Another Monday has arrived in Dushanbe (this would be a funny statement if you spoke Tajik because Dushanbe means Monday). The skies have mostly cleared and are blue again and all this comes on the heels of a very entertaining weekend.
Things got started on Friday when a colleague threw himself a farewell BBQ at the Hyatt – this time I seem to have adjusted enough to avoid another case of Tajik Tummy. We had a great time and after the food we went up to the Presidential Suite where my departing colleague was staying and continued to party. It was quite a posh set of rooms and the wine was very good. Plus the hotel kept bringing up beer bottles on ice in large silver bowls. I have to say the setting rivaled some of the fanciest parties I ever attended while in advertising. A very unexpected, but very welcome surprise here in Dushanbe.
On Saturday morning we got our Household Effects shipment – interestingly, the ground shipment arrived before the air shipment. It was like Christmas in August. There were so many things we forgot we even had. The movers were very professional and careful – nothing like the ones you find in the U.S. In fact, they were appalled at how our belongings were packed and to be honest, we’re lucky that only one item broke – a large porcelain planter. I don’t know how our china and glasswear survived since the movers just packed it as-is without any extra padding. Nonetheless, we are reunited with the majority of our belongings and Stephanie is already having fun putting our house together – and doing a great job I might add.
Saturday afternoon, I completed my first Hash. As mentioned in the last post, the Hash House Harriers are an international group for expatriates which has chapters in many foreign cities. It’s primarily a social organization and the way it works is that everyone meets up at a designated point and we carpool to the start of the Hash. Earlier in the day, the person who is designated as the Hare sets a trail for everyone else (the Hounds) to follow. There is a system to it and there may be false trails, so every so often there are checkpoints where people must fan out to try to find the correct trail. Once sure of the correct trail, everyone takes off running along the trail to the next checkpoint and so on and so forth. Oh, and everyone yells what’s going on so that people in the back can follow since everyone moves at different paces so it’s a fairly raucous proceeding.
Our trail was up in the hills outside of Dushanbe and it went up steep slopes and along cliff-like trails, up and down and all around. It was a blast just running all over the place. The scenery was amazing and it was just a lot of fun. Of course, there were the odd mishaps – early in the run I had to use my hands to get up a particularly steep slope and apparently was impaled by a thorny plant since my hand was all bloody when we finished. Then, about halfway through, the trail led us through a wasp nest and many of us, including yours truly, were stung. I only got stung once – and it hurt like the dickens, but several people were stung multiple times. It turned out one guy was allergic and had to go for medical treatment. I successfully managed to dodge most of the animal droppings along the way, but rolled my ankle on the last downhill stretch when I landed on a loose rock after jumping a pile of dung. Still, I maintain that it was a great experience and can’t wait for next week.
After the Hash is where things really got interesting. At the end of the train there was beer and water. I had a water and then discovered that there was a type of Baltica that I had never heard of. You may recall that there are Baltica’s 1-9 and each has a different flavor. I found a Baltica 0 and was excited when one of the British guys (expats from many countries do the Hash) didn’t even know it. After everyone finished the run, we headed over to the house of one of the Hares (a French guy) and as I was finishing my Baltica 0 a bunch of people started laughing at me – it turned out Baltica 0 is non-alcoholic. What a waste.
Needless to say, I rectified my mistake as soon as we got into the yard. It was a good thing I had a little beer in me because as a first time Hasher I had to stand inside the circle and dance. A lot of other things happened in the circle, but I don’t think I’ll recount them all here. If anyone comes to visit with even the slightest inclination, I’ll be happy to take you on a Hash and you can see for yourself. Overall, it was a fantastic experience and I met a lot of new people. Dinner was also provided, so I’d call it a big win. Before we move on to Sunday, I should note that Saturday night when I got home dirty, sweaty, bloody and tired, my wasp sting had subsided to a small welt on my leg – remember that.
Sunday we woke up bright and early to go to the car market. A co-worker and her Tajik fiancée offered to take us and another couple. So we met them near the Italian place where we had dinner our first night and walked down the main road – Rudaki – until we came to a place where we could catch a Marshrutka. This was our first voyage in a marshrutka and it was quite an experience. They are tiny little vans that hold about 6 people comfortably – although I have seen them with many more passengers crammed in. They run on predetermined routes but stop anywhere to pick up or let off. The great thing is that they only cost 1 somoni (less than a quarter) no matter where you go on the route. The car market is on the far outskirts of town, so it was a big savings.
