November 30, 2011

We received a message from the embassy encouraging us to celebrate World’s AIDS Day by presenting a lesson at our respective host institutions. They attached a lesson plan, an article about a woman whose parents had died of AIDS and even a short BBC clip about the disease in different parts of the world including Tajikistan. If only I had the technology to take advantage of these materials. I don’t even have access to a photocopier to provide each student with a copy of the article much less watch the clip on TV. I wasn’t even sure such topic could broach in such a conservative society as the Tajik and approached the dean with the question. He indicated I was free to talk about the topic in my classes.

As to the idea of offering conversation classes to all the English teachers at the institute, he was more than supportive and told me to just make sure the Resource Center would be available during those hours. I promised to draft a memo to him so he could present the idea to his other colleagues in the corresponding departments so attendance might be much higher. If this proposal comes to be, and I’m never sure of anything around here, I’d feel much better since I’d actually be doing the teacher training I was initially recruited to do.

Since the semester’s exams are around the corner, a group of students was hounding me this morning to tape several topics on  their cell phone so they could listen to it at home in preparation for a speaking presentation in their phonology class. I did it at the end of my class and it must have sounded awful, at least to me, since the texts were plagued by numerous mistakes, lack of punctuation and missing words. At least the students were happy with it.

On to the meeting at the American Corner to finalize details about our upcoming series of teacher training workshops. Elisabeth monopolized much of the conversation, as usual, and when done, we went to a cafeteria nearby that Elisabeth had discovered with her teacher assistant. The place was clean, well-lit and practically deserted by 1:30pm. As in many other places, the food was cold as they don’t seem to have the capacity to keep food hot once it comes off the stove/oven.

Elisabeth and I proceeded to the bookstore to see if books had arrived, they hadn’t,  and she asked the attendant if she could use the bathroom. He responded in the negative and she point blank asked him: “Where do you go to the bathroom?" The clerk looked at her perplexed and just shook his head. I think it was best he didn’t understand her arrogance and lack of finesse. Next, we passed the Apple store and she indicated she was going to go in and ask about a bathroom since she “sort of” knew these guys. I guess the answer must have been negative and she joined me again to stop at the stationery store so I could buy envelopes and batteries. I also checked the prices for the sticky notes and highlighters I’ll need for my presentation. Elisabeth asked again to use the bathroom and was told none was available. I then remembered that the Rohat Tea House across the street had a bathroom for customers and charged only 50 dirams for its use.

Elisabeth tried to entice me to have a cup of tea with her there, but I told her I had some preparations to do for dinner that night at Yoomie’s house. Peter had blurted out in front of Elisabeth about the dinner plans and she had not received an invite. I encouraged her to email Yoomie as she must have forgotten, but she said it was all right.

The day turned from a frigid morning with temperatures around 37 degrees to a balmy afternoon in the mid 50s. I had to shed my coat on the walk home and when I stopped at the supermarket, I was greeted by a blast of hot air from all angles as they still had the heat on.

Daroush joined Caroline and I on the way to Yoomie and gallantly hailed a taxi as he didn’t want to wait for the mini-van and then paid for it himself. Although Yoomie had promised to take the day off to prepare dinner and insure we sat to eat at 7:30, she pulled up to her apartment in a taxi when we got there. Her apartment doesn’t have a stove or oven, but a hot plate, there is no wall unit for AC or heating and no washing machine. She’s proud that she only pays $200.00 a month, as opposed to my $500.00, but I certainly wouldn’t want to have to go someplace else to do my baking and laundry. The place is so drafty that I kept my coat on the whole evening. She only has a space heater and kept it in the bedroom the whole time.

Met Cecilia, another Couch Surfer I had contacted online, who works for the Save the Children Foundation. She grew up in London and the United States and has been all over the world working for this NGO. There was Amanda, another young woman who has been paid to come here and learn Farsi and who impressed Daroush greatly by speaking his language in a flawless manner.

The food was great:  a locally-grown turkey with not an ounce of fat in it. Ryan, where she baked it, said it looked like a cat when it was done. Delicious mashed potatoes with garlic, stuffing with apples and nuts, corn, squash and flat bread. I contributed some locally made shredded carrot salad. I even shared half of a Baltika beer with Peter. The desserts left much to be desired as the commercially-made ones were totally insipid and the one someone brought, some concoction with oats, peanut butter, nuts and who knows what else looked disgusting, hadn’t been baked and it was served cold. I had to take it out of my mouth and discreetly dispose of it.

Daroush, Peter, Caroline and I shared a taxi ride since Daroush could arrange it. I had a pretty good day in all.

November 29, 2011

I slept badly thinking about my new schedule and the fact that it was going to be very cold on my way to the institute. Mercifully, I didn’t have to wait for a mini-van as one was stopped at the light and I made my way to the PedInst at a brisk pace. The dean was in his office and when I told him I couldn’t understand the reasons behind the change in schedule, he informed me the board of directors had made the decision the day before, contradicting Pariso’s statement that she had been informed last Saturday, and it was intended to protect the young female students who were obligated to travel long distances in the dark now that it’s winter. He promised to insure that I’d continue to use the only classroom with the whiteboard, but when I got to the classroom, another class was already in progress there and couldn’t find my students.

The same teacher who had practically insulted me last Friday now approached me to apologize saying that I had misunderstood him and that he meant that the students were in fact learning to speak English. I did not buy his explanation, but neither did I want to engage in a long discussion with someone for whom I have no respect. He was very cordial this time and when he saw how frustrated I was at not being able to find where I was due to be teaching, he offered to find out where my students were. I then had to go back and retrieve my CD player to get the class started. The story was repeated for all three classes as even the students themselves did not know where to report for their classes and some had taken advantage of the confusion to sneak out for a snack. Pacing the hallway up and down, carrying the CD player, my schoolbag and coat got old quickly and I was almost tempted to set the player anywhere and just leave. After all, in such confusion, who’d notice my absence?

During my break, three of the male professors, one of whom I had never been introduced to, approached me, and making sure the door was closed, admitted they were having a very difficult time teaching with their Russian textbook as they themselves hardly spoke the language. One wanted help explaining the future perfect, another felt a conversation class for the teachers was in order while the last one wanted help explaining syntax. I told them I was willing to offer teacher training sessions in the afternoon as long as the dean approved it and for them to bring it up during their staff meeting.

Caroline was waiting for me at the American Councils and we went to lunch at the cafeteria nearby where they had fried fish this time and I had my customary bowl of soup and bread. The fish was delicious and although fried didn’t taste greasy. The fog had burned out completely and we were looking at a marvelous day with the mountains in their full splendors and almost fully covered with snow. I decided it was a good day to walk back home stopping along the way at the butcher shop for some beef and then a vegetable vendor for some pickled carrots for tomorrow’s dinner at Yoomie’s.

Mariam knocked on my door this evening and when I opened it she started to cry. I noticed she was dressed all in black and a dread came over me as I suspected, and she confirmed it, that her father had passed away. She had mentioned he was sick last week when she delivered the plate full of persimmons and I had not had the courtesy to stop by her apartment and ask how he was doing. She insisted that I go down to her flat so her daughter could explain things better, but Nilufar doesn’t speak much English either and we sat in front of a coffee table laden with sweets, cookies, fresh fruit and other goodies while I learned information about the deceased who happened to have been a professor at the PedInst.

When two other women came by and the round of soup, bread and tea started again, I begged to leave as I had work to do upstairs. I still don’t know what would be appropriate to do for Mariam in this situation. Perhaps flowers? Or cooking a meal? I really don’t know.

