Gettin' Out Of Taj

Jeez, did April go by fast or what? I can't say that the month held many out-of-this-world kind of must-tell adventures, but then again, I've probably become a bit desensitized to what I used to consider out-of-this-world. In any event, April (and the first bit of May here) have quickly passed me by and I am not complaining.

In about 30 hours from now, I'll be boarding a plane and leaving Tajikistan. For good. That thought still has not really sunk in yet. That might be because I haven't even begun to pack, but I think it's more to do with how normal living in Tajikistan has become for me. I've gotten very used to spending large amounts of quality time with myself. Tajikistan has made me more of an independent human that I ever thought possible. I have a much greater sense of self-worth these days and, in general, I just feel far more comfortable with who I am as a person. That's not to say I've been comfortable in Tajikistan, because I have rarely felt that way. I have, however, spent this uncomfortable time learning loads about myself.

My plan for this post was not really to go on about my inner feelings, but more to give myself, and this blog, a sense of closure. So here it is. I AM FINISHED. There were plenty of times that were challenging and plenty more that were simply unforgettable. At the end of this academic year abroad in Central Asia, I am proud of my accomplishments. I never thought I would survive this tough of a life, but I have. So even if I hadn't become rather proficient in Farsi, I would still have my survival to hang my hat on.

Thanks to my friends and family back home that kept me as sane as possible through this whole experience. Spending my junior year in Tajikistan is the hardest thing I've ever done, but I'm strangely glad that it happened this way. I learned so much here and I can't imagine what my life would be like without these experiences, which are now in my rearview.

So this is me signing off from this blog. Thanks again. And I'll see you all soon.

PS. Okay one quick anecdote, a few weeks ago I went back to the National Zoo (a thoroughly depressing place). While there, I saw a fully grown ram use its horns and escape from its cage. Many Tajiks fled the scene. When I left the zoo about 30 minutes later, the ram was MIA. So the thing could easily be in China by now. The strangest part was that when I relayed the story to professors and my host family, no one really seemed that shocked. Classic Taj.

NORUZ MOBORAK! (Happy New Year!)

At long last, spring has sprung in Tajikistan. Even though about a foot of snow fell on the first two days of spring, Dushanbe has warmed up in a hurry. Along with the vernal equinox, the Persian new year (Noruz) also set Tajikistan abuzz. As I stated in my last post, there was originally a great deal of confusion as to when Noruz should actually be celebrated. Instead of taking the time to figure it out, a good deal of people simply partied the whole week long. On March 20, at the exact moment of the equinox, many local Iranians observed their new year. In Tajikistan, however, Noruz is typically celebrated on the 21st. Unfortunately, since it snowed so much on the 20th and 21st, the Taj government postponed the state-sponsored festivities. I think they realized that celebrating the coming of warmer, greener days seemed a bit silly under a foot of snow and ice.

In the meantime, the scheduled American Councils party on the 22rd went off without a hitch. There are a lot of traditions that surround Noruz. Bobi Dehqon (Grandfather Farmer) and Malikai Havruzi are two of the characters that are closely connected to the New Year in Taj. I suppose one could liken them to Santa and Mrs. Claus at Christmas time in the US. Anyhow, my professors asked me to play the role of Boboi Dehqon in the American Councils skit. My friend Amanda was Malikai Havruzi. We both had to dress up in very traditional Tajik outfits and just say a few words on the changing of the season. It was pretty fun and everyone at the party seemed to find it amusing. 