We got to the car market, which is basically a huge field at the bottom of a steep hill that was literally covered with cars. We spent some time walking around and getting information so that later we can call the owners and have them bring the cars in for inspection and, if we’re interested, negotiation. That will be another story when it happens. The car market wasn’t nearly as hectic as we expected – no one tried to hassle us or anything – but as the morning wore on it got very hot and we tired quickly. I also noticed that my leg was hurting a lot and when I lifted up my pant leg I saw that my small welt had grow to a large red swelling on my calf. Not nice.
When we got back to the town proper, we had lunch at an Iranian restaurant and refreshed with cold water. It was all delicious. After lunch, Stephanie and I decided to walk down to the large bazaar – the Green Market - to see if it was any different than the one we hit last week – several people had recommended it. It was definitely bigger, but not better. The selection was mostly the same, but it was much more crowded and obnoxious. Beggar women constantly followed us and whenever we stopped to try to negotiate they would start tapping me on the arm – none of the many ways of saying know that I’ve learned seemed to work. At one point, a woman who was selling to us had to tell one of them off. Needless to say, we’ll probably be sticking to our nice quiet bazaar from now on.
On the way home, we got to put our newly learned marshrutka savvy to the test. We found our street and lo and behold – a number 4 marshrutka pulled up and we hopped on. Miraculously, it took us just where we wanted to go. I won’t lie – I was pretty pleased with myself. Once at home, we both pretty much collapsed and enjoyed the A/C. By this time, my leg was quite painful and it was difficult to walk. When I went to ice it, my small welt had grown to encompass my entire calf and was blotchy red. The whole area was swollen and hot.
The ice was a temporary fix and when I got to work the medical officer gave me some Benadryl and a steroid to help with the swelling. I guess it will take some time to kick in, the only thing that’s changed is that the Benadryl made me sleepy. Anyway, I wear this lump of feverish red flesh as a badge of honor for completing my first Hash. I hope the next one avoids any stinging insects! All in all, the only thing I can think to say is my new favorite quote – “Isn’t fun a wonderful thing to have!?” I think so and I’m having quite a bit of it.
Until next time…
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
1 week down...
So here it is, the end of my first full week as GSO at Embassy Dushanbe. I have to say, although work is extremely busy, I’m enjoying myself quite a bit. I have some great people on my staff and I find the work challenging and rewarding for the most part. One slightly annoying task today required about 15 minutes of my time. I finally got the password reset on my office voicemail and when I logged in, the electronic voice said the mailbox was full. Thinking I had missed many voicemails over the last week, I started listening to them right away. However, the first NEW message was from September – I thought it was odd but soon figured out that it was a voicemail from my predecessor. Thinking it was accidentally left by my predecessor, I went to the next message and quickly discovered that all these NEW messages were starting from last September (or so I thought). So I started rapidly deleting each message, pausing every so often to see what the date was lest I miss a message for me. But lo and behold, there were no messages for me and the time stamps circled back into September again – there were 2 years of NEW messages for my predecessor in the voice mailbox! In all I deleted over 300 of them. Fortunately that was a one-time job and from there I was able to get back to real work.
I’m also starting to meet more people in other sections of the embassy and we seem to have a great little community here. As we head into the weekend, the dust storm is slowly dissipating. I can now see the hills across the street, but not much more. At least it doesn't look like we're on another planet anymore. I’m also pleased to report that my Tajik Tummy has cleared up nicely and I’m now able to continue my culinary exploration of Tajikistan.
Yesterday, I got the second in a series of three rabies vaccine shots so my arm is a little sore, but it sounds like it’s worth it. Apparently rabies is rampant here and there have been many reports of people being bitten by rabid dogs. Of course now whenever I see a dog I start looking for rocks to throw in case it goes all Cujo on me. As if I could actually hit a dog with a rock if it was more than two feet away, (I’m talking about my poor throwing skills, not my willingness to ward off a mad dog intent on killing me). Fortunately, it hasn’t been necessary to test my skills with a projectile so far. We’ll see what happens when I run the Hash on Saturday – it seems this weekly event attracts a lot of attention from the rabid animal community. The Hash (short for Hash House Harriers) is an international drinking group with a running problem that has clubs in many international cities. I’ll be sure to share my experience next week.