November 28, 2011

Woke up to find almost all the snow gone and a very chilly apartment. Made my way to the so called “conversation” class I have on Mondays where the students are basically acquiring new vocabulary through whatever topic I bring up, but there is no give and take as they don’t have sufficient words to express their ideas. The topic today was “Growing Up” and we discussed such issues as moving, misbehaving at school or home, suitable punishment, the concept of curfew and grounding and so on. The teacher for this group asked me to stay for a few minutes after the class was over so I could explain a passage in the abominable Russian textbook which the students were finding too difficult to comprehend. The text in questions was an almost poetic description of the city of London in the early morning as it’s enveloped by the fog and mist coming from the Thames River. The author, not mentioned in the book, imagines that the entire city is a gathering of ghosts and that even such substantial buildings as the St. Peter’s Cathedral could be pushed with his index finger. I pity the poor students who with their rather pedestrian knowledge of English are expected to translate such sublime language into Russian while being given no background knowledge or help with the vocabulary itself. The teacher himself didn’t know the reference to St. Paul’s. What can you expect from the students then?

Went to see Pariso about the medical appointment and found her covered in a very stylish black coat with fake fur at the collar and handcuffs. When I told her that the coat was quite fancy, she admitted she didn’t know what “fancy” meant. I was then told that my classes had been switched to the morning schedule and that I was expected to be at the institute beginning at 8:00am on Tuesday. I countered by saying that my agreement with the dean was for my classes to take place in the afternoon. Supposedly she had been notified of the change just on Saturday afternoon and she had been too busy with her cousin’s wedding to let me know.

We went to a nearby medical clinic where the doctor apparently told her he was in no position to issue a health certificate for a woman he had never seen and referred her to the director. She was busy on her cell phone and made us wait. She appeared to be Russian, with heavy-set features, bottle blond hair and the tons of make-up they seem to favor. I could tell she was telling Pariso that unless I underwent the whole series of exams, i.e., blood, urine, fecal matter, EKG, and so on no certificate could be issued. I told Pariso I was not about to undergo such exams as I had already being medically cleared in the States. I promised to bring a copy of that document and have her translate it.

When I got off the mini-van on my way to the embassy, a guy approached me and started speaking to me in Russian. My continual assertions that I spoke no Russian didn’t deter him and it finally dawned on me he was saying he “loved me” and wanted to have my phone number. When he poked my leg with the cell phone, I almost leapt at him. I was close enough to the embassy to point it out to him and indicated I’d report him to the police as soon as I got there. The guy took off immediately.

Went to cash a check and learned Vali was on vacation. The woman taking his place was very pleasant, but obviously inexperienced as she seemed to be reading every step as she took it. When I went downstairs, Elena handed me a package from Sandy containing my baking pan and spatula and the envelope Peter had asked me to pick up for him. Tahmina was on vacation this week and Sandy was out, so there was no one for me to consult regarding this unexpected change of schedule at the institute. Elena told that there was no one to cover for Tahmina in her absence and that any questions should be forwarded to Sandy.

I had my two envelopes ready to mail to the States and asked her where they should be dropped off. She was not aware we could mail correspondence even if we had U. S. stamps on it and asked me to leave the envelopes on her desk until she found out what to do with them.

Pariso called tonight to confirm that my first class tomorrow takes place at 8:55am and she didn’t know if I were going to be assigned to the same classroom where the only whiteboard resides. She was able to explain that the change in schedule took place because the fourth and fifth year students are out doing their practicum thus vacating additional classroom space for the first year students. Apparently, there was also consideration for the fact that it’s winter and it gets dark earlier, but I couldn’t understand how that ties into the schedule.

I’m very angry and disappointed that I was not consulted about it. When I email Sandy with this new twist on the ongoing saga at the PedInst, she felt I should take it in stride and just change my schedule. Of couse! It does not affect her, so why would she care?

November 27, 2011

It continued to snow throughout the night and this morning the view from my window was of a continuous blanket extending past the horizon. My apartment has zero insulation, so typical of the Soviet-era built apartment blocks, and thus I can only heat up the area where the space heater is located. I try to make a conscious decision as to where I’m going to spend the most time that day and then move one of the space heaters there. Caroline came over this morning and found the electric bill tucked in my door. It’s for a whopping 63.00 somonis or about $13.00 and Peter offered to show me where it should be paid. At least he reassured me that the power won’t be turned off if I happen to be late in paying it.

I offered to cook black-eye peas and rice and to add the leftover meat to a ratatouille with whatever vegetables I happened to have at hand. I still had three slices of pie left. Caroline and I ate first for one never knows when Peter would make his grand entrance. He brought a small chocolate-covered cake whose texture reminded me of those insipid cakes made at the Publix supermarkets in Florida.

We spent the rest of the afternoon figuring out how to organize the teacher training workshops and upcoming training for all the English teachers in Tajikistan who will convene in Dushanbe in January.  I’m excited about finally participating in some actual teacher training as opposed to just teaching English to beginners.

I was able to complete my report to Georgetown, with Caroline's help, so I can be reimbursed for the purchase of the textbooks for my students. I plan to mail the report directly from the embassy so as to insure its prompt delivery stateside.

November 26, 2011

As predicted, snow started falling in the early morning. I was so glad I didn’t have plans to go anywhere until Ryan called to invite me to lunch along with Elisabeth. I was all cozied up in my PJs and wanted nothing else but to stay home and just read, nap and watch movies. I informed Elisabeth of the invite, but didn’t include myself. Yoomie called later on to entice to come to Ryan’s so we could watch movies, but I could do that at my place without having to get dressed and deal with the snow. So I stayed home and apologized. Elisabeth texted later on to say she was staying home as well and she’s from Pennsylvania!

I was grateful to still have the Thanksgiving Day leftovers and not to have to bother  cooking today. Then decided it was a good day to start studying from my Russian textbook, “Russian for Dummies”, while agreeing that the language has way too may consonants and too few vowels. I’m only grateful that it’s an entirely phonetic language, thus very similar to Spanish so that what you see is what you say. It also helps that just like English, Russian has borrowed a large number of words from both Latin and Greek thus making it easier for me to recognize quite a few cognates. I do need to take some formal lessons to get me started and have been postponing the process until my work scheduled was completely finalized. It’s time to take the plunge.

In the evening, I watched “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle”, a cheesy movie that some critics had recommended as representing a segment of American culture that doesn’t get enough coverage in your average movie. I could have done without the scatological jokes, but overall it was all right. I then listened to some of George Carlin’s words of wisdom before going to bed to read from “Flaubert’s Parrot” by Julian Barnes, a sarcastic analysis about literature and its critics.

November 25, 2011

I baked the persimmon tart I had promised my students and had no difficulty carrying it to the campus. Invited Pariso to come to the classroom and have a slice. Tahmina had informed me that Pariso should be the one contacting my landlady to get a letter of recommendation. When she came into the classroom, she admitted she didn’t know what a tart was and had never heard of the fruit persimmon that my students had indicated they’ve been taught to believe were dates. I asked Glaso to cut the slices and noticed that no one was eating. When encouraged to do so, I was informed it was their custom to wait for everybody to get their slice and then counted 1,2,3 and started eating. Students wanted to know what was in the filling, but it was difficult to describe a mixture of milk, cream, cornstarch, egg yolk, vanilla, and sugar.

                                                   

                                                                   Persimmon tart

During my second class, the teacher who occupies the same classroom in the morning, and who wasn’t too happy to hear he’d have to share it with me, walked in supposedly to retrieve some papers. He tried to tell me jokingly the other day that the classroom was his second home to which I replied sardonically that he had a very small house indeed. My students were in the middle of practicing a dialogue and were all talking at the same time as it’s expected. This teacher looked at the group exasperatedly and said: “They are learning air.”. I said: “Pardon me, the students are practicing a dialogue.”. He insisted the students were learning air as in “nothing”. What a jerk! I really had to make an effort to restrain myself and not reply in kind. This is the same teacher who walked in while we were eating the tart and wish me: “Have a bon appétit.”

While waiting for Elisabeth to arrive so we could go together to Sandy’s open house, the dean came by to check that all windows were closed and lights turned off. I asked to speak to him and relayed the incident emphasizing the lack of professionalism exhibited by this teacher by making such comments in front of the entire class. The dean agreed with me that such conduct was not acceptable and promised he’d talk to the teacher in questions.

