Until 2012, Taj

OKAY. Last post of the semester. Here we go.

Last weekend was pretty tame. Our only scheduled activity was visiting an 'artist colony' in Dushanbe. So we went to this building that was quite a trek away from the city center. Inside we got to meet various local artists, see their studios and sample many of their pieces. We were told that a lot of the people we met are generally considered to be the best artists in Dushanbe (and thus, Tajikistan). THe artwork was honestly stunning. Maybe it's just that I haven't seen any real art in months, but I thought these artists' works were incredible. They all seemed to enjoy painting Tajik landscapes or cultural events. Just cool stuff.

The environment of the 'colony' itself was surprisingly bohemian. Each studio was kind of messy, but in an artsy sort of way. All the artists wore baggy, dirty clothes and each seemed to smoke like it was their job. There was a stray kitten that the artists had named, fed and claimed as their own because it never left the building. A couple artists also had canaries in cages. The whole place was just so relaxed and like nowhere else I've been in Tajikistan. It put me in a great mood.

The rest of the weekend was considerably more quiet. Monday and Tuesday were the last days of classes, and Wednesday was a free day for studying. I had finals Thursday and Friday. Don't worry, Mom and Dad, they went well. We were supposed to go to this astronomical observatory just outside of the city on Monday night, but cloud cover preventing us from going. We tried again for Wednesday and Thursday evenings, but the same problem persisted. So I guess we're saving that for next semester, which is honestly fine by me. I really don't like being outside after the sun goes down anymore. Even with two coats, a hat, a scarf and gloves, I'm still freezing. So after about 5:30PM, it's a pretty good bet that I am home, in my room bundled up, and probably under the covers too. I think my peers in the group have adopted the same philosophy. Being outside in the evenings is just unpleasant. 

Okay so Friday night was our going away party with the whole group, all of our professors and administrators. The whole group is only about 25 people large. We've kind of formed into a nice little academic family. So that made the party pretty enjoyable. Also the dinner was at this brand new Persian (Iranian) restaurant, at which one of my friends' host parents are the chefs. The meal and company were both very nice. At the end we took a lot of pictures and said our goodbyes until the end of January.  Of the eleven students currently on the program, only eight are returning for the second semester. Also no new students are coming for our program in the Spring. So that will probably force me to get even closer with the other kids coming back for the full academic year. 

The only other exciting bit of new is that next semester I will be volunteering for the organization that is funded by the US Embassy in Tajikistan. The group is called American Corner. The do a bunch of things in the Dushanbe community, but their main function is providing English classes (free of charge, I believe) to local Tajiks. Literally anyone is allowed to attend any class, regardless of age or gender. So next semester, my friend Amanda and I are going to teach a class in English. I think we're shooting for a fairly basic level of English, but we're going to also introduce a new major American city with each new class. The American Corner administrator were telling us that there seems to be a ridiculously high demand for classes on English language and American culture. Luckily, those are two things that I think I know a lot about. The rest of the logistics for our class are going to be hammered out when we return in January, but for now, I'm pretty excited.

So now that the semester is over and I'm about to fly home very early on Monday morning, I feel like I should do a little reflecting. Only a little bit though. I think I've gained a lot more self-respect and self-confidence by making it through this semester in Tajikistan. The whole lack of utilities and sanitary facilities never bothered me to such an extent that I was unbearably uncomfortable. I think the hardest part for me was just dealing with the lack of social options. Thus I have been forced to spend a lot of time with myself. At first, I saw this as a negative, but as the semester went on, I have sort of come to value my alone time. I'm no longer unhappy hanging out with myself. And on top of that, I'm also pleased with how much my languages skills have grown in the past three and a half months. It's a great feeling to know how much more proficient I've become.

Okay that's enough talking about my emotions. I had my final meeting with my peer tutor (Hani) for the semester yesterday. Hani finally returned from Iran, so it was nice to see her once more and hear about her trip before my winter break.

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog this semester. Your encouragement is the main reason I've continued to keep this site current. Please check back again at the end of January, when I make my triumphant return to Central Asia. 

There are some pictures below. 

Happy Holidays!

^Lenin statue outside the artist colony

^if Lenin says go one way, you should probably go the other..

^myself, Hani and my friend Amanda

^cityscape

^some concert hall

^local Ismaili center (this building is nothing like the rest of Tajikistan)

^Hyatt in Dushanbe - it houses the most expensive restaurant in the city, I think

^professors/administrators

^billboard boasting that Tajikistan says 'no' to bribes...

