March 19, 2012

I woke up to a completely silent landscape as all sounds seemed to have been muffled by the layers upon layers of snow that had continued to fall all night. I have to give the Tajiks credit for going about their business, be it school or work, as if the snow wasn’t even there. I saw a mother struggle with her young son as we all tried to make it up the steps behind my apartment as the snow continued to swirl around us. I could have sworn this is the highest accumulation of snow I’ve ever seen for it was beginning to get into the top my hiking boots.  People had carved a path along the way and would politely step to the side to allow other people to get by, which I found endearing even if it slowed down my walk. I was wondering how many teachers would show up today under these conditions even if a party was planned to celebrate Navruz (Persian for new year) and found only four teachers gathered around the space heater. They informed me that other teachers were on their way, but had been delayed due to transportation problems.

I then noticed that many of the teachers had brought their spring outfits in plastic bags and were changing into them and adding jewelry. One young woman had had her long hair braided and added tassels at the end of each braid. There was no lesson as the teachers then set out the long tablecloths and started to display all kinds of food items including a favorite of mine: rice pudding which they told me is eaten here as a porridge for breakfast. The woman who cooked it brought it in still warm and placed a towel over the pan to insure it would remain warm. She had added a dollop of butter on top of it and it was delicious, perhaps not as creamy as I’m used to making it, but still very good. Sanifa packed me a take-home package and I had to say goodbye before the plov, which was being catered, got there since I had to go to the PedInst.

I made my customary stop at F1 to use the bathroom and noticed two young boys futilely trying to shovel the snow from the steps while wearing their typical Tajik costumes. I got splattered with the slushy snow while trying to get into a cab and then got into the wrong one. More waiting, more splashing and then boarded another shared taxi to find out I had no students waiting for me. The dean went looking for them and meanwhile two of the teachers approached with the idea of cancelling today’s training session as the weather was so frightful and some of the teachers were absent anyway. I was more than game for that option as my boots were completely soaked and so were my socks. Eight students came in and we did another vocabulary game where I discovered these students didn't know the meaning of the words sand, seaweed or marshmallow. One of the female students told she had been absent for two weeks while she attended a training session in Dubai sponsored by her employer, one of the local hotels. Not that I had missed her at all.

At the end of the class, one of the male teachers approached me to clarify a passage from the grammar textbook, once again, another 18 century piece about men attending a football match to forget reality. He didn't seem to know half of the words, but abruptly closed the book when he saw the dean come in. He confirmed that the training session for the afternoon was cancelled. Walking from the PedInst to where I catch the mini-van was an ordeal as I was carrying an additional bag with my teaching materials, the food Sanifa had packed for me and even a big jug of homemade apple and apricot juice. Trying to stay within the narrow lane opened in the middle of the sidewalk while stepping aside to allow other people to go became extremely awkward. About a block before the intersection, a young man came by and offered to carry the bag for me. I waited for more than 15 minutes and the few mini-vans that came by were already packed with people. Taxis were having a field day and even them were full. I got so fed up that I decided to walk the rest of the way home only to realize the sidewalks in that area had not even been cleared in the center and I’d have to walk on the side of the road. Just then, I spotted a young guy driving a newer car and signaling he would take passengers and when two other young women got in, I did the same.

Came home to find neither electricity nor water. I had some of the cold leftovers for lunch and went downstairs to make sure it wasn’t just my flat that was in total darkness and confirmed that we were all in the same boat. It was time to take a nap and hope power would be restored at some point. I overheard men shouting out in the landing and probably accessing the roof and whatever they did worked because my heater came back to life. Checking online, I read that Dushanbe had not seen so much snow in two decades and that it’d continue to snow until Tuesday. There were already 18 inches on the ground.

Elbek came for his classes and ended up discussing politics for the most part. Ruth called me to tell me about her ordeal to get to her post only to find four students in attendance. She feels that tomorrow should be worse as she suspects many students have already left for their respective villages. I’d not mind staying home myself tomorrow.