I sat in the courtyard and watched as the cleaning lady and her daughter, who has a limp and hardly appears to be over twelve, tried valiantly to sweep and corral the falling leaves as new piles formed in the just cleaned pathways. There were municipal crews on the other side of the streets engaged in the same activity. Elisabeth was half hour late, nothing unusual, and we set out to find Sandy’s house through a series of narrow streets lined with the typical impenetrable gates. We came to a huge mansion with a sign on the gate that read: UNAID Dropout Prevention Program. Elisabeth immediately mentioned that the house must have been built with drug money.

Sandy lives in another three-story house with resplendent hardwood floors, three piece bathroom, full-size washer and dryer, a cook and a nanny. We were served steamed dumplings with an Ukrainian relish, bags of different croutons, and some sweets that looked entirely unappetizing. I was delighted to hear there was hot apple cider to  be had for beer, wine or juice didn’t appeal to me as my hands were freezing.

There were no introductions made, no music and little mingling. Damian and his wife, a Chinese-American woman about to publish her first novel, gave a ride home.

November 24, 2011

I opened my eyes this morning to find a foggy morning with heavy rain pounding on the roof. Caroline promised to come earlier and tried to find out what the problem might be with my Skype connection as she has no problems skyping with friends and relatives. She didn’t make it until 12:00 and then informed me she was not feeling well and would not be accompanying us to the Thanksgiving dinner sponsored by the embassy staff. We walked together to Rudaki to meet with Peter and Elisabeth so we could share the taxi ride. Caroline had brought a pasta salad to contribute. I had nothing.

We had to wait for Elisabeth, under the pouring rain, who was at T-Mobile checking the balance on her cell phone and inquiring about the modem, which she's still reluctant to spring for. Tajik men and women were scurrying around as they had just celebrated a local holiday as well, Flag Day. We hopped on a shared taxi and got past the Medical College, but Elisabeth didn't know exactly where the street was. I asked a passerby and Peter followed him into a shop where someone gave him directions. We followed a narrow street full of the usual gates, I'm beginning to call Dushanbe the ultimate gated community, got on the wrong side and could not find #16. Not a soul on the street and just gates on both sides. I noticed a chair on the street with some flat bread, covered by plastic bags, propped on a chair and found it was an advertisement for a tiny bakery where they bake the more artisanal bread with the designs and poppy seeds in the center. Elisabeth was carrying her camera and took some photos. We promised to buy some bread on the way back.

                                                     Traditional bakery

                                             Admiring the bread outside the bakery

Sarah's house was still farther out and then we saw the diplomatic license plates, the high gate and door bell. I believe the gate itself must be armored and there was a guard just to open the door and two other inside a cubicle. She lives in a three-story house with expensive chandeliers and massive furniture. Polished hardwood floors were covered with numerous rugs and we weren't required to take off our shoes, but I need because for the first time, water had gotten inside and my socks were dripping wet. At first I didn't recognize anyone, but Camilla recognized me and came to greet me. She happened to be speaking to Darren, who just nodded in my direction, so Peter started talking to him. I was not introduced to anyone and only met the hostess when I walked into the kitchen to hand her your salad. The kitchen is the size of my entire apartment and she had two local women helping her. She had given a tour of the home already, so we missed it. I approached the coffee table laden with appetizers such as sushi, hummus with real Kalamata olives and smoked almonds. There was woman, who appeared to be African-American or at least multi-racial sitting nearby and I introduced myself.  Peter pointed out to me that the skinny, gray-haired fellow sitting at the end of the same sofa was the ambassador as he recognized his face from a photo on the website. I was not introduced and after Sandy's stern warning about approaching him, I kept my distance. There was way too much food and one table set up nearby remained entirely empty. The only person from the embassy I saw later on was Elena, and yes, she did say hello to me without prompting. No Sandy, Tahmina or Damian, Vali and so on. The food was bland, the cranberries oily and extremely tart, the pies were the best and to top it off, she did have good coffee. I had two cups and probably won't be able to go to sleep until three in the morning. Sarah apparently forgot  Caroline’s salad and the cucumber one Elisabeth had made and brought them out after everybody had served themselves. She did encouraged us to take leftovers home and Hillary and Lauren, who showed up late, but in time to eat, told Sarah that Ilana was teaching her lesson about Thanksgiving (so generous of her) and it'd be nice to take her  a plate. I remembered Caroline’s saucepan and claimed likewise. So I have enough food to feed me for at least two days after adding some seasonings, of course. She even said to take some pie and I have slice of pecan pie and pear pie, which were very good.

We bought some flat bread on the way to Rudaki and I took some of the hummus and olives to have tomorrow for lunch.  Darren was his morose usual self and even lay on the couch after eating. Elena left shortly after the dinner. When we finally got underway, Elisabeth recollected that she not given Sarah a proper goodbye, e. i., a hug and wanted to go back. Peter said it was fine and we'd wait. I said a curt no; that my feet were wet and my hands cold and I wanted to get home. She was going around the room talking about her damn TA and even when taking leftovers had to tell us all that she'd be sharing them with her tomorrow.  Peter was in heaven because Sarah has two big, fat cats and he couldn't take his eyes off of them. He also enjoyed the meal tremendously and kept sighing after every course. 

My clogs were completely soggy by the time I reached home and I now know I can’t wear them when it’s simply pouring outside.

November 23, 2011

Made it to my second conversation class at the Slavonic Russian University and upon its conclusion was called into the office by the teacher. Five different teachers were trying to talk to me and each other all at once as apparently a decision had been made that the conversation class was causing a disruption to their “teaching plan” as it had been submitted to the Ministry of Education and they could not allow it to proceed. It then became clear to me that they wanted to have me teach first year students English grammar with the same crappy book the PedInst is using. As a matter of fact they seemed to be behind the institute as they were just getting to the same pointless lesson about an English doctor’s cottage with its many rooms and orchards. I told the teacher that spoke the most fluent English that since my arrangement had been made with the dean, I’d contact him about the situation and let them know. I don’t believe I’ll be setting foot on that campus again.

Proceeded to the American Corner where all ELFs and Tahmina and Sandy were meeting for what they deemed an “orientation” almost two months after my arrival. Sandy pulled out a list of topics and promised to get us out within an hour since Corrie had a class in the same room beginning at 1:00pm. She went ahead and informed us about the chain of command at the embassy, diplomatic pouch privileges and the possibility of getting a photocopier available to us at the American Corner if we agreed to pay for the paper and toner. I can’t see how we could pay for these expenses without having control over access to it. We were also a list of organizations affiliated with the embassy which are in need to support from ELFs and also places outside the capital where teacher training could take place especially if we could travel in groups of two or three. That was the best part of the meeting.I invited Caroline, who was feeling better by now, and Peter to come up to my place for leftovers and we ate more of the plov, polished off the last of the persimmon tart and had coffee.

It was then off to my last class. As arrived at the building it seemed as if all the leaves had come to an agreement to fall at the same time and with the most graceful swirls started landing on the pavement. I had never seen anything like it as the ground was completely covered in leaves in a matter of seconds. I wish I had a high-powered camera to capture it as it happened. One student handed me a beautiful brown leaf when she came in.

Pariso reminded me that I need to have a medical check-up and submit a letter of recommendation from my landlady before I can receive the 80.00 somonis a month I have been promised. She offered to accompany me and promised it won’t cost more than 20.00. I’m going to do it just to see what constitutes a medical exam in Tajikistan. I wrote to Tahmina to ask her about the letter of reference from my landlady, a woman I don’t know how to locate or communicate with.

I stopped at the supermarket to get milk and thought I recognized the woman ahead of me as Elena, the embassy employee who was handling my visa extension, and so I said hello. She barely acknowledged me and when I asked if she lived in the area, curtly replied that she didn’t but did her shopping there anyway. I hope she’s not present tomorrow at the Thanksgiving dinner as she certainly is a sourpuss.