The rest of the party was just as enjoyable. Everyone was up, singing and dancing, till it got dark. There was a ton of osh and other traditional Noruz foods that were prepared for us. Samanu, a wheat-based pudding that is only made around Noruz, was probably my favorite food. In order to properly prepare samanu, one has to continue stirring it in a gigantic pot for about 24 hours. People from all over the neighborhood came to our party to help with the samanu-making process. Spread out on one the tables was also the traditional haft sin (seven S's). The haft sin is comprised of seven various things that start with the Persian letter sin and symbolize a different aspect of Noruz. The things that make up the haft sin are as follows:

-Sabzi: literally 'green' (symbolizing rebirth)

-Samanu: the wheat pudding (symbolizing affluence)

-Senjed: some kind of fruit (symbolizing love)

-Sir: garlic (symbolizing medicine)

-Sib: apple (symbolizing beauty and health)

-Somaq: sumac (symbolizing the color of the sunrise)

-Serkeh: vinegar (symbolizing old-age and patience)

Apparently there are a lot of things that can be substituted into the haft sin, like coins or certain flowers. There were also quite a few arm wrestling competitions and tugs of war that took place at the party. I think they're traditional Noruz activities, but I forget why. Another traditional activity is the dying hard boiled eggs. Once the eggs are all colored, people smash them together. Whoever has the egg that doesn't crack is said to have good luck in the new year. My family in the US does this for Easter, so I was surprised to learn that the custom was observed in other cultures as well. All in all, it was a great day. Another memory I will look back on fondly.

The following day we had off from classes. Nothing really happened again until the 25th. Pretty much every night that week, though, the extended host family members came over and we had some comparatively lavish dinners. On the 25th, the Tajik government officially celebrated Noruz with a gigantic exposition of traditional song and dance at a local stadium. Unfortunately, it was an invitation-only sort of affair. So even though I couldn't attend in person, I watched the taping of it with my extended host family later that night. It went on for quite a while. Considering how much was involved with the exhibition, it was surprisingly well organized. At the end of the whole event, the President of Taj made some quick remarks and with that, Noruz was over. It was indeed an enjoyable week of festivities.

Like I said, the weather is getting pretty warm. It seems that right as Noruz came, the weather got beautiful again. Everyday for the past week has been sunny in the low 70's. I hope it stays that way for my last six weeks here. If all goes well, I'm planning to travel to four more (fairly) major Tajik cities before I leave. So there will definitely be a few more intriguing posts before all is said and done this semester.

As always, thanks for reading. There are some Noruz pictures below.

^ Bobi Dehqon and my Prof. calling for Malikai Navruzi

^ the fabric upon which Malikai Navruzi entered was fought over until it ripped; whoever got the larger piece would be lucky in the new year (like a wishbone)

 ^ some traditional dancing

 ^ Chris, Amanda and I holding some elements of the haft sin (and of the haft shin - the Tajik variant)

^ Students and professors with haft sin stuff

^ big pot of samanu

 ^ I could stir that stuff all day

^ My Dari professor didn't get a chance to exhale from the hookah before this picture was taken

 ^ Myself, Dari (Afghan Persian) Prof, Amanda

Bowling, Bolnol and Buzkashi

These past two weekends have been a little odd, but in a good way. I'll start from last week.

It was a pretty average weekend until Sunday afternoon. As usual, there were no excursions so it was up to us to find our own fun. I forget what I did on Saturday, but on Sunday I went bowling with Amanda and Chris. I had been wanting to go since last September. I don't really think we'll go again though. The place wasn't really up to snuff. We were not provided with any sort of special shoes, which meant I was bowling in the same shoes that I've been wearing around Taj everyday for the last few months. Also the lanes weren't greased. Thus, (perhaps only my parents understand this, but) it wasn't really bowling.

About halfway through our first game, a Tajik man approached us. He spoke to us in surprisingly coherent English and told us his name was Rustam (same as my host dad - it's an incredibly common Tajik name). Rustam was a director and wanted us to be in his commercial. The commercial was for a pain cream called Bolnol. All we really had to do was bowl, and react to whatever the main actor was doing. It was pretty strange. We had to keep doing the same stuff over and over again. A lot of people kept coming in and staring at us. In the end, we found out that in about three weeks the commercial will be aired on TV stations throughout Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. I'm hoping it ends up online so I can post it here. Anyhow, that was last weekend.

