A week ago Wednesday I was getting a wonderful tour of Muscat, flying to Dubai, and waiting for the Somon Air flight to Dushanbe. Lee was flying Turkish Air from LA to Istanbul to Dushanbe. Early Thursday morning I stared out the plane window to see the snow-capped peaks of the Pamirs faint in the dawn. As I disembarked the plane and got on a bus that took us away from an airport under construction to an old building off in the corner, and filled out duplicate forms by hand for my visa, and saw bulky bundles wrapped in plastic rather than sleek suitcases coming off the luggage conveyor belt, I thought—Tajikistan! It was great to see Lee and our host J, with his wife P (my former student) and their engaging 9-month-old son T waiting for us at their apartment, our home for the next week. It was a relief to hang out and rest all day Thursday. A two-minute rain shower sent us running for the laundry on the line—otherwise it’s been unseasonably hot and dry here, an early summer. A quick drive around Dushanbe revealed that some things are like Ashgabad, Turkmenistan (where we lived for five months in 1996), like Soviet style architecture and signage, or courtyard style homes (for those not living in high rises) with fig and apricot trees or grape-vine arbors over a platform for evening meals. Other things are uniquely Dushanbe, like the beautiful tree-lined boulevards and many parks.
One of our main activities here was a TESOL seminar P had organized for about 36 ex-pat teachers and their Tajik colleagues. I gave two talks/demos on Friday night, two more on Saturday morning, and a final workshop on Saturday afternoon after lunch together. I was sitting down by the last one, instead of bounding around the room as I often do. J But it was worth every minute, as teacher after teacher said they had learned something relevant and valuable.
Sunday we had time to rest. Lee and I took a walk along Rudaki Boulevard, the main street, to the statue of Somon and an incredible view of snow-capped mountains. Later that day was time to worship together.
Monday was the May 1st holiday (International Worker’s Day) and we headed out of town along the river to Varzob, a little mountain “resort.” There people rent little platforms with rug and cushions, order grilled meat on a skewer, bread, soup, yogurt and lemon tea, and enjoy the noisy rushing water and cool shade.
Somewhere along the way I picked up an intestinal bug (probably because I boasted of having a strong stomach). Sad! Thankfully, I was still able to do my next seminar on Tuesday. This was organized by another American colleague, S, who teaches at the Institute for Foreign Languages. First I met with S’s third-year students, training to be secondary English language teachers. Then S and I had ice cream in a nice café and got to talk about her experiences here. Finally, back at the institute, I gave my demonstration again to her English-teacher colleagues. Many things about the institute reminded me of Turkmenistan!
Lee helped a lot with the Fri/Sat TESOL training, but at other times this week he’s been pursuing his own interests. J arranged for him to meet people working with various NGOs and businesses here. Creative enterprises abound; I learned about educational consulting, services to business high rises, business training, crafts, and restaurant and a bakery.
Today has been a nice finale to our time together, with more family time, and a lovely lunch in the Choi Khona Rokhat, a tea house/restaurant. Fountain, courtyard, balcony, breezes, painted ceiling… So pleasant!
Through it all we’ve been encouraged on the spiritual level too. We know better how to give thanks for and how to pray for Tajiks.
--Kitty
No comments:
Post a Comment