After work yesterday there was a happy hour at the Marine House, which was a lot of fun. Stephanie was here for her Tajik lesson so she came along and we had a really good time – what was especially nice was that there were beverage options beyond Baltica 3 and 7, (Russian beers without much character – numbers 4 and 9 are better, but 3 and 7 seem to dominate the market here). Afterwards, on the way home, we stopped by the famous Rohat Teahouse for dinner. It took us a few tries to order something that was actually available, but we ended up with a delicious shashlik (kebab), and a dish of sautéed meat with mushrooms and onions that were quite good. We were disappointed that they didn’t have the national dish of Tajikistan – plov – but I’m sure we’ll experience that soon. An amazing point about the meal – the whole thing cost less than $7 including bread and a 1.5L bottle of water – CHA-CHING! Interestingly enough, it cost 40 dirham (equivalent to less than a dime) to use the bathroom, which was basically a closet with a hole in the floor. I guess you have to make your money somehow.
Rohat is an interesting mélange of architecture, with a main building that resembles a Roman temple, which sits in the midst of a surrounding building that brings to mind a Japanese palace. In between, there is a rather nice garden with a fountain and the overall effect is not unpleasant. I’ll have to post pictures once I get up and running with the internet at home, which should happen…drum roll please….next Tuesday! Now, if the speed of service at restaurants is any indication, I won’t hold my breath for a quick installation, but it’s nice to see the possibility on the horizon. We’ve also learned that a couple of shipments of our belongings are here and we hope to get them delivered early next week - maybe even today. Again, not holding my breath but it will be nice when we get some of our things to make the house feel more like home.
So I guess all in all, things are pretty darn good in Dushanbe. I’m sure I’ll have more to share next week, so until then, stay classy.
Nick
I’m also starting to meet more people in other sections of the embassy and we seem to have a great little community here. As we head into the weekend, the dust storm is slowly dissipating. I can now see the hills across the street, but not much more. At least it doesn't look like we're on another planet anymore. I’m also pleased to report that my Tajik Tummy has cleared up nicely and I’m now able to continue my culinary exploration of Tajikistan.
Yesterday, I got the second in a series of three rabies vaccine shots so my arm is a little sore, but it sounds like it’s worth it. Apparently rabies is rampant here and there have been many reports of people being bitten by rabid dogs. Of course now whenever I see a dog I start looking for rocks to throw in case it goes all Cujo on me. As if I could actually hit a dog with a rock if it was more than two feet away, (I’m talking about my poor throwing skills, not my willingness to ward off a mad dog intent on killing me). Fortunately, it hasn’t been necessary to test my skills with a projectile so far. We’ll see what happens when I run the Hash on Saturday – it seems this weekly event attracts a lot of attention from the rabid animal community. The Hash (short for Hash House Harriers) is an international drinking group with a running problem that has clubs in many international cities. I’ll be sure to share my experience next week.
After work yesterday there was a happy hour at the Marine House, which was a lot of fun. Stephanie was here for her Tajik lesson so she came along and we had a really good time – what was especially nice was that there were beverage options beyond Baltica 3 and 7, (Russian beers without much character – numbers 4 and 9 are better, but 3 and 7 seem to dominate the market here). Afterwards, on the way home, we stopped by the famous Rohat Teahouse for dinner. It took us a few tries to order something that was actually available, but we ended up with a delicious shashlik (kebab), and a dish of sautéed meat with mushrooms and onions that were quite good. We were disappointed that they didn’t have the national dish of Tajikistan – plov – but I’m sure we’ll experience that soon. An amazing point about the meal – the whole thing cost less than $7 including bread and a 1.5L bottle of water – CHA-CHING! Interestingly enough, it cost 40 dirham (equivalent to less than a dime) to use the bathroom, which was basically a closet with a hole in the floor. I guess you have to make your money somehow.
Rohat is an interesting mélange of architecture, with a main building that resembles a Roman temple, which sits in the midst of a surrounding building that brings to mind a Japanese palace. In between, there is a rather nice garden with a fountain and the overall effect is not unpleasant. I’ll have to post pictures once I get up and running with the internet at home, which should happen…drum roll please….next Tuesday! Now, if the speed of service at restaurants is any indication, I won’t hold my breath for a quick installation, but it’s nice to see the possibility on the horizon. We’ve also learned that a couple of shipments of our belongings are here and we hope to get them delivered early next week - maybe even today. Again, not holding my breath but it will be nice when we get some of our things to make the house feel more like home.
So I guess all in all, things are pretty darn good in Dushanbe. I’m sure I’ll have more to share next week, so until then, stay classy.
Nick
Monday, August 24, 2009
The First 100 Hours (Give or take a few)
OK, so this one isn't any shorter. Can't promise any of them will be, so feel free to skim...
