Day Nine

I didn’t know today was Saturday until someone told me. I don’t try to keep track of the date, just count what day we are on. Since it is day 9, we are approaching the midpoint. Well, we’re in Sarband as mentioned before staying in a very nice apartment complex, by my standards, not US standards. George and Andy had beds last night, but I had the shower!

We awoke ahead of schedule, we live the whole day on a schedule. So before you know, George and I are messing with our computers, writing or editing pictures, organizing files…just trying to stay up to date. I opened the window to bring in the items I put out on the line. It was one of those circle lines one a pulley, I’d never used one, so I used it to air out my shirts! After a while we started packing up and getting dressed. I got my camera ready, because I try to carry it all the time and photograph everything. Today’s bandana was a Texas flag, has all the right colors for USA without looking like I’m disgracing the flag of my country. I’m in a country wear most women where scarves on their heads and the men wear a skullcap style hat, so me wearing something closer to a bandana is very attention getting, but I also have my sunglasses and goatee so everyone looks at me, as they know “I’m from out of town”. Which is great, because they are then facing the right direction for a photo!

Well, we went to breakfast just a few minutes late, and it was very pleasant because they ate with us. It was Sebo and her mother and other relatives plus the Afghan/Tajik woman. A big bowl of the rice pudding thing with butter and sugar and I was set for the day. We walked to the school area and met up with the students who we were going on a hike/picnic with. I think there were about 15 of them. From there it was off to this wild area, near the river. Very pleasant walk except for this ‘bridge like structure’ that George and all the students crossed. Andy and I decided he was officially “Crazy George after that”, and when you see the pictures, you decide if you would have walked across!

George had brought enough ball caps to give all the students one, so they kind of looked like a Tajik/American hybrid. The girls looked especially cute in them. They were donated from various sources, so I actually don’t think any two were alike. We walked to our destination and George and I were last because he kept searching the plants for unusual specimens, and I kept stopping to photograph things.

The picnic was nice and we had some very good discussion with the students. We actually generated most of the questions, and would go around the group to get everyone to answer. We also played “two truths, one lie” which was a good ice breaker and English exercise for the students, as coincidently, most of these students are in the English Club. Let me say the same thing I do almost everyday, I just love the appearance of these people, so I really enjoy getting the up close photos of them. Especially with the caps on today!


Oh, I forgot to tell you about the cobra. Well, let me just include a photo or two and you make your own story!

We eventually made it back, thanks to Andy and 5 of the guys pushing the van up a very sandy incline. I would have helped, but I was photographing the event! Andy is the unofficial spokesman for our group, George and I decided, and if he ever reads this, he’ll know too! So we just let him get in there and mix it up with the kids, and he is great at that.

We went back to the school and it was an “Andy day”, coincidently. He does teambuilding and other activities with them. Thinking and/or physical activities that put them in situations where they interact with each other in very new ways. We actually had a gymnasium available to us, so we were in there. He did some total group activities, and when it was time to work with smaller groups, George and I assisted. Later it got down to three groups and at one point I had a group around me doing the ”chain”, as they had already done Andy’s latest challenge, Andy had a group and George had a group keeping them entertained.

This visit, just as every other was a good time because these kids were just laughing and smiling all the time. We don’t know what their typical day is like, be we don’t they have ever had this much fun with “teachers” before.

There was some point that I was also with a big group of kids outside the apartment again, I can’t remember what it was before or after! I played with the chain for a while, and had a lot of fun. After that, I took a stick from a boy and wrote “1 2 3” in the dirt. I had about 20-25 new students. Many could tell me what they were when I pointed to them. Then I drew a square, circle and triangle. No one could tell me them in English. I am squatting down at this point so I am lower then most of them. I point to each individual shape and say it name in English very slow. They repeat wonderfully. We get through them all, and I try and try to get them to tell me the names in Tajik. They weren’t understading my request, but luckily Sebo’s mother, who also teaches (and speaks it wonderfully) had just walked up and assisted, told them I was asking for Tajiki names. I did square pretty good, but somehow I really slaughtered the pronunciation of circle because 40 people just started cracking up. I eventually got it right, and then finished the shapes. I gave the little kid back his stick. I then had everyone pose by the wall with me and we got some great group photos of me and my “fan club”. Actually they are very excited to have their picture taken in these group situations, whether I’m there or not.

