Talking Tajik: December 2011

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...

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.