Friday, February 29, 2008

Fresh Air

I have not written in a couple weeks, not because I don't want to or am too lazy, but because I really don't think I have much that would be of interest to readers. My life is strangely predictable, with school in the morning Monday- Friday, English Classes at my NGO on Saturdays and Sundays and private English lessons or discussions at the American Corner in the afternoons. I stick my personal lessons in Russian and Farsi in there when I can. Everyday someone else asks me to teach them English, or I meet a stranger on the street who asks me if I'm a foreigner. I'm treated well wherever I go, very unlike many non-Tajiks (mainly Russians) who are treated with a more vicious curiosity. Yet this life of predictability is still very interesting to me especially in my language development which allows me to interact as part of the culture much more.



I have gotten used to living around the electricity and water restrictons. The weather is gradually warmer which certainly makes it all a lot less uncomfortable. I am really enjoying my walks to the bus stop in the morning and down town in the afternoon. Life with the family continues to be a great experience as they all encourage my Russian development yet outside of the home I find myself speaking more English than I'd like.

This post is so titled after a recent understanding about how Western I am in my need for personal space. I have, until recently, been living with four others in an apartment, dressing out of my suitcase and spending much of my home time either with the family in the only warm room--- the 10 x 10 foot square kitchen---or asleep sharing a bed with my host sister. I deal with this situation as it is necessary for me, but since two days ago have realized how I sometimes need a breath of fresh air.

Last Wednesday, my friend from Canada, who is on a year internship program here in Khujand, went for a holiday to Bishkek, Kyrgistan. She lives alone in an apartment above one of the fanciest restaurants in town-- which of course has a red line of electricity. She has heating and water, TV and internet in her two-roomed house and when she lent me the key before she left, I did not realize the extent of luxury she was offering me. I have been sleeping here for a couple nights and it's such a pleasure for me to read when I want, study when I want and cook for myself and clean for myself. Even if there was no electricity or water, it would still be a pleasure to be here. My Canadian friend has said herself that she would love to have a real Tajik experience living in a family and learning the language solidly, but she just could not give up this real independence which she is so used to. My Tajik friends can hardly understand it! All of their lives sons live with parents, daughters live with husband's parents. Brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, children fill up any remaining space so that Tajiks hardly know what it is like to live and be by themselves. We in the states are raised with our own rooms, our own closets to fill with our own belongings. We design our bathrooms the way we wish, stick magazine cut-outs or photos one our walls and personalize everything as much as we can. Not so in the Eastern countries. I have heard that a Chinese's personal space exists only inside of him or herself. Everything else is communal. The house I live in is certainly communal. We all sleep in a different bed each night, depending on whether or not a certain aunt or uncle is staying or if the mother has traveled on her business to Uzbekistan. We have one closet which has at most five coat hangers and five shelves shared by all of us. If I ever leave the kitchen and want to go study in another more quiet room, four questions jump at me-- "where are you going?" and I always feel bad leaving the family behind. And this is not at all because the flat is too small- two of the largest rooms are virtually empty and could easily be turned into living spaces, but are more for random storage instead. This habit is more cultural and clearly shows how much more the family is valued in such a country compared to the US where individual achievement and personal space is very important in life. There are still many ambitious people here, but that ambition is used for the good of the family, to provide better for aging parents, growing children instead of for recognition. Independence and freedom, though part of the constitution, are not part of the culture and habitual way of life.

I am glad to learn about other practices of life, since it allows me to reflect and look at my own life from new angle. This, I hope, will grow and develop, as I spend more time here and as I too grow and develop. The one thing I am sure of now, for these five days, I am glad to fill my lungs and breath new fresh air.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Winter in Tajikistan

I have been here for one week, and I don't think it has hit 0 degrees celcius yet. It's cold, no doubt, but not colder than a winter in Maine. The problem lies in the lack of resources for heating. In Khujand we have no more than four hours of electricity a day, from about 6am to 8am and again at 4pm or 5pm for another couple hours. That is definitly not enough time for the radiators in the house to heat the rooms, so in my house all of our rooms, save the kitchen, stay at ourside temperatures. In the kitchen we have a gas heater and all five of us sit around it in the mornings and evenings, trying desperately not to get in each other's way. Fortunately, two of the beds have electric blankets, so when there is electricity, they get nice and toasty and we sleep very well.

I did spend last weekend visiting my host mother's sick mother in Nau, a town of about 100,000 on the border with Uzbekistan. I spent a couple nights with a family who paid for a "red line" of electricity and they heat their house accordingly. But no neighbors can know about this red line because it is illegal. Unfortunately, on my second night I accidentally turned on a light in a room where a curtain was open. Five minutes later one girl looked at me and just said, what have you done to us? An hour later the electricity was turned off, and for the first time this whole winter that house had no heating for a whole night. None of us could sleep and the outside temperature hit -20 C at least, normal for Nau. After I put on my boots the next morning and walked to the taxi to take me to Khujand, my toes were so cold I thought I had frost bite. I still have no idea if the family got their electricity back.

And yet, I know I have had it so much better than most. People can hardly afford to feed themselves, much less pay for red lines of electricity. Those who can have coal stoves in their houses, but still that is very expensive. And yet people manage. And they laugh and are happy too. They must have so much endurance to have lived through the months of December and January which were far colder than February.

My personal life is busy as I have started working with an educational NGO as well as at the Waldorf School. I have a very definite plan of teaching classes at the Waldorf School Monday through Friday in the mornings, leadings discussions at the American Corner in the library every Tuesday at 2:00 and working with the NGO and attending Russian lessons in my other freetime. Already in one week I've had multiple requests for English teaching or practice, but since time is so limited, I always request that they teach me in exchange. Currently, I am also attending the first grade main lesson at 8am, which is Russian Literature. The students are all so cute and the class is very helpful!

I hope you in Texas, Ireland or wherever in the world are all cozy and healthy this February and please, if you can, give a warm thought to the people Tajikistan. And Happy Valentine's Day too!