As mentioned previously, we didn't really sleep the first night we arrived, but ironed our travel-wrinkled clothes and were picked up and taken to the embassy for orientation etc. I got a chance to use my Russian with the driver, and we got to see Dushanbe in the light of day for the first time. Our initial impression - which continues to be the case the more we see - is that it is a much nicer city than we expected. The downtown area has almost a European feel - almost. The streets are all tree-lined and there is a lot of what can be best described as public sculptures - which will make more sense when I can upload pictures. Summer is very hot and dry here - although temperatures are cool in the morning and at night - and also very dusty. Dushanbe is surrounded by mountains, and when the dust isn't too bad you can see some snow on the tops of some of them even now.
Everyone at the embassy was very friendly and welcoming and when I finally got to my office, the whole experience really started feeling like a move rather than a vacation. From my desk I have a decent view of the surrounding hillsides and on clear days, the snowy mountains behind them.
Our first evening here, our social sponsors took us to dinner at a modern-looking Italian restaurant a few blocks from our house. For those of you who think I'm selling out on my first day, I should point out that I've been getting more local fare in the embassy cafeteria - for example, tongue stew on Friday. I think that settles it. Anyway, dinner was good, and when all the lights come on along the streets, Dushanbe is quite pretty.
The second day at the office was equally pleasant and I finally got to start doing some real work - which is very nice after 11 months of training. I wonder how long that will last. At the end of the day, my department even had a little gathering to welcome Stephanie and me and to say so long to my predecessor.
Friday night is where I think the trouble began. We met up with some other embassy folks at the new Hyatt for a BBQ - which was quite good (but unfortunately also where the trouble began - be patient, I'll explain later). There was live music at the Hyatt, including Tajik music that sounded quite a bit like the theme to Borat and a girl who sang exactly, (and by exactly I mean I thought they were playing a recording), like Sheryl Crow. After dinner, we went out to the Irish Pub - a local hangout for expats, which isn't very Irish - and had a few beers and laughs before turning in for the night.
Saturday morning, my stomach was a bit unsettled (trouble), but I chalked it up to the beer, took a couple peptos, and we headed out to explore a bit of our new city. We navigated a nearby bazaar, buying veggies, spices, grains, and nuts (all in Russian I might add), then on the way home, we got the surprise of our lives at the supermarket, which is just a 3 minute walk from our house. They had just about everything - shampoo, toothpaste, yogurt, milk, meat, prepared meals, coffee. We practically didn't need our consumables (although there are some exceptions. I know it was very comforting to Stephanie to have something so familiar and useful so close to home.
We spent the rest of the day unpacking and getting more familiar with the house before hitting the sack. Sunday is when things really went downhill. My unsettled stomach, it turns out, was a full blown case of Tajik Tummy, (think Dehli Belly or Montezuma's Revenge), and it was awful. No amount of over-the-counter medicine seemed to help. Suffice it to say that I spent the whole day on the couch, having to cancel our plans to go on a hike for the day. I can only figure that it was something I ate at the Hyatt since it's the only place Stephanie didn't eat and she's been fine.
Aside from the obvious physical discomfort, my confidence in my iron gut was shaken. I, the one who at sheep's head from a picnic table in Morocco, ants and guinea pig in Ecuador, and street food in India, brought low by a Hyatt in Tajikistan! Who'd have thought?
Fortunately, I had Stephanie to take excellent care of me and by Monday, although not nearly 100% I made it to work. It was a good thing, because if I had stayed home, I would have missed the old man who rode his donkey past me while I was waiting to be picked up. At work, the medical officer was able to give me some medicine and a rehydrating powder (it has to be mixed in water - otherwise it would be something of an oxymoron) that started putting me right rather quickly.
Monday night we attempted to hire a driver to get around more efficiently until we can A) buy a car and B) they fill in the trench in front of our drive way so we can put a car in it. The man who came by was very pleasant and professional and came highly recommended. He must have thought highly of himself too since he asked a rather exorbitant amount. We decided to stick to walking and negotiating with cabs in Russian for the time being. Once Stephanie gets a handle on Tajik, we should be rather well equipped to navigate around the city, but until then, my Russian is holding up better than I expected.
It's Tuesday as I'm writing and I'm now I'm on my second day of 'real work' and am feeling more or less fine - I'll feel better when I can expand my diet beyond bread and bananas. We had an unusual bit of rain today - it wouldn't normally precipitate until fall - which was promptly followed by a dust storm that continues to obscure my view of just about anything outside my window. Hopefully it will rain some more and clear things up later.
