May 24, 2012

Spent another sleepless night itching and coughing even after taking the Claritin the embassy doctor had given me. I got up at 3:00am and decided to do what I could with the day. Read emails, watched the news to see what was happening in Egypt with the election, and cleaned my hard drive of unnecessary junk. Started to pack the big suitcase only to realize that even after donating a lot of the clothing I bought here for the winter, I could not possibly fit all my personal belongings into the same bags I brought them in. I still have to figure out what to do with the teaching materials I’ve put together and which I’d hate to leave behind, not to mention some of the books I’ve collected. I might have no choice to buy another big suitcase at this point.

Zoir called to let me know the dean had informed him I had some wages at his office to be collected. I told him I wasn’t setting foot in his office, but would send him an email asking him to give it to Zoir. I know he could use the money. Eraj called and I asked him to do me favor and call the Kazakh embassy for the visa requirements for an American citizen. He reported back saying I needed to come in person to complete the application and learn about the additional requirements. He’s willing to go there with me on Monday.

I cooked the fish I had bought at the market two days ago and it didn’t even taste briny. Bakhytor, at the American Corner, confirmed I can donate my books to add them to their collection, and I quickly piled them into my heavy canvas bag to take them there on Monday. I still need to decide what to do the remaining grocery items and kitchen utensils along with the linens and miscellaneous things I bought last year.

I had a chance to watch a fantastic movie I’d never even heard of, “Four Rooms”, and was laughing hysterically most of the time. Quentin Tarantino and his cohorts surely did a masterful job of describing the absurd situations a lonely bellhop can find himself in when answering a call for room service. “The First 50 Dates” was a total indulgence on my part as I knew the premise of the movie and its protagonists, and there weren’t to be any surprises.

I finished reading “The Death of Vishnu”, not as compelling a read as I had expected, and got started on “The Tiger’s Wife”, which promises to be a much more compelling story.