May 2, 2012

More cloudy skies greeted me this morning. I waited to see if the Dean would call me to report to the PedInst, but he didn’t. Eraj called to say his letter of invitation to study in Germany this summer had been sent to his email and he needed to print it. He came over and then accompanied me to run my errands as I paid for my Internet access, picked up my new dress and had an early lunch as I had had nothing for breakfast. I tried something called “shawarma”, which seemed very similar to a gyro sandwich, but was rolled like a burrito and placed into a sandwich grill. I thought the meat would be lamb, as it is the style in Greece, but it turned out to be grilled chicken. They dotted the meat and vegetables with a few dollops of mayonnaise and it was delicious.

Superstitious Tajiks are willing to pay close to $155.00 to buy a cell phone number they think will bring them good luck.

Eraj departed to teach at his school and I stopped at the American Corner to pick up some of the certificates and deliver them to the PedInst. As I was leaving, I encountered a beautiful woman walking around listening to her IPod and trailing the longest hair I’ve ever seen. She said it was 1.5 meters long and my calculations put it at more than four feet long. It was quite a sight.

I hopped into a taxi in order to make it on time to my conversation class at Caritas and ran into Shahlo, Beth’s former counterpart at the PedInst, who is back in Tajikistan from Russia because she’s facing some health issues. I gave her my number so we could get together for lunch soon. She plans to start volunteering at the American School where I did some observations last December.

The handouts I had sent to the group at Caritas turned out to be a bit too easy, so class ended a bit earlier than usual. Khurshed offered me a ride back home as he was on his way to the bank, but after accepting his offer I remembered I needed to stop at the PedInst to confirm my presence at the test tomorrow.

I found the Dean in classroom #14 administering an oral examination to some of the students from one of the interpreters’ group. I sat at the back of the classroom and signed the certificates while waiting to speak to him. I couldn’t hear the nature of the questions; he might have been speaking very softly on purpose, but could see the students looking out the window while regurgitating some part of the book or another. He dutifully signed on their transcript booklets and then they left. When he took a break, I handed him the certificates, the syllabus he had entrusted to me some months ago, and the warranty for the space heater. He informed me my presence was not needed tomorrow as he would perform the oral exam for the 411 group himself and promised to call me when my expertise was needed for the final exam, which I’m still expected to conduct alongside Nigora. He never said whether my duties as a teacher were finished.

I stopped at the butcher’s shop hoping to be able to find some lamb and save myself the trouble of going to the Green Market, but he informed me people in his neighborhood couldn’t afford to buy lamb, so he never carries it. Tohir was at the shop and told me he is still waiting to hear from Handicap International about the position he interviewed for last week.

                           Elbek, the 17-years old student I'm tutoring and my neighbor's son.

Ryan had invited me to dinner along with members of the group planning a weekend trip to Iskandakul. He had a Couch Surfer from China staying with him and then I met Ed, a Brit, and Rhonda, from Lebanon, who is the one coordinating the outing. Ed mentioned roughing it in a cabin and having to bring sleeping bags and inflatable mattresses, so I inquired about the possibility of a hotel nearby and Rhonda said it would cost around 70.00 somoni or less than $15.00. Ryan and I agreed that it was a bargain and we both would be glad to pay for one.

Umed joined us later on and informed me of the sad news that Saddridin, the young, eager and obsequious teacher that had faithfully attended all the sessions at both the American Corner and the Professional Development Center, had been picked up by the army recruiters as he was on his way to Umed’s house. Since Saddridin was under the age of 28 and not the first born in the family, he is legally obligated to serve for two years in the army and is currently stationed in Khujand. I was simply aghast that he was practically kidnapped and taken away without even as much as saying goodbye to his family or resigning from his job at the school where he taught. He had to call Umed so he could notify his school and handle the documents he needed to comply with his forcible draft. How sad.

I left the dinner party as I had promised Amin, the English teacher from Qurgonteppa that won the visa lottery, that we’d Skype tonight for sure. He’s got all his papers in order and will be leaving for the States on the 13^th. I offered my couch in case he didn’t have a place to stay before heading to the airport. He plans to reside in Upstate New York for a while before sending for his wife and settling someplace else.