Tajik Thanksgiving and Subsequent Shenanigans

Sorry I haven't updated the blog for some time. I've been waiting for the excitement to pile up to an uncontainable level. What with the semester winding down, however, there honestly haven't been too many new thrills in my day-to-day. Past alumni told us to be prepared to fall into a somewhat monotonous routine as the harsh cold really settles in, and that has certainly been the case. I don't really mind having a regular routine, but it just doesn't leave too much space for crazy blog-worthy experiences. It's getting pretty cold here. The rain and snow and perpetually low temperatures wouldn't be such a challenge if there was at least central heating in Tajikistan. Alas, there is no such heating. A lot of buildings, including my room at my host family, are just as cold as outside. So basically it feels like I'm just outside all the time. I don't think I've ever bundled up in so many sweatshirts and socks before. When I take a step back though, it's kind of funny. Everyone is just constantly wearing as many layers as possible. 

I've been trying to keep an open mind and see the humorous aspects of an entire city of people bundled to such extremes. Except it gets a little more difficult to laugh about when the power goes out. Part of winter in Tajikistan is growing accustomed to random, periodic blackouts. Usually these are government-approved and used as a rationing technique, even in the capital city. Last week, however, the city experienced an unapproved blackout. Apparently a massive pole/structure that supports a bunch of important wires fell down and broke a lot of the wires. This resulted in the entire north half of the city (where I live, eat and take classes) losing power for about 3 or 4 hours in the late afternoon. At least that is what I managed to learn from my host father's report. So yea, this blackout was not so funny. The power didn't come back until well after the sun went down, so everyone was pretty cold. I just went home, put on a bunch of layers and slept until it was over. In my opinion, sleep is the best solution to any longterm power outage in Central Asia. It's either that, or go crazy.

Okay so since I haven't posted in a while, I guess I'll recap our Tajik Thanksgiving festivities. Basically, we all drank way too much and ended up in Tajik prison. No, I'm totally kidding. Just wanted to spice up the blog. In reality, we just had a nice big meal with all of our peers and professors. Classes were cancelled for the actual day of Thanksgiving, but we all came to American Councils anyhow for the 'feast.' One of the drivers for American Councils is also  really good chef, so he whipped us up a massive wok of osh (national dish of Tajikistan; pictured below) with turkey and cranberries. It was good. Not great, but good. American Councils also provided us with some pies from a local cafe. The apple one was alright, the pumpkin one tasted nothing like pumpkin pie. I guess such desserts are best consumed in America. 

Thanksgiving Day was also Flag Day for Tajikistan. Everyone still had school and work, but there was a mini parade and everyone on the street had little Tajik flags. As an aside, I don't think I've written about this yet, but everyone (American Councils students) in Tajikistan has class/work six days a week. Sunday is the only real weekend day. There's no religious reason behind it or anything. It's just how the Tajik government wants the country to operate. It's kind of ironic, actually, as Tajikistan is the poorest and most underdeveloped of all former Soviet states. Even the extremely backwards Turkmenistan is more prosperous. And three of their months are named after melons.

So anyhow, I tried to explain Thanksgiving to my host family, which you'd think would be easy given that I'm their thirteenth host student. But no, it was pretty difficult. I realized he holiday's sort of tricky to explain anyhow because Thanksgiving itself stems from historical events, yet Americans barely do anything else other than getting together and eat a lot. So from there a lot of confusion arose. Almost all Tajik holidays come from the Quran or from National pride. Tajik holidays aren't really as secular as American ones though. Eventually, I think my host family caught on to the idea of Thanksgiving. But explaining it turned into quite an ordeal.

This past Saturday was our first American Councils-sanctioned event since Thanksgiving. We took a tour of the National Beer Factory. It was eye-opening to say the least. The complex was built by the Soviets and hasn't really been updated since Tajikistan stopped being part of the Soviet Union. Tons of windows were missing. The wheat room was crawling with pigeons. Our tour guide kept singing the praises of how this beer factory relies on 'human power' over computers. So all these things were a little unsettling. At the end of the tour they gave us all some beer. We had to finish the beer they gave us, because it would've offended them if we didn't. The beer was pretty bad though. Like really bad. Like the worst beer I've ever tried. So a word to the wise: when in Dushanbe, stick to foreign beers.

After the beer factory we went to an Afghan Osh House. Afghan osh is different from Tajik osh in some really delicious ways. The Afghans use basmati rice, raisins and far less oil. The meal was surprisingly good, given that our Resident Director had us expecting to eat slop for lunch. I'd definitely recommend Afghan osh over Tajik osh. 