When we have asked the students here the question, “If you were to come to the United States, what is one thing you definitely would like to see or do?” guess what the most common answer was? I was thinking mall, eat something specific, Grand Canyon, Disney (we did get one or two Disneys), something any teenager would say. I was totally surprised how many children said they would want to see the Statue of Liberty. Really! Even had one kid describe the pose saying the “big one with the fire and book”. The fact, I think they wanted to see it for what it represents, more than its an impressive statue. It is that mentality that put these kids on a higher level than the typical student I deal with.

The sad thing we are slowly hearing, is that there are girls here, who may get perfect grades in school, and be able to get the equivalent to a scholarship where University would be paid for, and their parents won’t let them go, basically because they are girls.
But times are changing slowly here is Tajikistan and maybe that will become less a common occurrence. We were told that 40% of the population of the country is 17 and under, so these school kids will soon be the dominant force in the country over the next 10 years. They have basically grown up in the country while it has been Tajikistan, not part of the Soviet Union, so they are the ones with a strong sense of pride, but also a strong global awareness because of the Internet and programs like Schools OnLine. So it is great that many of these schools also have leadership type activities.

Fri-Sun is Global Youth Services Day. One of the things we got to participate in with the students was the planting of two trees in their courtyard. I committed to them that I would come back to Tajikistan and see those trees again before I die, and I meant it. After the tree, we were back inside for dance lessons, and exchanging emails, plenty of picture taking. I got out an extra bandana and the kids just had a blast taking turns having their picture taken wearing it. It was sadly time to leave again.


They have this huge main street here, “Rudaky”, and if they put a couple of hotels with western amenities, they could start handling some tourist. Oh, due to the destruction of the two giant bhudda statues in Afghanistan by the Taliban a few years back, the largest bhudda statue (the reclining Bhudda) is actually here in Dushanbe. I can’t wait to see that! They have museums in town, and beautiful country side. Its really strange, but this country has so much potential if they can just figure out how to modernize a minimal of things. At all the little towns, again if they just built a 20 room hotel with modern plumbing, they be good to go. There are plenty of places to eat, the food is delicious, the people are nice. They could organize bus tours and they are often to bringing the tourist dollar in. I guess they need to send some of their citizen to Costa Rica and see how the “country” is used as the tourist attraction. This would actually be one of those great countries that you move to after you retire. Buy a home or two, rent one for some income. Start learning the language. They have TV and movies here, but just live here with the people and all will be well.

We rode back to Dushanbe and “Crazy George” volunteered to ride in the cargo part of the jeep. Basically it has the jumper type seats in the back, so it was him and all of our luggage. But it had a nice rear window so here never really complained a bit. We stopped at a road-side vendor to look at mushrooms. Was told prices were too high. Susie traded with George here, and we made the rest of the journey home. Did you see that, I called Dushanbe “home”! Of course, we are a dedicated bunch, and we didn’t go straight home, we headed to the office so we could have connectivity and get online! I was three days behind posting, and the other guys a few days themselves, plus we all wanted to upload an image or two. George called his wife using Skype, so Andy and I each begged for the same privilege with ours. It was Saturday around 8:30 am for my wife, 6:30am for theirs since they both live on the Pacific Coast. Everyone sounded happy to hear from us, and I know how happy we were to tell them we were fine, all in good health and how much we missed them, we could have almost prepared a written statement because we said so many of the same things and were asked the same things by our wives!

We had dinner in Dushanbe, at a restaurant called SALSA. It was a western meal, Andy and I had Fajita's and George had Enchiladas. This was as typical as American restaurant quality. Good eating, and then we went to a local grocery store for bread and a few items. I bought some local Pepsi with the cool writing on the cans to take back. I bought other food items I liked the label on, and a few things of juice for consumption. It was so weird after being in villages with outdoor bathrooms and mud fences, to be somewhere where they wee scanning barcodes on my groceries. The funny thing was I was supposed to get like 90 dimars back (a dimar would be the same as a penny to us); they gave me a 50 dimar note and 2 chicken bullion cubes. It happened to George too so we figured those are supposed to be our 20 dimar notes! I bet if we tried to get on the bus with a bullion cube (the fair is 20 dimar, things would get crazy!