This weekend was similarly strange, but more exciting. American Councils took us to see a buzkashi match yesterday. Buzkashi is a traditional Central Asian sport that remains wildly popular in the region today. The main purpose is to pick up a headless goat carcass from the ground and bring it to an end zone. Everyone that plays is on horseback and is armed with a whip made from the intestines of a cow. Any male with a horse can opt in to the game. Other than that, there are virtually no rules. The game is pretty much every man for himself. Getting the goat carcass to the end zone wins you a different prize each time. Yesterday there was everything from 50 somoni (~ $10) cash prizes to traditional carpets to a (live) goat or camel.

We were about an hour outside of Dushanbe. The place where we watched the game was impressive. Everyone watched the field from high atop two large hills on either side. The field had to be huge because a lot of the time horses would go running by at a full gallop. Luckily, the hills were steep enough that horses couldn't climb up from the field. A lot of riders got hurt though. They would fall from their horses or 'accidentally' get whipped by fellow opponents. It was intense. I got the feeling that most of the participants didn't really know how to properly ride a horse too. Not that I know how, but a lot of the men on horseback and could barely control their animals. 

The event atmosphere reminded me a lot of tailgating before a big sports game in the US. Admission of course was free, and as we were walking up the hill there were tons of people grilling kabobs by their cars in the parking area. People were selling all kinds of food like shwarma, kabobs and fried egg sandwiches. It was fun. I thought it was beyond cool that out there in (literally) the middle of nowhere, I could still get a Coke to wash down my lunch. Sometimes globalization really blows my mind. The only other highlight was that President Rahmon's son was in attendance at the match. He was sitting on a large platform (known as a takht) with some cronies. No one was really allowed to walk too close to him. The whole buzkashi experience was a lot of fun. It was a good day.

Back in the city, the Persian new year, Noruz, is coming up in a few days. All the Iranians we know keep saying that they'll be celebrating on the 20th, at the exact moment of the vernal equinox. Tajiks are celebrating on the 21st though. American Councils has organized a party for us on the 22nd. And we all have off from classes on the 23rd. So I'm pretty sure we're just going to be celebrating all week. City workers have been putting in some serious efforts to clean up the place by the time the new year arrives. They've been repainting gates, rebuilding bus stops and replanting flowers and trees. We're actually supposed to get more snow here on the 19th and 20th, so I'm thinking the city will still not be looking it's best for Noruz.

The only other thing worth mentioning is that it was my host father, Rustam's, birthday earlier this week. The whole family came over and everyone had to give a toast. The food was good and the conversation was interesting. 

I suppose I'll have another post up next weekend, following all of the Noruz festivities. Below are some shots from buzkashi.

 ^there were about 100 riders at the match

^the goat carcass was hard to follow 

^spectators on the field - they nearly got trampled 

^bactrian camel was one of the prizes 

^view of some of the spectators from the hill (the riders were at the other end of the field)

 

^madness ensues 

^even the old guys got pretty into it 

Woman Day

A lot of times the powers-that-be in Tajikistan really crack me up. Tajikistan is home to the world tallest freestanding flagpole, the world's longest flag and the world's third largest aluminum factory. Somehow in the course of prioritizing projects, these three aforementioned feats won out over curbing widespread poverty, improving education, cracking down on corruption, increasing availability of basic utilities and   attracting foreign investment. This past week, however, the president and his cronies really had all of us peons just rolling in the aisles. About a week ago, yet another news organization posted yet another article about how hilariously inept the Tajik government is. And just to prove how true this widely-accepted claim was, President Rahmon banned Facebook that same day. Why Facebook? Well we're all still trying to figure that out. But like I said, the president is a comedian. He acts so irrationally that there's really nothing to do but laugh at him.

