Updates from the Taj

This past week, the American students went to stay with their first host-families. I hate to be left out of an adventure, so I went to stay with a host-family, too! One of the Tajik instructors, Mavjuda, graciously invited me to come to her parents' house and then to a village an hour outside Dushanbe to visit some relatives.

Her parents' home has been built recently and is in a depressing suburb of Dushanbe. Half-completed homes are scattered in large lots without grass or trees. The road is unpaved and bumpy. As the neighborhood is near to the airport, planes fly overhead constantly. However, things are nicer than they seem. Driving through the gate into her parents walled compound, I saw a garden covered in grape arbors, trees, and flowers everywhere. Family members drank tea and mineral water in the shade, while grandchildren road bikes on the drive.

We ate and ate and ate, drank tea, and ate some more (I am working on gaining back my water weight ;). After sleeping in an expansive and new-smelling guest room, I woke early the next morning and drove with Mavjuda and her brother to the village. The road took us through the mountains to a small village with washed-out roads in a valley, where sheep and goats grazed on the sides of the hills. The home of her relative was a basic structure - a long building with rooms for each of the sons and their wives. The three kelins (daughters-in-law) brought us course after course of food, not to mention fruits, chocolates, bread, tea, juices, and cookies. As a guest, I had to try everything or risk causing offence. By the end of the day, I was almost in tears at the thought of having to eat something else.

I returned to camp with the American students on Tuesday morning. I was exhausted and probably ten pounds heavier, but speaking Tajik better than I had when I left. Guesting is fun for a few days, but constantly eating and being stared at is so tiring that I wouldn't be able to keep it up.