people were there waiting for me or not, but soon enough, two very young guys asked me if I was Karin. I never thought the organizer of this adventure would be 25 or so, but it seems all the employees of this Bureau here are around 30 or much younger - some just out of college. That at least makes for a nice and relaxed working environment. They took me to my temporary apartment, which is near the main street Rudaki but a good thirty minutes by tram or bus to the office. I am alone just now in this apartment, and I really hate more than anything else being alone in a strange apartment. Last night I met some americans on the ACCELS program I went on last summer and I hope to possibly live with one of them...but it would mean paying upwards of 150 to 400 myself. Now, I am paying 15 dollars a night, which is exorbitant for Dushanbe. I also have the option of paying less and living far far out by the airport with a lady (sounds like your situation last year Mahdi) or with my old host family. I went this morning to see my host mother at her office. I didnt tell her that I was coming here or to her office, so the look on her face was priceless. Of course, she insisted that I go to her house that night and stay there, but I can't imagine being there once again. She also keeps offering to kick out their neighbor from the apartment they own on the first floor. As cool as that would be, I can't imagine making a Tajik person homeless on account of my wanting to save some money.
The Bureau is located in a great building - just next to the medical institute. I can't wait to take some photos for you. I wish I could live walking distance to work, as that would take the edge off the day. Can't believe that today is only my second day as well. I went to an expat dinner last night, which happens every Thursday at a different restaurant, and it was only because it was my first night that the many americans/euros took sympathy on me and helped me find my new apartment, which I had 'lost'. Yes, I actually lost it. I started walking to the restaurant but got completely and utterly lost. Everything in Dushanbe is like a ten minute walk// IF you go in the right direction. It didn't help that those who showed me my new apartment had absolutely no idea what the address was. We eventually read a sign that was completely faded, from before the war, that said, "krasni partisan" or "red partisan"...but no good now, as nobody in this city knows either the old or the new street names. I really have been wondering whether the conditions of these buildings once were good and then went terribly wrong or if they were always shabby to the extreme. It seems that the Tajiks work hard to keep their individual apartments in good shape, but the hallways and entrances to the buildings are scary! /especially when there is no lighting and the stairs are uneven. I have also embarrassed myself by refusing to take the elevator to our office on the 6th floor., but the elevator is really too much for me! As much as I took old Czech elevators years ago, I just know these are fifty times worse. This morning the guard at the front door saw me walking to the stairs and he started yelling in russian, "the elevators work! the elevators work!". I found out that he actually was screaming this because they work only one day in three, and he reasonably thought that I reasonably assumed they were broken. I think I will keep that assumption. Yesterday though, the elevator gods returned the favor by allowing me to trip UP the stairs on the way to the office. Thank God I didn't go flying too hard on the marble steps. I'm also grateful I bought travel insurance.
Tomorrow at 8 am the Office will be running a human rights training for Police Officers in the Varzob. I am excited about this, should be very fun!!
Also: Had lunch at a government cafeteria. Excellent.
And saw there my farsi professor from last summer. It reminded me how Tajik his Farsi accent is. :)
We speak 90% Russian at the office. I have been shy to speak, but it's all that's spoken around me. The police training will be in Russian.
'Til Later! Happy Ramadan!

Praha!!

Hello all!
I've left the U.S. once again. My first stop has been in Praha. The agenda was Kamila's wedding! She is now officially married, as of the 15th of September - and I will shortly be posting some photos. It was a typical Czech wedding in that it was held at the city hall building for Prague's district 6. We walked there from the apartment on Evropska street and after the wedding got picked up by the historical tram men. Apparently, they even gave Kamila the historical tram ride for free because they were friends. The tram took us to the reception restaurant which was located near the high school I went to here, back in 1996. It's also behind the Orechovka cinema, where Petra and I saw Babe. :) (Fun memories!). The wedding at the city hall was sweet. There were about 80 people there, and about 100 at the reception. I met many relatives of Kamila I had not seen in 12 years. They remembered me, and how much I used to sleep as a teenager though! Kamila and David invited many of their tango dance friends, and quite appropriately, they tangoed down the aisle after saying their vows - which seemed to consist of merely "yes". There is a nice tradition in Czech weddings that everyone who is at the hall when they take their vows comes to the front, before the bride and groom depart, and single file greet and congratulate them. I suppose the American tradition is to greet them first at the reception. In any case, other exciting Czech tales include taking a bus about an hour of Prague yesterday to visit my friend Adam who is now a doctor at a rehabilitation clinic - the most well-known in Bohemia?. It was quite an adventure to get there, as bus numbers and stops in the Czech Rep. are almost as obscure and confusing as in Iran. I went to the town where Adam works - which is Kladruby - and then we took a 5 minute ride in his Fiat to Vlasim, a great little-typical Czech town, where I couldn't resist having dumpling, jatrovy, soup and fried smazheny syr. We then took a walk to the forest where there is a great (statue, which I unfortunately did not get a chance to see) called Samson - which is supposedly a man who was turned into a statue when the man was complaining to his wife that her dumplings were no good! I now have two determinations in my future travels: The first is to get to the top of that Iranian hill which has the remains of Baabak's castle, and the second is to find in the middle of the trees in Vlasim's park, this statue of Samson. It's apparently hidden in the trees...but well worth the effort.
Tonight I travel to Turkey, where I will spend a little less than 24 hours, and then take a Turkish air flight to Dushanbe. I have picked up my provisions for Dushanbe - namely many gifts for my old host family...and about 5 boxes of pept bismol tablets.
I miss all of you!
---Karin.