Yoomie called to inquire if leftovers could still be had as she would be working late. She came over after 7:00 and we chatted for a while before she had to go to Ryan’s house to get his Couch Surfer as Ryan is departing tonight for Copenhagen. 

November 22, 2011

After many emails and phone calls from personnel at the embassy, an official orientation meeting is to take place tomorrow at the American Corner. We also received an official invitation to attend Thanksgiving dinner at someone’s house who also works for the embassy. I can’t wait to find out what kind of food they can get over here. When I arrived at the PedInst, I looked for the dean to remind him of my being absent on Thursday, but his door was locked. Went to Pariso’s classroom and there was a substitute there instead. My 101 group, the one I only see once a week, and the largest, still had some students who had not received their textbooks. Many expressions of disbelief at not having to pay for it and many, many thanks for being able to write in it and have the CD available to play at home. Students are getting into the rhythm of the book and now even predict when they need to listen and then repeat.

One of the male teachers walked in to tell me that group 113, again, didn’t have a teacher and would I combine both classes. I agreed to do so for the next period even though I knew I didn’t have enough chairs as they students said they’d bring chairs from another classroom. There was total confusion then as to who should stay and who should leave as there weren’t enough chairs to be found. Some students chose to leave. One of those who stayed told me they had been at school since 9:00am and were simply starving and ill-humored by then. I really don’t know or understand why these students end up with no teachers so often. The combined class was a bit rowdy, but manageable. We played the “Name Game” at the end and talked a bit about practicing vocabulary on a regular basis.

Zohir approached me as I was leaving to ask me, for the umpteenth time, what he could do to improve his English. I tried to be diplomatic about the fact that he doesn’t have enough vocabulary to carry on a conversation and mentioned there was a possibility that Caroline might work at the American Councils and help him build up his stock of words. He seemed disappointed for I know he wants me to take up the challenge of turning him into a fluent English speaker practically overnight.

Tajiks are very proud of having erected the largest flag to be flown from the tallest flagpole in the world. Do they really think tourists will flock here for the chance to have their picture taken next to it? I don’t think so. That money could have been better spent in updating the infrastructure of the country for the benefit of all its citizens and even visitors like me.

                                                         

                                                    Largest flag in the world

I walked home following my new route and it took me about 35 minutes.

November 21, 2011

I spent a quiet morning at home catching up with email and doing some reading of my numerous books in digital format. When it was time to go to the institute, I decided to take a different route and instead of walking to Rudaki and taking the trolley, hopped into a mini-van going straight northbound and got off close to the intersection with PedInst. There are no blocks here, just one long block full of eateries for the locals, some quite well appointed and others that looked like just holes in the wall. Since it was close to lunch time, they were busy getting ready for the crowds, I guess.

                                                          Arches at the Ismoili Plaza

My conversation class was instructed to answer some questions about their parents’ jobs, their own jobs and their dream jobs, a question most of them had a hard time answering as if it had never occurred to them to dream of being president, a famous movie star or a scientist. The word “prestigious” baffled them and they didn’t know what to say about having union representation or unemployment compensation. Only three of the students present actually had jobs and one of them was seasonal. Not much to work with.

Returned to my flat to have a lunch of leftovers, read some more and took a quick nap until the people living next door started to drill and hammer in what appears to be remodeling job taking place on evenings and weekend.

I was wondering what’s up with Tajik men, mostly the younger generation, who wear extremely pointy shoes. Is it to send a message as to how well-endowed they might be? Some of the shoes border on the ridiculous with their elaborate pleats, faux crocodile skin and other adornments.

What is beginning to get my goat is how often and indiscriminately the men spit. They seem to do it just about every few minutes and everywhere, but I find it most disgusting when they leave their spit on the steps leading to my apartment. You would think they would refrain from such activity right in the place they live.

November 20, 2011

I got up early to clean the apartment and start cooking the beef so it would be very tender and tasty by the time Corrie arrived with the rice. The one good thing about having a small place is how quickly one can make it look presentable. I cleaned the toilet and sink, organized the coat rack, put away my textbooks, folded clothes, put others away for laundry day, did the dishes, and cleaned the kitchen table. Mariam knocked on my door to deliver a plate of persimmons and another pomegranate. I tried to tell her that I was about to make a tart with the persimmons and would be giving her a slice to taste. I then remembered that Caroline had sent her a thank you note and a post card from San Francisco and gave it to her. A few minutes later, Nilufar knocked on the door indicating she was wasn’t sure about the note and then came in and started to cry saying she had some big problem and needed an attorney to help her. I tried to calm her down and told her when Nigina came in I’d call her so she could talk to her. Rebecca called to cancel and offered to send her ingredients with Corrie who lives nearby. Zeinura never called or showed up and Caroline texted saying she wasn’t feeling well. Elisabeth called to say she had changed her mind about going hiking and would be coming to join us.

Nigina showed up with tons of vegetables, already cooked, to make a salad plus chocolates for dessert. Elisabeth brought drinks, as did Daroush; Ryan brought a bottle of RC Cola, and Yoomie showed up, late as usual, with another salad. Corrie brought the rice and the cashews and raisins Rebecca had handed her. I made a valiant effort at a persimmons tart with only a few of the ingredients the recipe called for, but everyone loved it. Nigina counseled Nilufar and gave her the telephone number of someone to call and I sent a piece of the tart to Mariam.

I added way too much rice to the plov and Daroush kept insisting I should not add anymore oil or seasoning to it. It didn’t taste as good as Mariam’s, but part of the problem was that I was trying to make practically double what she had made and had trouble gauging the measurements. I’m sure I’ll be able to do a much better job next time when I cook it just for me. We had coffee and tea and then I dealt with the mountain of dishes. Peter took some leftovers home and I saved some for Caroline. Peter insisted on giving me his old Nokia cell phone as it has Internet access and is of much better quality than the Chinese one I bought here. He previously wanted $40.00 for it, but I refused to pay it as I felt I had already spent too much money on phones.

Elisabeth called to say that talking to Nigina about her job for a State Department’s contractor made her feel uncomfortable for she doesn’t really want to know how the taxpayers’ money is being spent on buying batons, handcuffs and other equipment for the local police in addition to paying to renovate the police academy’s classrooms and the salary of its teachers.

November 19, 2011

Agreed to meet Elisabeth to go shopping at the Green Market at 10:00am. When I go to her place, she was almost in tears because her flat has an old metal door with a three-prong lock that would not align properly and she had spent almost fifteen minutes trying to close it. After showing me her apartment, a spacious place with lots of furniture, albeit too old, and facing a busy commercial street, I also tried to lock her door and failed as well. She called someone related to the landlady and was told to keep trying, that she wasn’t putting the whole weight of her body against the door. She was also reprimanded at that time for leaving her trash out on the landing. Elisabeth reiterated her belief that the Tajik people are degenerates and only out to make money from the foreigners stupid enough to rent flats from them.

We proceeded to the second hand store where she had gotten a pretty good coat the day before, but I was unsuccessful in securing a similar one. All the coats seemed suitable for tall, big people and she mentioned that someone told her the clothing was coming from Germany. We then went to the market where I bought the ingredients to make plov on Sunday and along the way found a place baking flat bread and was able to buy a piping hot one to take home and have with my leftover soup. At the last minute, I remembered I was short on glasses and took a detour to the house wares section where I found the most beautiful cobalt blue heavy glasses and a whole set of six on top of that for just 16 somonis.

                                          Beautiful view of the plaza on a foggy morning

Elisabeth wanted to join a group of ex-pats in their search for Christmas ornaments and gifts that could be sent home. I made my way home and watched TV, mostly the news about the capture of Qaddafi’s son. I marinated the beef and set the garbanzo beans to soak overnight. I hope everybody that promised to contribute to the luncheon shows up on time tomorrow.

