December 23, 2011

A third day without water and the same bone chilling temperatures. At least the weather forecast says the temperature should rise this afternoon and perhaps some of the snow will melt. I’m not sure whether that will mean that the pipes will thaw out, too. Dishes are piling in the sink and I’m using the jugs of water Maryam gave me sparingly. Caroline offered me her shower, but wasn’t sure she had enough hot water. I declined preferring  a sponge bath in my place to a shower, maybe hot, at her flat.

I called Bakhtyor to verify the package sent by my sister was waiting at the American Corner, but he knew nothing about it. I emailed Tahmina who reassured the package should be delivered sometime today, so I can pick it up tomorrow. Corrie will be presenting her workshop tomorrow and I’d like to watch what she does. Caroline and I will have lunch together afterwards.

                                                Gorgeous display of colors

I finished the book “Bee Season”, a bittersweet account of the disintegration of a Jewish family held together by dark secrets. I then watched “The Eye of the Needle”, superb thriller with Donald Sutherland that had been on my list of movies to watch for a long time. It was spellbinding and the outdoor photography simply outstanding.

Someone knocked on my door and responded in Russian to my questions. I’m wary of opening my door when I can’t identify the person on the other side, but the man kept talking and knocking on the door. I finally opened it and told the two guys facing me I spoke no Russian. The younger one told me they were from the state utility agency and were here to cut off the service for lack of payment. I panicked and called Nilufar, but she wasn’t home. I then called Nigina who was able to talk to them. The guys insisted the electric bill had not being paid to which I responded by showing them the bill I had paid at the beginning of December. They older guy pulled out a ledger and then subtracted what I had paid and told me I needed to pay 42.18 somoni on the spot. I did it and requested a receipt. He said he’d return with it, but I’m still waiting for it.

Ryan called about 6:45pm to confirm the Couch Surfers gathering was still taking place at my apartment, but I told him no one had called me to confirm and I didn’t even know what time the meeting was scheduled for. He then told he was going on vacation on Sunday to Spain and Manila when he had said his vacation request for Istanbul had been denied. Liar! Liar!

I then got a call from Valentina, who had originally organized the gathering, and she told me that at least ten people had confirmed their attendance and she was on her way to my flat. I had to scramble to pick up the place, get tea and coffee ready and put out the biscuits I had originally purchased for my students. Anton, a local Tajik, and his female friend from Belarus, were the first ones to show up. Then a woman from Iran, Patrick from the U. S., and Ryan whom I had texted to let him know people were showing up. Valentina showed up a bit late and then the last person was Shukat, a Tajik engineer working for an IT firm, Babylon. They all brought sweets and I made countless pots of tea. Ryan brought juice and Shukat, who had heard about the lack of water, brought a jug. We went around introducing ourselves, relating our experiences as couch surfers and explaining our presence in Tajikistan.

Anton clarified for me that the utility company was going door-to-door collecting any bills due before the end of the fiscal year so they could reconcile their books by December 31. He believes the guys that came over this afternoon were legit. He also confided that he was pessimistic about the future of his country as he was expecting another civil war to breakout any minute among the various ethnic groups that were previously held together by the Russian government.  The group was here until 10:30pm and I was so grateful to meet new people and establish new connections. Patrick, who has been here for about three years, knows everything about the city and Anton offered his help with anything I might need in the future.