June 21, 2012

It was heavenly to be able to drink my coffee while catching up with the news and reposting interesting materials to my Facebook page. Ryan got up to remind me he was meeting with the president of Tajikistan at his summer dacha to get his signature on some important documents the UN needs in order to proceed with some projects. I had agreed to meet with Eraj at nine to go to the seamstress and we met on Rudaki Avenue, proceeded to her shop and practically drove her insane with my various and intricate requests. She told me the outfit I had made in Dangara could not be redone and it was best to just donate it to somebody else. She’ll have the outfits ready by June 30 when I return from Khujand. Eraj was on his way to Qurgonteppa for an outing with a group of classmates.

I returned to the apartment to color my hair and then proceeded to the American Corner to retrieve Saddriddin’s certificate and drop the outfit in their donation box intended for a local orphanage. Corrie and Ruth were waiting at the Segafredo’s Café to have lunch as both of them are leaving Dushanbe this weekend. Corrie suggested the tomato soup, which contained flecks of fish here and there, and the roasted vegetables and I ordered their delicious freshly squeezed carrot juice. We had a delightful time reviewing our experience in Tajikistan, talking about those who had left already and those whose plans are to move on to other countries. Hillary and Meghan were having lunch at a table outside and we chitchatted with them a bit before leaving. I promised to visit Ruth in New York next time I was in the neighborhood.

I got in a mini-van to make it to the embassy to start the process of obtaining my travel permit to the Pamirs. Jennifer, who is being transferred to Russia to my dismay, informed me that an embassy vehicle was being sent to Khujand on Friday to transport the musical instrument for a bluegrass band that is scheduled to perform there on Saturday. She immediately got on telephone to secure me a seat on that vehicle and save me the hassle of getting there by shared taxi. I gave her my passport and 200.00 somoni to cover the cost of the permit and wished her the best of luck at her new post. I went upstairs to cash a check and found out that Vali was seriously ill and on his way to the hospital, but the woman taking over his duties refused to reveal the nature of his illness.

The ride back to the apartment took forever as riders kept getting in and out in the scorching heat and blinding sunshine. The thermometer read 41C degrees or about 91F, but it definitely felt hotter than that. I called Uhmed to let him know I had the certificate and he indicated he’d stop by in the evening. I did a load of laundry and started the process of packing up again to go to Istaravshan. Manzura call to remind me I’m to visit her village before returning to the States for good and I promised I’d do so for sure. Takhmina also called wanting to have me come over to her house, but I had no clue where she lived and it was too hot out there to risk getting lost. I promised to see her too before my departure. Jennifer called to confirm the embassy car would be picking me up between 8 and 9:00am.

Corrie came by to retrieve her taxi receipts and a CD of Juan Luis Guerra I had burned for her roommate Michelle. We said goodbye hoping to meet again at some point, hopefully in the States. She had dropped a package for Subhi containing mostly books earlier on and I told her how happy I was to be traveling in the embassy car and not have to worry about lugging everything myself. I called Subhi in Khujand and informed her I’d be able to spend Friday night with her and then take a taxi on Saturday to reach Istaravshan. Uhmed came by and I gave him more teaching materials, including lots of games, as he has been hired to work as a camp counselor for another English program. He advised on the proper gift to offer to Manzura’s family, hard cash, to compensate them for all the expenses they had gone through for me.

Schannoza came by to chat for a bit and I gave her a couple of kitchen items still hanging around among my belongings. She asked why I was given her these things and I said I knew she liked to cook and didn’t think she had a pair of tongs and a set of measuring spoons/cups. She was delighted with her new acquisitions, but returned a few minutes later to offer me a headscarf in return. I knew it was in poor taste to refuse the gift and promptly placed it in my bag.

Ryan had some leftover plov on the counter and told me he was going out to dinner, so I heated it up and ate it for dinner along with a bit a salad and a very sour plum. I did the dishes and spread the wet clothes throughout the dining room area in hopes that they would be dry in the morning since I do need those outfits for my trip. It was one hectic day for sure.