Got a call from Elisabeth who wanted to know where she could burn her hair as she had been saving the strands in her sink, I saw it and wondered what the heck was going on, as she didn't want other people to get hold of it and perhaps use it to perform black magic on her as people did in Indonesia. I told her there was no place for the burning of hair and that her fears were unfounded as the people of Haiti believed the same thing, but it had no effect. She still didn't want to throw her hair in the trash and was reluctant to believe that the old pipes in this city can't handle bundles of hair being flushed down the toilet.

Peter showed up without calling to tell me his credit card, an only means of getting access to his money in the States, had been cancelled and he had no money to add to his cell phone. I myself was somehow low on cash having spent almost $800.00 on the purchase of the students' textbooks, and only had 100.00 somonis to spare. He'll be calling his bank tomorrow morning to lean what the problem is.

Declined the invitation to attend a housewarming party at Nona's flat since it started at 8:00pm and I figured it'd be mostly young people doing a lot of drinking.

November 18, 2011

I got a call at 11:00am from one my students in the 113 group informing me that they were free at that time and would I come and teach them English then. I don’t know how this student got hold of my mobile number, but the answer was a rotund “no” as I had just taken a shower and needed time to dress and travel there. My first class was not due to start until 1:25pm. Stopped at the underpass shopping complex to get a copy of my classroom key so I could return the original to the dean. I then stopped at the bookstore where they had given me the wrong teacher’s manual book. The clerk said he didn’t have a copy of the appropriate one and couldn’t order one without the approval of his manager. I’m to stop by tomorrow to know the verdict. I’m afraid the manager will say no and won’t even reimburse me for the expense.

                                                 The magnificent Opera Ballet Theater

When I got to the PedInst, the students approached me once again to teach them at 1:25 instead of 3:15 so they could go home earlier. I told them group 111 was scheduled for a back-to-back class and were already waiting for me. The student then suggested that I combined both classes to which I replied my classroom could barely contain the 21 students in group 111. The dean came by then and heard the request. Since he has no way idea as to what my teaching schedule is, he suggested I teach then the next period. At the end, when 3:15 came around, the students were gone, as it appears they had had no teachers all afternoon, and I got to leave early.

Corrie had invited all ELFs to her new apartment for dinner and I begged her to let me come earlier as I desperately needed to use her bathroom. On the way there, I stopped at a copy center Peter had recommended where they have newer equipment and charge only 30 dirams per page. The pregnant receptionist was very cordial and said I could print directly from my JumpDrive, which was a relief.

Corrie’s flat is located on the third floor of an older building and although it lacks in some modern appliances such as a microwave and something as practical as a bathroom sink, it has the advantage of being located a block from Rudaki Avenue and across the street from two supermarkets. After relieving my bladder and having a bite to eat, I had skipped lunch, I mentioned the need to obtain cornstarch for a persimmon tart I’m planning on baking on Sunday. One of the supermarkets had it and the other had powdered vanilla and confectioner’s sugar. Her intent was to offer us something similar to fajitas, but the meat was tough, the vegetables overcooked and the flat bread that served as tortillas too chewy. I had purchased a piping hot flat bread on the way back to her house and almost ate the whole thing by myself. She had also made oatmeal cookies with Nutella or strawberry jam in the center. They were delicious.

Caroline had her Skype call with Harry, our RELO, to determine if another post could be found for her and they reached a suitable agreement, so it seems she’s going to stay with us for the long run. Corrie, whose grandparents were Mennonites, started to show us how to play a game of cards with special cards they had designed as they considered the regular ones to be sinful. We played one round to learn the game and when we were ready for the second one, Elisabeth asked Corrie to allow her to check her email as she has not been willing to buy her own modem. Once online, Elisabeth proceeded to read each one aloud and add comments so as to let us know how much in demand she was already in the community. She was trying to pressure the group into committing to travel to Khorog for the Thanksgiving weekend even when we hadn’t had a chance to discuss the trip. What a boor!

It was almost 9:00 by the time we left and pouring rain again. We chose to go into a shared taxi. Elisabeth was trying to convince Caroline that the two of them could share her apartment as it is quite large and she’s hardly ever there.

November 17, 2011

Spent the morning cooking mung bean soup and seasoning the pot to cook the plov on Sunday. It’s too bad this process requires oil for the entire apartment smelled like burned fat all day. I got more bedbug bites this morning and will have to put into practice what Elisabeth is doing: sleeping on top of her sleeping bag to avoid contact with the mattress. The soup was delicious, but could have been spicier even though I dropped two chili peppers in it.

My first class had a terrific time playing Tic Tac Toe with the topic of countries, languages and nationalities. I tried to continue the theme by playing “hangman” with the names of countries, but the students were very unruly and it didn’t go so well. I could tell it was relief for them to be able to work in groups and challenge each other while the disadvantage was that their knowledge of other countries is slim to none and so many of them tried to use their textbooks or even their cell phones to locate the answer.

My second class contained my ADDH student who can’t sit still for a minute and yells constantly at me and other classmates. Having him working with another partner is almost impossible as he refuses to limit his talking to just one person. I’ve already talked to two other teachers about his behavior, but have seen little change thus far. When he completes the smallest task, he feels entitled to recognition and drives everyone to the point of wanting to smack him.

Met with Caroline at the American Councils and she told me Damian, from the embassy, had invited her to have dinner with his family while discussing what can be done about her case. She invited me to come along, but I declined indicating this was a time for her to have some privacy. Damian was nice enough to give me a ride home since he happens to live nearby.

November 16, 2011

I learned from Caroline this morning that Fulbrighters in Dushanbe are entitled to receive local language classes up to $300.00. When she contacted the embassy to find out if we, ELFs, could benefit from the same program, she was told Fulbrighters are entitled to the lessons because they are doing research in the local community and need language skills while, I guess, we don’t.

Met with Peter and Elisabeth on the way to the institute and had a pumpkin scone and coffee at the Morning Star Café before proceeding to my classes. Elisabeth related she had had an unpleasant encounter with the realtor, Dilya, for they wanted to charge her for seven days of stay at a temporary apartment while her flight had been delayed and had arrived a day late. Since there was no communication between the embassy, the landlord, the realtor and Elisabeth, the landlord demanded full compensation. Elisabeth was insulted and felt that “the moral compass of this nation needs to progress by a hundred years”.

My afternoon class was delightful as the students are becoming more familiar with the textbook and learn to work in pair and do choral repetition. Once it was over, I went to the American Council where Corrie and Caroline were making a presentation on “Statements of Purpose” in support of a college application. I have to admit that I don’t recall ever writing one for either FIU or UNF.

It had been Caroline’s turn to breakdown that morning when Tahmina came over to her high school to sign the MoU. She related how frustrated she was at having to sit in an empty resource room for almost five weeks while her counterpart tried to rearrange the schedule and give her a couple of classes. She mentioned that unless the embassy finds her another post, she’ll be returning to the States. The two of us proceeded to the Ukrainian restaurant to have dinner with Nigina and when the topic turned to what Caroline was doing, she blamed the embassy for placing her at a school where she was obviously not wanted or needed and for lying about the scope of her duties there. When several employees from the embassy showed up at tables nearby, she started to cry and begged to leave. It was all so very sad.

I had another bland dish of chunks of lamb in a watery sauce with traces of eggplant and mushrooms. The bread was cold and the service practically non-existent. Nigina insisted on paying, even for Caroline’s dish, some sort of omelet, which had come too late for her to eat. The place was smoky even though the administration claimed the smoking section was downstairs.

November 15, 2011

There was light dusting of snow on the ground, but nothing to be alarmed at. Went downstairs to my neighbor’s apartment and found out that Nilufar was not going to accompany me, but her mother Mariam. Sarkbar Market is the premier shopping destination in Dushanbe and at 10:00am was packed with mostly female shoppers out trying on boots, coats and other winter clothing. We headed directly to the fabric vendors and I was shocked to find out that in order to have a velvet jumpsuit made would cost almost $55.00. I felt bad about having dragged Mariam into this shopping expedition, but refused to pay so much money for something that in the States would not be considered special. I did try to find a beret to cover my head, but just as with most fabric, they all had tons of glitter or bead work and didn’t match my coat.