Apparently Facebook has been promoting a lot of un-Tajik values as of late and so access needed to be shut down. At least that was the case a week ago. The national ban was lifted today. So I guess the worldwide social networking site that is Facebook really took Rahmon's threat seriously and cleaned up its act. Either that or Rahmon is just trying keep us guessing. He is a man of mystery. A comedian and a man of mystery. Obama could learn a thing or two from this guy..

But in all seriousness, the Facebook ban was kind of a blow to my ability to keep in contact with the Western World. I'm glad my access is back. So thanks, Taj.

Anyhow, last weekend American Councils finally sent us on our first excursion of the semester. We went to the TALCO aluminum factory. Like I said, it's the third largest aluminum factory in the world. My host dad sees it as a huge source of national pride and was overjoyed that I got to see it. We toured the visitors' museum and the inside of the factory itself. My Resident Director, Jake, said it was a pretty big deal that we got to see inside the factory. The place is not open to tourists, but American Councils somehow has an in. According to Jake, less that one hundred foreigners have probably ever been inside the factory. So that's cool I guess. It was honestly pretty intimidating inside. Everything was gigantic, from the machines to the buckets. We got to see aluminum heated up to 950 degrees Celsius. As my friend Amanda said, when they were pouring the stuff into some machine, it just looked like fire and water. I also learned a lot of super useful Persian words that day. Who knew I'd ever learn how to say words like 'molten' and 'unhusked rice' and 'ingot?' At one point, someone asked our tour guide how many people get hurt in the factory every year. The guide said it was a secret. Looking back, I don't think the museum was really that awesome. Everything was grey and it was kind of dull. It was, however, my first chance to leave the city in about 6 weeks. I would've been excited for anything. On the way back to Dushanbe, we stopped at a mill and everyone bought some flaxseed oil. Jake said it's better than the normal oil Tajiks use. My host mom and host sister-in-law were pretty stoked.

Speaking of the ladies, this past Thursday was International Women's Day. Thought Tajikistan has never observed International Daylight Savings Day, International Women's Day has become a pretty big deal. It's so big, that we had off from school for the day. A few days prior, Amanda and I went to the National University to see an exhibition of some Tajik music and dancing. Some important professors gave speeches and read poems that glorified the advancement of women in Taj. I didn't really buy any of it, but it was at least something out of the ordinary. The actual day itself wasn't super exciting. I picked up some carnations and caramels for the women in my host family and that was about it. My host mom and sister-in-law slaved away making a gigantic meal for dinner. Don't tell me Tajik women aren't valued. The food was pretty good and everyone was having such a pleasant evening that by the end of the night, my host mom and dad were up doing some traditional Tajik dances with their grandkids. That part was cool. I suppose it was a nice night.

That about does it for this post. I'll end with this Tajik fun fact: In 1924, only 230 people lived in Dushanbe. Now there's about 750,000. The infrastructure can still only handle about 230 though.

Some pictures are below.

^ industrial sprawl

^ happy fun times at TALCO

^big stuff

^ aluminum at 950 degrees Celsius

^ the Farsi word for 'molten' is 'mozob'

^ the TALCO symbol kind of looks like the Star Trek symbol

^ who can really say what's going on here

^ lots of grey

^ Tajik ladies

^ Amanda with some Woman Day propaganda

^ outside the National University

Man Day

Yesterday was a national holiday in Tajikistan. Everyone still had to go to school and work, but it was a holiday nonetheless. The city was decked out with the customary propaganda reminding citizens to observe the date. Every February 23 Tajikistan celebrates Tajik National Army Day. In Russia it's called Defender of the Motherland Day. I think the whole thing started in 1918 or 1919 when a bunch of citizens (comrades) were first drafted into the Soviet Army during the Russian Civil War. The stories I was hearing from my host family and professors didn't match up perfectly, but that's what I managed to glean from these conversations.

