June 28, 2012

I woke up to a gorgeous morning, took a simulacrum of a shower, as very little water was delivered through the shower head, and joined Bakhtyor on the way to the canteen. We had some kind of porridge and none of the teachers could tell what it made from and then I saw the other diners being given the two cold boiled eggs and a hot dog that I’ve come to detest. I ate two bowls of the porridge, some flat bread I’d brought with me and tea and begged to be excused from the table just as the server brought in some cold crepes the teachers referred to as omelets. There was no cream, no filling or syrup to eat these with and I turned them down to the look of horror on everyone’s face.

I went next door to start assembling my materials for the day-long activities, but couldn’t gain any momentum as there were not sufficient chairs for everyone until breakfast was done and over with. Firuza approached me to let me some of the students wanted to scrap the English classes altogether so they could work on the talent show they would be presenting that evening. I totally disagreed reminding her that the purpose of the camp was to strengthen their fluency level and only agreed to cancel the afternoon session entirely so they could have an additional three hours for rehearsal. I then had a great deal of difficulty in getting the students to pair up according to the cards they had been given and work with their shoulder partner. The girls made faces at the thought of working side-by-side with a boy, and I had to Firuza and the other two teachers to intervene to get the issue settled.

It was hard work to make it to 12:30pm when I was too exhausted to even consider another activity and we allowed the students extra time to memorize poems, rehearse dance moves and plan their outfits for a fashion show. I shared the remaining handouts with the three teachers present as the fourth one had not shown up at all for two days. I took my bag back to my room and was quickly joined by Nigora and Parvina who wanted to let me know how much they had learned from me and how much they wished to keep in touch in the future even if I never set foot in Tajikistan again. Although they currently have no Internet access, both of them wanted to have an email account to keep in touch when they do visit Khujand. I opened one for both of them and they were delighted.

We had kichiri, the soupy rice dish we Dominicans might call an “asopao”, for lunch after the customary soup, and I mentioned to the group that I had never eaten so much soup in my entire life. I asked about the agenda for the next day’s closing celebration and was told one needed to be made and no one could tell me what the agenda for the previous’ year celebration had looked like. The teachers told me they were going to work with their students on their respective presentations, and I went back to my room hoping for a short nap at least before joining Firuza and Gulijon for a massage, not done by a human as I had wished, but by a machine. Sleep turned elusive as the construction crew continued their hammering and drilling practically outside my window and people went up and down the stairs talking whole time. Firuza knocked on my door an hour later and I followed them to a rickety room with three machines that supposedly stimulated the flow of flood in your legs and another room with black chair staring ominously at me.

It cost 5.00 somoni for the massage and I found it relatively painful even through my clothes as it pinched and kneaded my sides and scalp in too blunt a way. Firuza followed me and for the first time removed both of her head scarves to show a long mane of luxuriant hair. When I asked her why she wore two scarves instead of just one as many women did, she had no answer for me only saying it was the tradition. I paid for all three massages and left as we were expected to become members of the jury for the talent even when I protested that I didn’t know what the criteria was to give them points for. There were three mothers serving as part of the jury and they also complained they didn’t even know the names of the contestants although they were wearing numbers. We watched the students sing, dance, model traditional and Western –style clothes and then the girls had to demonstrate they could cut carrots in the perfect shape to make plov while the boys had to peel a potato without gouging it too much.

I had to have two bowls of barley soup for dinner as the main entrée was once again buckwheat and chicken. I can understand the place being a sanatorium and the chef being interested in providing healthy meals, but the repetitious menu must surely get on some people’s nerves. I asked Nigora if I could at least request French fries instead of the mashed potatoes, but she said no as that option was reserved to be made at home only. I was glad to have a whole watermelon in my room that a student’s mother had given me and planned on eating most of it that evening to compensate.

Firuza told me we needed to meet to discuss the famous agenda as she had no recollection as to what was done the year before. I brought the watermelon from my room; the kitchen provided the knife and even cut it for us. I wrote down the time slot for each act beginning at 10:00 and going until 11:40 when certificates were to be handed out to 23 graduates. We went next door to help out with the process of voting for the best poster and help out with the decoration, but after a few minutes, I could barely keep my eyes open and begged to be excused so I could go to bed at a decent time.