We went back to the Green Bazaar and I was able to purchase the cast iron pot in which I’m going to make plov this weekend. I only had a few minutes to grab a bite to eat and then rush to the bookstore to buy the last batch of books for my students. The first two classes were uneventful and when it was time for my break, one teacher came to inform me that the 113 group didn’t have a teacher and asked me if I could take over their class. I did so only to find out that about half of the class had forgotten their books and obviously hadn’t done their homework. I had to pair students so everyone had a book to work with and the class was rather chaotic.

The dean came by to ask for my key so the classroom could be locked after it was cleaned, but given his prior history of disappearing on me, I decided to wait until the classroom was swept and locked it myself. The girl cleaning the room was only twelve and he explained it was typical of children this age to help their parents.

November 14, 2011

Woke up to the sound of heavy rain on the rooftop. At least it wasn’t snow as we feared. Zoir and Glaso did not show up for the tutoring session they had arranged with me and it was fine as I could use the time to relax before heading to my conversation class.

When I approached the dean to find out which classroom I was reporting to, he was busy talking to someone else and motioned for me to wait in his office. Two of the morning English teachers debated who was entitled to have me and, since I couldn’t remember where I went two weeks ago, I went with one of them. The topic for the day was money and it allowed me to learn a lot about my students. None of them has a bank account or a credit card, of course. Only three are gainfully employed, two of them as elementary school teachers, and most students carry on them about 10-15 somonis, or less than three dollars. Only two admitted to gambling on soccer games and most of them said their religion prohibits them from asking to be repaid for money they have lent to friends and relatives. None of them were familiar with the concept of having a budget for weekly or monthly expenses.

Called Zeinura and agreed to meet her for lunch at the Russian cafeteria where she was already waiting in line with another six young women, two of whom spoke English quite fluently as one had lived in London and the other in Ohio. Zeinura is still interested in studying with me to prepare for the TOEFL examination.

Proceeded to the American Council and finally met Rebecca, the American woman who recruits, tests and prepares high school students to spend a year studying at an American school. Rebecca decried the fact that students are not taught to think for themselves, but also conceded that if a student aims to stay in Tajikistan, creative or critical thinking would only marginalize that person making it more difficult to complete their studies or obtain a job thereafter.  She’s only here until January and offered to share her vanilla and molasses with me so I can do some real baking. She participates in a book club and promised to send me the link so I can take part in it, too. She was on her way to the Education Week event taking place at the Bactria Center, the one Tahmina could not quite explain how I could get there. She had a car and driver and it felt great to be out of the rain and in a warm vehicle for once. At the center, I ran into Sandy, Tahmina, Corrie and Caroline. The room was only slightly bigger than my living room and several universities had set out pamphlets on the tables for potential students to grab. There was nowhere to go and we decided to step out under the eaves and then Sandy approached us to inform us that a discussion had been going on around the office regarding our prospective travel to Iran and the consensus had been that we would not be given permission. She did say we were free to travel there in June after our assignment was over.

We repaired to Caroline’s place, which was just one and half block from the Bactria Center, and drank tea, ate pastries and crackers and had some really relaxing conversation. Nigina cancelled plans for dinner and rescheduled for Wednesday.

On my way home, I stopped at a street vendor who fries stuff that looks and smells very similar to our “empanadas” and bought three different kinds for three somonis. The streets were plastered with hundreds of fallen leaves making for a treacherous walk. It didn’t stop raining for one minute.

November 13, 2011

Another Sunday to spend at home folding laundry, cleaning house, listening to music and catching up with the news. Caroline came in at 10:00 to give me a hand with the meal I was going to prepare for Peter, but he didn’t show up until 12:30 with the meat. I had already cooked the rice and beans and Caroline had prepared the salad. Peter had delayed his arrival because he was watching a documentary on Iran being presented on Al Jazeera TV. He seems to be quite infatuated with this country. Caroline decided to eat just the rice and beans and salad and leave so she could prepare some materials for a presentation tomorrow and then attend a musical concert taken place later on this afternoon. I was not interested at all in leaving my house.

The meat he brought was beef and took a long time to soften up as I guess cattle here have more of a chance to exercise and develop muscle contrary to ours that is kept restricted to create more marble. The flavor though was fantastic and immediately brought to mind the way we used to cook beef in the Dominican Republic. Nigina called to invite me to the same musical concert and I had to decline once again. We settled for having dinner tomorrow at the Ukrainian restaurant I have yet to try. Peter took some leftovers home after we had chocolates and coffee for dessert.

Went downstairs to see my neighbor Mariam as I found a photo of a jumper I’d like for her to sew for me. She wasn’t home, but her daughter, Nilufar, agreed to go with me to the Sarbhar market on Tuesday to pick out the fabric.

November 12, 2011

 I had planned to do my market shopping early in the day and then got a call from Ryan to join him for lunch at his place. He prepared another beef soup with a Filipino-style fried rice that had lots of garlic in it. Caroline called at that point as she was standing at my apartment knocking on the door. She joined us for lunch and then convinced me to join Corrie and Peter in welcoming Elisabeth, our newest ELF. I had previously declined as still felt very tired and just wanted to go back to my place and relax. The F1 cafeteria was hosting a private lunch and was thus not an option. We settled for the pizza place as it was a gorgeous day and we could sit outside and avoid the smokers. Elisabeth is a middle-age woman, originally from Pittsburg, PA, who has already done one year as an ELF in Indonesia. She is going to be teaching English at the Magistrate Offices. My cup of coffee was the usual instant variety with clumps of powder milk still floating in it.

Peter kept bringing up the idea of finding a way to get to Iran even if the embassy does not lend full support to the plan. We proceeded to the market where Elisabeth was absolutely mesmerized by the faces of the female vendors, the variety of fruits and vegetables and my comical way of purchasing items using a variety of sign language, English and Russian/Tajik. She struck a conversation with a stall owner who is currently studying at the PedInst and is in his fifth year. He’ll start his practicum in a couple of months he said.

                                                     
                                                          Shopping at the Green Market

We said goodbye as she was going to see an apartment. I got on the wrong mini-van with my overflowing shopping bag where a dozen eggs sat precariously on top. Seeing the driver turned into some unknown street, I asked him if he was going toward “Shotemur Street” and the guy replied in English that he was heading toward the airport. My relief must have been palpable for he smiled widely and told me he was going to show me where to get off and take the same number mini-van in the opposite direction. So it happened that all his passengers exited the vehicle before he got to the airport and he offered to take me back, but would not accept any payment from me. He told he spent four years living in Brooklyn and was delighted to be able to speak English again.  He plans to return to the States at some point. On the way back, I saw a large group of people in front of what looked like a regular residence, but the driver informed me this was a funeral home and a viewing was in progress. Tokhir and I exchanged numbers and he offered to help me in whatever way he could.

Eggs got broken in transit and the bag was way too heavy for me even carrying it in my arms as a baby. I tried to buy everything I needed so as to be able to stay home tomorrow and relax if you could call it that as I’m cooking since Peter was given some meat by one of his students, most likely lamb, and he does not know what to do with it. I declined Corrie's offer to meet at the Chinese restaurant inside the Tajik Hotel for dinner with another American friend. I'm very tired and 7:00 is relatively late for me these days.

November 11, 2011

Although we were entitled to claim this day as a holiday, I decided to go to work as I had already skipped two days of teaching. Stopped at the bookstore and picked another 21 textbooks and the young clerk took the bundle, walked with me across the street and hailed a taxi. I asked the dean for permission to leave the books and CDs in his office until the start of my classes, and since he was free for the first time, asked him for advice on the repetitive notion the other English teachers have that I must be failing in my duties since I am not teaching strictly grammar in my classes. In his fractured English, he told me that point had been discussed in the faculty meeting the previous day and he felt the best way to handle the situation was to transfer me to a higher level class where the students could actually benefit from speaking activities. I countered by telling my teaching philosophy was that students learned a language, including its grammar, in the process of speaking it and not by dissecting the grammar by bits and pieces.