Anyhow, Tajik National Army Day is basically just a day to celebrate soldiers and veterans. I'm not quite sure how, but at some point Tajiks broadened the definition to just include all Tajik men. Thus February 23 has essentially become Man Day. Though the 'holiday' sounds a little ridiculous, I think it is supposed to be the response to International Women's Day. Woman Day is celebrated on March 8. We even get off from school for that one. So though Man Day seems like some diffuse and arbitrary social construct, it kind of makes sense.

Last night, to celebrate, my family and I had a heaping platter of Osh. In case anyone has forgotten, Osh is the big communal rice dish, drenched in oil and topped with fat, that everyone eats with their hands. Do the Tajiks know how to have a good time, or what? At the end of the meal, my host mom made a nice toast to my host dad, host brother and myself. She even gave me a small gift. After the toast we had the usual gigantic cake that has become a bit of a fixture at every holiday meal. It was a nice night. I asked if this meant that the men had to cook a large meal on Woman Day. I've never heard my host family laugh so hard. Tajik men don't cook. We finished the evening by watching a movie about Russian terrorists. It may sound strange, but I'm really beginning to acquire quite a proficiency in low-budget movies about organized crime in Russia. My host dad can't get enough of that stuff.

So that was Man Day. Only 364 days till the next one!

Other than observing the holiday, not much went on this week. My old peer tutor has left the country. I met my new one for about thirty seconds the other day. Her name is Maryam and seems pretty cool. 

Also English class went really well this week. We talked about Los Angeles and changed the structure of the class to be far more interactive. There was a lot more participation this week. I don't really think anyone's proficiency is going to sky-rocket, but at least we're providing students with a hospitable environment for practicing their language skills. I feel good about where the class is heading.

Alright that's about it. Just one picture below.

Two days (according to my host dad) until spring springs!

^ some serious icicles hanging from the neighbor's roof today; that little blue door on the left is our front door

The Doldrums

And February drags ever on and on. Since I was a little kid, my dad and I have always agreed that February is the most boring month of the year. Football is over and Spring Training is yet to begin. Thus I give you, the Doldrums.

Now some people may read this post and think I am just not taking advantage of the plethora of opportunities by which I am surrounded on a daily basis. Such a person, however, must be reminded that I am in Tajikistan for an entire academic year. There is bound to be a stretch here and there that is utterly dull. I resent the fact that there is so much pressure on students to absolutely fall in love with all aspects of their experience abroad. Even after five months, life in Tajikistan is hard. That's not to say I hate it here. I am just looking to explain the title and overall tone of this blog entry.

Now then, I will try my hardest to make this post interesting. I explained to my mom only a few hours ago that there is no way to make the events of my past two weeks sound interesting. Then, after a considerable amount of thought, I decided to accept the challenge of making the tedious sound entertaining. So here we go.

Two weeks ago, I went to one of the few shopping centers in Dushanbe that I had still not explored. It had the same people peddling the same wares that are everywhere. This center did have one unique aspect though. The Саодат Supermarket is home to the one and only escalator in the entire Republic of Tajikistan. Having been in place for a while now, most city folk understand how the mechanism works. The intriguing part is watching out-of-towners take their first ever ride on an escalator. It's somewhat amusing, but also just sort of fascinating. 

I doubt very much that anyone I know in America could recall the tale of their first escalator ride. I discussed this idea with my host mother, who has only ever ridden an escalator a few times. I attempted to convey to her just how ubiquitous escalators are in the US, especially in a major city like DC. I'd imagine my host mom would be more than a little nervous riding any DC metro escalator. Anyhow, after explaining that escalators are incredibly common in the US, my host mother got a little defensive of her homeland. She wisely pointed out that Tajikistan is only twenty years old and already has one escalator. She asked me how many escalators existed in the US when it was twenty. The point was well taken. Tajikistan is obviously flourishing.

