February 23, 2012

A full night sleep is still evading me as the coughing never seems to stop. I dashed an email to Ryan asking him for a recommendation on a brand of antibiotics I could buy locally without a prescription. I put together the photos from the trip to Nepal and uploaded the album to Facebook for family and friends to see it. It was 10F outside and I had no running water again as the pipe had frozen. Caroline told me Daroush was going to stop by to see me and he did come around noon. He finishes medical school in two months and has been accepted at a medical school in India to do his specialization in urology. He’s given up on going to the United States to improve his English since one of the requirements is that he proves the source of his income and he was planning on a getting a loan from a friend.

The day was sunny and apparently temperatures were rising as the snow started to drop in huge clumps from the tree branches. I tried the TV and finally got a signal so I could catch up on the news. I dozed off at times especially after draping one of the korpachas over me to stay warm. Ryan replied by saying he’d be coming by after work to check on me before deciding if antibiotics were needed or not. Corrie called from the embassy to say she had an envelope for me and would be coming by later on. Ryan came in all dressed up and looked completely different from his usual Capri pants and T-shirt ensemble. He’d brought his stethoscope and listened to my chest and requested a flashlight to inspect my tongue only to tell me I had a garden-variety type of flu and needed to let it run its course. Corrie came at this point and we sat around gossiping about the ex-pat community in Dushanbe and the ever-present topic of NGOs and whether their work is really useful or appropriate, not to mention extravagant and wasteful at times.

Caroline returned at the same time Ryan was getting ready to leave and seemed totally spent. She related how Madluba had expected for her to type the materials for the upcoming conference for although she has two laptops, she doesn’t know how to type.  Caroline complained about the non-stop demands that all Tajiks place on her while offering nothing in exchange. She hasn’t heard anything from the embassy regarding receipt of her letter of resignation and worries that she might be asked to leave in a day or two as they did with Peter and Elisabeth. She’s almost done packing, but would like to have the certainty of staying until March first to finish her projects and say goodbye to those she cares for. She turned down our suggestion to have a farewell lunch for her on Sunday when I’m expecting Rebecca to come by.