He seemed to agree with this logic; however, his hands were tied as he needed to follow the working plan submitted to the Ministry of Education. I was firm in making the point that I was not about to change classes just a few weeks prior to the end of the semester and now that I had made the investment of getting new textbooks for the students. He reiterated that the faculty had been made aware they needed to be present during my classes to help explain anything that was not clear to the students in Tajik or Russian. I think we both knew this was just a pretense since no faculty member has ever attended one of my classes.

Caroline had taken the day off and met me at the PedInst so we could go in search of the American Council, a place nearby I was told had numerous resources for teachers of English. I showed her the resource center and she was quite impressed as it as it was much larger, better equipped and cleaner than hers. While we were there, a crowd of students gathered at the door and one of them informed me that his teacher, whoever he was, had sent them to the resource center to watch a movie. I told him that unless he had his own key, I couldn’t let him in as I would be responsible for any damaged equipment or missing books. The teacher, presumably as I had no way of knowing this, came in then and insisted I allow his class into the room by telling me he had permission from someone named Shahlo to do so and called her on the phone. I stood firm and said she needed to provide the teacher with her own key and I locked the room and left. The guy just looked at me speechless.

Tahmina ran into us at the gate of the PedInst and indicated she had come in to deliver the final, corrected version of the MoU. She was as somber as usual and when asked for directions to the American Council was as vague as she has been about everything else. It’s hard to believe that she is a local person, who studied at the institute and then became a faculty member for she is very stingy with information and not forthcoming with any insights as to how to navigate the city or the system.

We attempted to follow her directions, but quickly got lost in what seemed like a residential area with one gate following another and no signs of commercial buildings. We had lunch at the Morning Star Café and then I went to my classes. I got three back to back classes on Fridays and it can be plain exhausting. The last class had hired what appeared to be a professional photographer for a class picture and insisted I go to the courtyard to be included in it.

While packing my bag to go home, I received a text message from Corrie asking us to stop at her house that evening. I had no energy left for social activities and instead had to walk back to the bookstore to see if I had left my handheld fan there as it really has helped with my hot flashes. The young clerk had it on top of his computer waiting for me. Walking home seemed like a struggle and didn’t even bother stopping at the supermarket for eggs and milk as I had originally planned. Caroline emailed to let me know she was meeting a group of ex-pats at the Merve Café in case I wanted to join them, but I declined and after eating leftovers for dinner went to bed very early.

November 10, 2011

Arrived at the PedInst at 11:00 as requested by my colleague to finally complete the paperwork so I can become a permanent employee of the university. She was not in her classroom and the dean offered me his office to wait for her. Twenty minutes passed and no Pariso. I called her and she said she was on her way, texted her some twenty minutes later and she did not reply. I was fuming as I did not have a class until 2:20 and no other reason to be there.

One of my male colleagues came in to let me know that the students were concerned that my class was more about speaking and not about grammar. He instructed me to put together 50 questions that could possibly be included in the end of the semester exam and have the students practice answering them. Apparently, I’d need to submit the questions to a testing department which would give it its seal of approval. Only then can I provide them to the students.

Pariso showed up at noon and informed me we had 25 minutes before her class to complete the forms. I offered to print my resume and have her get whatever information she needed from there. The dean’s computer is a decrepit unit at least ten years old with no Internet access or even a PDF reader. The printer can only feed one page at a time and he was unnerved to hear that my resume consisted of three pages that he had to painstakingly load one by one. Pariso had never heard of the Dominican Republic and wanted to look it up in her pocket Russian/English dictionary. She also wanted reassurances that I was indeed an American.

The dean found two students to go with me to the bookstore to pick up the books, which were not ready and had to be brought in from some warehouse. I printed a page for each class to sign for their books and located a CD player in the resource room to play the CD included with the book. The students were delighted with the book and could not believe they did not have to pay for any of it. Some of the students insisted on having my signature on the inside cover as if I had written the book myself. It was also evident that they had never listened to a CD with people carrying on a conversation. We practiced the introductions before ending the lesson.

Took a break at the Morning Star Café so I could use the restroom and ran into two of the Fulbrighters there. One more class with a very enthusiastic group who wanted to pair up and do the introductions over and over. The dean came in to inspect the textbook and determined that this was good for listening, but not for grammar, which is what he feels the students need to pass the test. To hell with being able to speak the language and being understood.

November 9, 2011

Put on my thermal t-shirt, leggings, hiking boots and wrapped my shawl around my neck before facing the still falling snow. At least the temperature had not dropped overnight and the snow was still slushy and easy to crunch with my boots. First stop, the pharmacy to buy a hydrocortisone cream for my bedbug bites which keep getting bigger by the hour. Stopped at the secondary school where Ryan’s neighbor teaches and was ushered into a classroom just slightly bigger than a broom closet. At least the blackboard wasn’t pitted, but she only had the customary wet rag to erase it. The students were reviewing fruits and vegetables and I took over to quiz them about their favorite ones. They all wanted to talk at the same time and it was hard to impose order. The teacher complained about the lack of a teacher’s manual for the textbook and her inability to carry out some of the exercises contain in it. Her next class contained 47 hyperactive teenagers as her colleague was absent and she had to combine both classes. You couldn’t hear yourself think in that environment. No wonder she wants to quit her job!

                                                         Still snowing

                                                   Icicles

Next stop, the Slavic Russian University where the dean was not present once again, but I was directed to another office near the American Corner building. I was directed to the wrong building and had to ask Baktiour, the coordinator at the American Corner, for assistance. Wrong building once again and this time they assigned a statuesque woman from the Pamir area to take me to yet another building very close to the university where I had just come from. The dean agreed to have me come in on Wednesdays at 9:30am to teach a conversation class for fourth year students. I really want to see the difference in the caliber of the students at a private university to compare it to the state-run one.

Took the trolley to go to the PedInst and half way there the cables failed and we were instructed to get out and wait for another one. By happenstance, it stopped in front of the bookstore where I need to get the beginner’s textbooks for my students and I told the clerk to have 90 of them ready for me tomorrow. I will need 3600.00 somonis and don’t know quite how I’ll get that much cash as they do not take credit cards. Continued walking to the institute to talk to the dean about the book purchase and found his office locked, Pariso was not present either and all classrooms were dark and closed. I left a message for the dean and proceeded to the Morning Star Café to have lunch with Peter. Noticed that the banana trees adorning the entrance to the institute had been wrapped in cardboard and plastic as protection against the elements.

Peter is all excited about the possibility of traveling to Iran during our winter break and I hate to rain on his parade for I doubt that the embassy is going to approve our plans and we can’t travel to any area where they impose restrictions. He loved the soup and sandwich special and the dark roast coffee we ordered, and having a sweet tooth, ordered a scone which came with butter and strawberry jam.

I continued on to the embassy where payment for my visa extension was overdue. I got off at the wrong stop and then didn’t recognize anything around me. Elena, at the embassy, texted me at just moment to let me know she was going home in 30 minutes and needed the money before then. She wanted for me to take a taxi right away instead of retracing my steps and finding the right mini-van. Easy for her to say, but I don’t speak Russian or Tajik and can’t hire a taxi and explain where I want to go much less negotiate a fair rate. I disregarded her comment and took the next van. I arrived with ten minutes to spare and the cashier had already closed his window. She wanted 1400.00 somonis or almost $295.00 on the spot. Vali was still around and agreed to cash a check for me, but Elena was furious as she gets a ride from the embassy driver and was in peril of losing it. She kept reminding me about having informed me about the amount and the dateline and I wanted to tell her that I didn’t think anything would happen if I was a day late in paying for the fee. After all, what was the government going to do? Deport me and forfeit the chance to pocket $295.00? I don’t think so.