Somewhere in the last two weeks, one of my host family's former host students came for a visit. Out of the blue, he called the house during the middle of our dinner  and asked if he could stop by in ten minutes. One cannot get any more Tajik. My host family welcomed the student with open arms. Everyone was speaking in loud, fast Russian for about two hours, but in between conversations I got to talk to the former student in English. Apparently he was around Dushanbe in the first or second year that American Councils started its program here. It was strange speaking English in the eating area. In my mind, that space is always a strict Persian (or Russian) zone. So it was just odd breaking the trend. The guy was pretty cool and had an interesting past. He was in the same position that I am currently in when he studied in Tajikistan (junior in college, substantial funding, vague plans for the future). The whole experience made for a unique and pleasant evening.

This past weekend was a three day weekend. Though President's Day is not observed at American University in Washington, DC, American Councils wanted to make sure we observed the solemn day while studying in Tajikistan. What with it being February and all, the Doldrums were in full swing this weekend. The only highlights are as follows:

-On Sunday, Amanda and I went to see a movie in 5D. I honestly don't understand where they got the extra two dimensions from, but the experience was surprisingly entertaining. For the equivalent of three dollars, we got to take a virtual roller coaster ride for about five minutes. We went into this tiny theater with only four seats. There were handles to hold on to while the seats moved and some water was occasionally sprayed in our faces. We had to wear special 5D glasses too. I can't do the experience justice with this description. Just suffice it to say it was three dollars well spent.

-On Monday (yesterday), Amanda and I met with our peer tutor, Hani. Our friend Chris and his peer tutor, Saaid, who is Hani's best friend, also joined us. The meeting was sort of a going away party for Hani. Apparently she has some family matters to attend to back in Tehran. She's putting her last semester of study off until the Fall to go home and help out. I was honestly pretty bummed by the news. Hani has become a good friend.

In other news, the English class I'm teaching at American Corner is going fine. Amanda and I have already introduced DC, New York, and Chicago to the Tajik students. Everyone seems to be enjoying the class.

Also, yesterday at lunch I ordered a parfait-looking desert from the fridge at this Iranian restaurant. The waitress asked me if I wanted it with an egg. I was confused, but said sure. When it came it was literally just a cup of yogurt with chocolate syrup and nuts in the middle. And a raw egg on top. It was strange, and tasted pretty bad. But when in Dushanbe..

Hope I managed to make this blog post at least slightly compelling.

Sorry no pictures this time. Just a video of some Tajiks trying to ride the Саодат escalator. On YouTube, the description says the video is from Uzbekistan. But it's really from Taj.

Here's to hoping February passes quickly and takes all this winter weather along with it!

Winter Wanderings and Wonderings

So Tajikistan is unfathomably cold. With no heat, a city full of frozen pipes, and no salt for the sidewalks, Dushanbe is definitely in the thick of winter. The authorities have temporarily shut down public schools across the country due to the extreme cold. That means that this week the only kids going to class are local kindergarteners (because, by law, kindergarten classes must be heated) and all eight American Councils students. Today finally got over 20 degrees Fahrenheit, though. So I guess I can't get too down. The funniest part is that every Tajik seems to think that spring is right around the corner. On February 1, my host father told me that in 25 days, spring will have sprung. That means, according to Rustam, spring in Dushanbe comes on February 26. Not to be outdone by my host father's quirkiness, one of my professors told me yesterday that spring will start next week. I don't know how, but even though there has been a thick sheet of ice covering every sidewalk for the last ten days, the locals seem stubbornly optimistic.

Despite the fact that I dread being outdoors right now, I still have to go to school. We are already into the second week of classes and I am pleased to report that thing are going smoothly. My friend Amanda and I have also begun teaching our English class at American Corner, Dushanbe. Every Friday we now meet with about thirty local Tajiks and try to improve their English language skills. Last class, the students ranged from high schoolers to  forty-somethings. We gave a presentation on Washington, DC and tried to gauge everyone's proficiency levels in English. Each week we are going to introduce the class to a different major American city. Last Friday was Washington. This Friday will be New York. That's pretty much the extent of the class's structure. There's no homework, but also no real incentive for students to show up every week, except for the obvious desire to learn today's lingua franca.