So there are only a few more tidbits to report. First, my peer tutor, Hani, left for Iran about a week ago and she won't be back for another week. She went to a friend's wedding and is extending her trip because someone close to her is about to have a baby. So by the time Hani returns, I'll only have a week to spend with her. It's kind of a bummer, but at least she'll be back before I leave for winter break.

Also, since I figure it's on everyone's mind, I'll give you the Tajik fried chicken evaluation. There are three main fried chicken/fast food chains in Dushanbe: Southern Fried Chicken (SFC), New York Fried Chicken (NYFC) and Кантр'и (Country). SFC is widely considered to be the finest of the three, but in my opinion NYFC takes the cake. Everyone agrees that Кантр'и is the worst though. SFC is the biggest chain, but that's sort of the problem. Too many little kids and families. And they don't even have a spicy chicken sandwich there. NYFC, since it's right next to SFC and is considered to be of lower quality, is still fairly unfrequented by locals. So the atmosphere is more tame and the food just tastes better. Кантр'и has no atmosphere and really average food. So there you have it. The Dushanbe fried chicken report.

On that fascinating note, I'll end this post. Thanks for reading. I'll post at least once more before the semester ends. Lots of pictures below. In no particular order at all.

'human power' at work in the beer factory

-pigeons all up in the wheat

-tasting the worst beer in Asia

-only the finest equipment for the national brewery

-where they treat the yeast. and torture prisoners..

-street where my host house is; right off the biggest street in Tajikistan

-teacher training institute near American Councils; it's a major landmark

-street where American Councils has its buildings

-building where my classes are held

-courtyard inside the pink building

-view from my seat in class

-host house door; the most difficult door to lock

-view as you're approaching my host house door on the left

-American Councils building two; across from the pink building

-view from inside the door

-upstairs in the blue building where I sometimes do work

-Tajik osh with turkey and cranberries

-pies

-snowy courtyard

-my classroom; I sit in the back left

-group of American Councils people after the big Thanksgiving feast

-feasting

A Good Week

So despite having been in the same small city for two and a half months and not being allowed to leave the country until December (according to my visa), I somehow managed to do a bunch of new things this past week. Where to begin...

Oh, early last week we had a huge snowstorm. It snowed for about a day and a half straight. The first day was fun because it was everyone's first time seeing snow in Tajikistan. The next day wasn't as fun, because everything just kind of turned to slush or ice overnight. Also I'm pretty sure Dushanbe is even worse at handling snow than Philly or DC is. Really anytime it precipitates here, people just kind of run for cover and hunker down to wait out the storm. That's what happened on Tuesday and Wednesday. No one salted the roads and no one shoveled the sidewalks and no one plowed the roads. To make things trickier, there are a ton of gigantic trees that line Rudaki Street (the main street in Dushanbe). So as the snow melted in the trees, chunks of it would fall on to random unsuspecting passersby. I was fell victim to the falling snow drifts not once, but twice. All this made for quite an interesting (perilous) couple days on the roads and sidewalks.

This past Friday brought further unexpected excitement in the form of a FIFA World Cup qualifying match. Tajikistan's national team was scheduled to play Japan's national team as part of the preliminary rounds leading up to the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. In case anyone hasn't gotten it, I'm talking about soccer. So anyhow, we only found out the game was being played a few hours before it started. Everyone was really pumped and we all made our way over to the stadium. This game was only a big deal to us because it was being played in Dushanbe. The Tajik team is terrible and their field is in such bad condition that the Japanese team almost didn't participate. The first time Tajikistan and Japan played a few months ago, the Tajiks lost 8-0. So Friday's 4-0 loss for Tajikistan was actually a little more promising. 

At first, we thought we wouldn't be able to get in, as a number of riot police (yes, there were riot police holding back the ~50 people trying to enter) told us the tickets were sold out. Thanks to my friend Amanda's persistence though, we eventually were let in by one guard. When the guard's friend questioned him, all he said in Tajiki was "Foreigners! Foreigners!" Our first perk for being Americans in Central Asia couldn't have come at a better time. The stadium was packed and the atmosphere was surprisingly similar to a pro sports game in the USA. People were doing the wave and sarcastically cheering for Japan each time they scored a goal. At the end of the game, they raffled off a car. The thing looked like it was built in the 1950's, but everyone was still excited about it. Unfortunately, I wasn't eligible to win as I didn't have a ticket. All in all, the game was a pretty awesome experience.