Found some new books at the CLO office and picked up two of them. Tahmina saw the books and asked if I was taking them. I said yes and felt like asking her if she was planning on reading them or whether we weren’t entitled to take books like everybody else there. Sometimes I feel like English Language Fellows are looked at as a nuisance around the embassy. Spoke to Sandy afterward about our plans to travel to Iran and got a resounding no from her. She’d like to have the Security Officer reply by email to our query to make it official. So much for that.

November 8, 2011

What I thought was rain the night before turned out to be snow! I woke up to find at least 3-4 inches on the tree branches and the ground and it continued to fall steadily all day. My first thought was how I was going to cope with it given the fact that have no heavy sweater, hat, gloves or scarf. The Bandolino boots I got at Goodwill are not wide enough to allow me to wear heavy socks and I might have no choice but to wear my hiking boots with two pairs of socks. The temperature had dropped to a freezing 28 degrees.

                                                 View from my kitchen window

                                               View from my living room

I then thought about the university and its students. What is their policy when you have a snow day? Since the snow day happened immediately after the holiday, would students just stay home? Would the university notify me if there were no classes? I texted Caroline to find out what she had done and she had stayed home and notified her counterpart via text message. Her counterpart never acknowledged the message. I was supposed to go to the embassy to bring my passport and the remaining money needed to extend my visa for a full year. I emailed Tahmina about postponing it until tomorrow. She did confirm that an earthquake had taken place the previous afternoon and tried to reassure me by saying they happen about once a month, but tend to be quite mild.

I made the decision to stay home as well and texted my counterpart about not coming in. Just as in Caroline’s case, she did not respond. Two hours later, I texted her again and she confirmed having received my first message. Of course, she didn’t remember what classes I taught and I had to list them for her. By this time, I had noticed the many angry red, itching spots on both of my legs, my back and arms, some of which I had started a couple of days ago. Yoomie didn’t think they were bug bites and Ryan confirmed they were insect bites and recommended some ointment with hydrocortisone, something of course that I had failed to pack. I had no desire to get dressed just so I could make a trip to the pharmacy. Caroline offered to bring me some tomorrow.

The leftover soup tasted even better than the day before and it was the perfectly nourishing, comfort food I needed on such a frigid day. Oh, did I mention that my classroom is unheated and that Tahmina explained it was perfectly normal to ask all of my students to contribute to a fund to buy a space heater for me?

I spent the rest of the day watching movies on my laptop: “27 Dresses”, “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People” and “The King’s Speech”, the best of all.

November 7, 2011

Agreed to host Caroline, Peter and Corrie, who was turning 30 today, at my apartment just so I didn’t have to go anywhere. Cooked lentil soup with beef, white rice and flat bread. Peter brought juices and what they labeled “baklava” here, but wasn’t more than a cookie. I had two different cakes from the Eid celebration yesterday and made a big pot of tea.While we were eating, we felt the table starting to shake, and since Corrie is from California, she quickly jumped from her chair and stood under the kitchen archway. Caroline was on the telephone, but felt it nonetheless. We had no way of confirming the magnitude of the temblor. The talk then turned to our different posts and the challenges therein. Corrie is just getting started at the School of Journalism. Peter suggested we try to get a visa to travel to Iran during our winter break even though none of us knows exactly when it begins or ends. I’m all for it if we can get the embassy’s approval and we can travel as a group. My neighbor from the third floor just knocked on my door to bring me sweets to celebrate Eid. How gracious of her!

I hear rain falling on the rooftop again.

November 6, 2011

I heard steps on the staircase, the voices of children and then knocks on my door. By the time I put my robe on and opened the doors, they were flying down the steps and then I recalled what my colleague had said about celebrating Little Eid. It turns out to be a combination of three of our holidays: Tajiks dye eggs as we do for Easter, children are equipped with a gift bag so they can go door-to-door collecting candy as we do for Halloween and then they have a feast at home for which an array of cakes, candy, nuts, fried dishes, soups, plov and tea awaits the numerous friends and relatives that go from house to house to sample them.

I had arranged to meet with one of my students, Zohir, at 10:00am so we could go to his uncle’s house and celebrate the holiday. As I walked through my now favorite alleyway, I saw lots of older men in their ankle-length coats and traditional hats out and about receiving their visitors who were arriving carrying bags with sweets or other presents. This time, the gates were open thus affording me a tantalizing gaze into the private courtyards as children made their way in to collect candy and boiled eggs.

Zohir handed me an egg upon greeting, but was unable to explain the significance of the gesture. I then learned that we were going to another one of my students’ house prior to visiting his uncle. The mini-van we needed kept passing us fully loaded with passengers and I offered to pay for a taxi just so we weren’t wasting time, but he refused. Two mini-van rides later, we arrived at a place far outside the city and closer to the mountains which today were in full display as there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. Bahruz was waiting for us dressed in a running suit, which I found a bit incongruous since Zohir was wearing his regular suit.

                                                    Zohir and Bahruz

We walked through a muddy trail, passing through a cemetery, the first one I've ever seen, and arrived at his family’s compound where I was received like a guest of honor and immediately taken to the room where all the food was on display. His mother is my age, yet looked much older after giving birth to six girls and three boys. I declined the full meal and agreed to have a bowl of soup, a piece of cake and some tea. The father emphasized to me how much he wanted his son to become fluent in English so he can have a better job in the future. Bahruz speaks but a few words of English and understand none of it as of now.

                        Cemetery in what looks like an overgrown and forgotten field

Back on another mini-van and then the trolley to Zohir’s uncle’s house where I learned he lived on the ninth floor of an apartment building without an elevator. The family appeared happy to see me and first took me to an empty room where I sat on the cushion trying to have a conversation with Bahruz and then the women of the house came for me and took me to the room where the uncle sat in front of the food display regally attired in a Nehru jacket, leather pants and even boots as apparently the patriarch is released from the duty of removing his shoes. He refused to have his photo taken shielding his decision behind his religious tenets and let me know through Zohir that he understood English perfectly well. I had to drink two bowls of soup, one of which did not even have salt, another piece of cake and tea.

                                               Food display at Bahruz' house

Zohir’s cousin’s wife has a six-month baby and she showed the beautiful cradle where he lay and then uncovered the poor thing who was completely rigid swathed by different pieces of fabric as if in a straight jacket. She explained this was done to prevent the baby from scratching himself. More amazing yet was the wooden contraption covering his penis which she explained allowed his urine to flow into a basin underneath the cradle and thus keeping the baby from necessitating diapers, cloth or otherwise. It seemed very ingenious, but I am not sure how comfortable the baby was.

Another ride in a mini-van through parts of the city I had never seen, lots of people trying to get to their destinations and then Zohir was lost. I kept reminder him that I needed to be home by 5:00 so I could prepare to go to Yoomie’s house, but he stubbornly kept saying we needed to make this one last visit as the family had been told of my impending arrival. Another ride in the opposite direction and many phone calls to the student until she arrived in a taxi, took us to another intersection and we got into yet another mini-van. By this time, I was beginning to get angry for I had been up since 5:00am and was just too tired to care for another visit. One more taxi ride into some very rough streets and we arrived at Glaso’s house where her mother and siblings were waiting. Her father works in Russia and she’s one of my students who was granted a scholarship to become an English teacher even thought she has never taken English classes in her village.

There was one more round of soup, cake and tea while Zohir proceeded to do his ablutions and mandatory prayers. I got the feeling he’s sweet on this student as he asked me to take their photograph before the mother returned from the kitchen. I insisted on paying for a taxi so I could go home quickly and I was quoted 70.00 somonis. When Zohir inquired, the price dropped to 20.00.

I made rice and beans for Yoomie’s dinner and was really too tired to enjoy the gathering. Some of those presents seemed to be engaged in a game of upmanship to see who had been where, for how long and how expensive it had been. At least I met Nona, who is working here for a private university, and is interested in my work at the PedInst.

                                          Having dinner at Yoomie's new place