Besides the bitter cold and a full load of classes, my peers and I have been trying to find new activities to do around the city. This task gets harder and harder every week. Last weekend, however, was a minor success story. It snowed a ton last Friday. So on Saturday my friends and I wanted to stay indoors. We did some light shopping at the clothes bazaar (no one bought anything), grabbed some kabobs at the Iranian place and rolled over to Hotel Tajikistan for the screening of a documentary. The film was well attended by the ex-pat community and proved to be an enjoyable experience. The subject of the documentary was a small, isolated art museum in the desert of Eastern Uzbekistan. During the Soviet era, a lot of art was banned from being shown, so this one collector gathered thousands on contraband artwork and displayed them in the farthest corner of the USSR. That may sound a bit drab, but the two-hour film held my interest the whole time. If nothing else, the night was at least out of the ordinary.

On Sunday, I met my friends Chris and Amanda again. We went for lunch at this Uighur restaurant that we like. After a filling meal, we made our way to the hills that surround Dushanbe. Earlier in the week, we bought two inner tubes (one with the Yankees logo and one from Ohio State - naturally) and we were anxious to see how well they would work as sleds. The result was overwhelmingly positive. We romped around in the hills, getting covered in snow, for about two hours. The view of the city from the hills was a lot nicer than I expected. After my unsuccessful attempt to start a snowball fight, we took one last ride down the slope and made our way back to American Councils for some piping hot coffee. It was another day well spent.

Other than that not too much has been going on. I'm already falling into a pretty dry routine of home to class to home. I am confident, however, that the weather and my routine will both change in the coming weeks (maybe even by February 26). 

I've at least had some pretty intriguing chats with my host family as of late. One night we discussed the phenomenon of being left-handed in Tajikistan. Basically, no one older than 25 is left-handed here. During the Soviet era, it wasn't allowed. While students in Tajik public schools today are allowed to choose their handedness the way we do in the US, many religious families still associate left-handedness with sinful behavior. The reason for that was not clearly explained. One of the Tajik students in my English class asked where I learned to write with my left hand, and that's what sparked the whole discussion with my host family. 

Also, according to my host family and other Tajiks I've spoken to, there are some very drastic differences in the ways that American children and Tajik children grow up (other than the obvious, superficial, quality-of-life kind of stuff). Tajiks get married and have kids way earlier than most Americans do. The average age of marriage is about 20 here and it's expected that babies follow soon after a new marriage. This I already knew, but I've heard from a few different sources that Americans gain a stronger sense of self-confidence and personal identity well before the typical Tajik. Apparently many Tajiks are taken aback by how easily American students converse with people who are much older. We're also a lot more carefree, but still more ambitious, than most Tajiks our age. So basically from a young age, Tajik youths worry about starting a family, while American youths look outside of personal relationships for their main motivation in life. At least this is what the Tajiks say. I found it interesting. Hence me writing it here.

Well that's about it. Except for the fact that the food here is somehow more unappetizing than I remember. I've already had more than my fair share of oil, animal fat, and beets. The family has been feeding me this one strange vegetable though that's really tasty. The Tajiki name for it is турб, which literally translates to radish, but it's not the kind of radish you'd think. It's like a huge, green, super bitter radish. Tajiks shred it and pepper it and eat it as a side dish. I'm really into it.

Also happy birthday to my grandma! Wish I could've been there to celebrate! I also wish you could've reveled in the glory of a Giants Superbowl loss. Next year for sure.

Once again, thanks for reading. Pictures below and updates to follow.

^graveyard in the background; probably not the most appropriate place for romping

^nonetheless, we romped

 ^snow tubing gets rough..

^a tiring day, indeed