On Saturday, we went to this place called Korvon. It's basically just twenty bazaars all in one. The bazaar that puts all other bazaars to shame. We all had a great time pushing through crowds, haggling in Persian, and eventually coming away with some pretty cool purchases. As I'm sure you can imagine, the traffic to get in and out of Korvon is a nightmare. Well, really all traffic in Tajikistan is a nightmare, but the area around Korvon was particularly dicey. There was some extreme gridlock and sort of just one continuous chorus of car horns. Thus, we had our marshrutka (Tajik vans that act as insanely cheap public transportation) drop us off at a Uighur restaurant nearby. We ate lunch there and then dove into the chaos of Korvon. It was a great time. A very authentic experience.

Yesterday American Councils organized a trip to the local zurkhoneh for the group. A zurkhoneh is a traditional Iranian gymnasium where Persian men would typically go to wrestle and lift large weights (in the form of giant clubs). Zurkhonehs are not popular in Tajikistan and they're losing popularity in Iran as well. This ancient sport is dying out, so it made our trip that much more intriguing. Also, all of us are just pretty into Persian culture. Really we'd go anywhere we could to soak in some bona fide displays of Iranian culture. The Persian guys at the zurkhoneh put on a sort of exhibition of various zurkhoneh activities. Later we got to try to lift some of the weights and learn the proper techniques. The whole visit to the zurkhoneh was pretty fun and not something I thought I'd be able to see while in Tajikistan.

The only other bit of news to report is that I have a new peer tutor. Azimjon was just not cutting it, as far as interesting and useful Persian conversations go. He is married with a kid and never leaves his house, except to go to his classes. Azimjon is about 25 years old, but in American years, that's like 40. So he wasn't super helpful for practicing conversing with a Persian youth. My new peer tutor is named Hani. She is from Tehran and is only here to go to school. I meet with her with my friend Amanda about twice a week. Hani likes to take us to various social hotspots in Dushanbe and also talks about things we can relate to or that matter to us. The best part is that she has a Tehrani accent, which is the accent I eventually hope to learn. It isn't very different from regular Farsi, but there are a few subtleties I'm trying to pick up. Anyhow, I'm very glad I switched tutors.

I'd say this past week was unexpectedly tons of fun. 

There are some pictures below to help illustrate my anecdotes.

^ snowy Wednesday on Rudaki Street

^ outside of the stadium; where our foreigner privilege came in handy

^ the most Tajiks I've seen in one place so far

^ the field was not up to Japan's standards

^ an injury

^ I asked a Tajik man to take a picture of us with the field in the background. He didn't tell us to smile. At least there's a really lovely shot of the chairs.

^ more football

^ the car that was being raffled off

^ the zurkhoneh

^ where the judge/referee would sit 

^ juggling ridiculously heavy weights 

^ everyone was shocked I could lift the 35-pound club

^ further zurkhoneh activities 

^ ferris wheel in the middle of a random amusement park that we stumbled upon

Season's Greetings from Dushanbe

So when I last left this blog, I was running to dinner. It is a good thing I did. My host sister, who has her own house and family, recently gave birth to a baby boy. That dinner, two weeks ago, was the baby's 40th day of life celebration. We had a huge feast at our house. It was really nice to feel like a part of the family. It was especially nice, because I had already missed the circumcision party for this kid (I went to a restaurant one night and no one told me I should just come home for the party). Also, I get the feeling that everyone is really happy the kid was born a boy. My host sister already had two daughters (8 and 10) and now she finally managed to make a boy. People are pretty stoked. So that's good.

Last weekend American Councils sponsored a trip for us to Cheluchar Chashma (literally in Tajiki: 44 Springs). The road trip there was relaxing. It's always nice to shake things up and get out of the city for a day. On the way to the springs, we stopped at a small bazaar and a historical monument/madrasah/mausoleum. Both were not super interesting. The real highlight of the trip came about halfway to the springs, when one of our two vehicles broke down. All ten of us had to squish into one van. Everyone was rather displeased, but I thought it was hilarious. Once we finally reached the springs, we had a pretty standard Tajik lunch. Cheluchar Chashma itself looked like a very relaxing place to spend an afternoon. Unfortunately for us, the rainy season hit Tajikistan about a week prior to our trip. So the weather was dreadful all day and we didn't stay in any one place very long.

I still thought the excursion day was a good time, despite the weather. When we got back to Dushanbe, the group had our monthly dinner at a fancy restaurant. American Councils pays for one of these each month for us. We went to this Chinese restaurant in Hotel Tajikistan. The food was quite close to the Chinese food I am used to back in the USA. So that was a great surprise, and we all ate like kings (or should I say we ate like shahs?). 

