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.