Since then, I've been actively trying to do new things within Dushanbe. A while ago, my friend Emily and I went to the National Zoo. It's the kind of place that you see once and never forget. The zoo is pretty poorly kept. If PETA ever got wind of the place, they would go nuts. Many of the largest animals were in some of the smallest cages, with very little room to move around. You could tell the animals were underfed. Every time we approached a new cage, the critter would get way too excited for animals that are living in a zoo in Tajikistan. There was the typical line-up of lions, bears, camels and monkeys. But the other cages were mostly filled with stray cats, dogs, rabbits and other farm animals. It was a weird and sad place. Nonetheless I'm glad we went.

A few days ago, my professor for my Conversation class took us to the National Mosque. It was interesting for us, because we had been studying the history and parts of a mosque in class. We went on a Friday afternoon, which is when Tajik mosques are typically at their most crowded. We waited for about twenty minutes to enter. We arrived right when the daily prayers were ending and had to stand there and watch every Tajik man and their brother exit the mosque, until we were able to go inside. It took a while. There are a lot of Tajiks. Finally we got in to the outdoor courtyard for a look. It was super ornate and very beautiful. I got to see the inside of the mosque too, what with me being a guy and all. The whole place was very interesting and made for another nice afternoon.

Please excuse me for reporting some real world news right now, but I think the mosque situation in Tajikistan is pretty interesting. The Tajik government is not very interested in legislating policies that appease Muslims in the country. If anything, they've alienated a lot of Tajik Muslims by restricting their religious freedom. Hillary Clinton discussed this matter with President Rahmon when she visited Tajikistan a few weeks ago. The Tajik government has already banned all women and children from attending services at any mosque. And now, armed with a new financial partnership with Qatar, Tajikistan is looking to build a new, ridiculously huge national mosque in the next few years. The mosque will be able to hold almost every Muslim man within the greater Dushanbe area, and the government will undoubtedly mandate that all Dushanbe men pray only in that mosque. I'm mostly explaining this because I don't want everyone back home thinking that the Tajik government's relationship with Islam is all chummy. Tajikistan is not like Iran, or Saudi Arabia, or any other Muslim country in the region. Tajikistan still has problems surrounding Islam, but they are pretty unique compared to other places.

And now for some lighter holiday news: Though Tajiks don't celebrate Halloween, American Councils bought a bunch of pumpkins for their students to carve and put around the office. I carved the Tajik crest on one side and the Iranian crest on the other side of my pumpkin. Pretty nerdy, but it made for a fun after-class activity. Also, this weekend we have a four day break from classes. It turns out that this year Eidi Qorbon (sacrifice day) occurs on the same day as Constitution Day. So I don't have classes on Monday (today) or Tuesday. No one really does anything for Constitution Day, but Eidi Qorbon is a big big deal in Tajikistan. 

Eidi Qorbon commemorates the story in the Bible where Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, but then he sacrificed a goat instead. We've heard the longer version of the story from people, but that's the basic gist. There are actually a few different Eid's throughout the year, but I think only two of them are celebrated in Tajikistan. For the actual day, which was yesterday, a lot of families choose to buy a goat or a sheep and butcher it on Eid and bring around the meat to their friends. Typically families are either hosting a stream of guests all day and feeding everyone till they drop, or they are going from house to house as guests and getting stuffed. Luckily, my host family chose to stuff others yesterday. Before our guests came over, I went to my Grammar professor's house with some friends and ate way too much. By the time I came back home, some of our guests were already over. It was really interesting meeting my host family's friends from around the city. We all looked at old pictures and watched old home videos together. It's reassuring to be reminded that people are pretty much the same anywhere you go in the world.

Also, while the rest of the world fell back one hour yesterday, Tajikistan did not. Tajikistan doesn't recognize daylight savings. I don't know the real reason why, but it's probably some combination of ignoring the Western world and lacking the ability to notify everyone in the hinterlands about the change.

I'm not sure what's on tap for today, but tomorrow American Councils is taking us to a Tajik comedy play. Details to follow.

More pictures below.

^ historical monument/madrasah/mausoleum

^ one of the 44 springs

^ national zoo, it's not very happening

^ me with some wildlife

^ making friends with camels

^ 'jungle cats' exhibit (they were all house cats)

^ pumpkin side 1: tajikistan

 ^ pumpkin side 2: iran

^ national mosque

^ watching the whole country file out of the mosque