As mentioned previously, we didn't really sleep the first night we arrived, but ironed our travel-wrinkled clothes and were picked up and taken to the embassy for orientation etc. I got a chance to use my Russian with the driver, and we got to see Dushanbe in the light of day for the first time. Our initial impression - which continues to be the case the more we see - is that it is a much nicer city than we expected. The downtown area has almost a European feel - almost. The streets are all tree-lined and there is a lot of what can be best described as public sculptures - which will make more sense when I can upload pictures. Summer is very hot and dry here - although temperatures are cool in the morning and at night - and also very dusty. Dushanbe is surrounded by mountains, and when the dust isn't too bad you can see some snow on the tops of some of them even now.
Everyone at the embassy was very friendly and welcoming and when I finally got to my office, the whole experience really started feeling like a move rather than a vacation. From my desk I have a decent view of the surrounding hillsides and on clear days, the snowy mountains behind them.
Our first evening here, our social sponsors took us to dinner at a modern-looking Italian restaurant a few blocks from our house. For those of you who think I'm selling out on my first day, I should point out that I've been getting more local fare in the embassy cafeteria - for example, tongue stew on Friday. I think that settles it. Anyway, dinner was good, and when all the lights come on along the streets, Dushanbe is quite pretty.
The second day at the office was equally pleasant and I finally got to start doing some real work - which is very nice after 11 months of training. I wonder how long that will last. At the end of the day, my department even had a little gathering to welcome Stephanie and me and to say so long to my predecessor.
Friday night is where I think the trouble began. We met up with some other embassy folks at the new Hyatt for a BBQ - which was quite good (but unfortunately also where the trouble began - be patient, I'll explain later). There was live music at the Hyatt, including Tajik music that sounded quite a bit like the theme to Borat and a girl who sang exactly, (and by exactly I mean I thought they were playing a recording), like Sheryl Crow. After dinner, we went out to the Irish Pub - a local hangout for expats, which isn't very Irish - and had a few beers and laughs before turning in for the night.
Saturday morning, my stomach was a bit unsettled (trouble), but I chalked it up to the beer, took a couple peptos, and we headed out to explore a bit of our new city. We navigated a nearby bazaar, buying veggies, spices, grains, and nuts (all in Russian I might add), then on the way home, we got the surprise of our lives at the supermarket, which is just a 3 minute walk from our house. They had just about everything - shampoo, toothpaste, yogurt, milk, meat, prepared meals, coffee. We practically didn't need our consumables (although there are some exceptions. I know it was very comforting to Stephanie to have something so familiar and useful so close to home.
We spent the rest of the day unpacking and getting more familiar with the house before hitting the sack. Sunday is when things really went downhill. My unsettled stomach, it turns out, was a full blown case of Tajik Tummy, (think Dehli Belly or Montezuma's Revenge), and it was awful. No amount of over-the-counter medicine seemed to help. Suffice it to say that I spent the whole day on the couch, having to cancel our plans to go on a hike for the day. I can only figure that it was something I ate at the Hyatt since it's the only place Stephanie didn't eat and she's been fine.
Aside from the obvious physical discomfort, my confidence in my iron gut was shaken. I, the one who at sheep's head from a picnic table in Morocco, ants and guinea pig in Ecuador, and street food in India, brought low by a Hyatt in Tajikistan! Who'd have thought?
Fortunately, I had Stephanie to take excellent care of me and by Monday, although not nearly 100% I made it to work. It was a good thing, because if I had stayed home, I would have missed the old man who rode his donkey past me while I was waiting to be picked up. At work, the medical officer was able to give me some medicine and a rehydrating powder (it has to be mixed in water - otherwise it would be something of an oxymoron) that started putting me right rather quickly.
Monday night we attempted to hire a driver to get around more efficiently until we can A) buy a car and B) they fill in the trench in front of our drive way so we can put a car in it. The man who came by was very pleasant and professional and came highly recommended. He must have thought highly of himself too since he asked a rather exorbitant amount. We decided to stick to walking and negotiating with cabs in Russian for the time being. Once Stephanie gets a handle on Tajik, we should be rather well equipped to navigate around the city, but until then, my Russian is holding up better than I expected.
It's Tuesday as I'm writing and I'm now I'm on my second day of 'real work' and am feeling more or less fine - I'll feel better when I can expand my diet beyond bread and bananas. We had an unusual bit of rain today - it wouldn't normally precipitate until fall - which was promptly followed by a dust storm that continues to obscure my view of just about anything outside my window. Hopefully it will rain some more and clear things up later.
Work has been extremely busy, with many meetings, e-mails, things to sign/read/edit/you-name-it-I-do-it, and I've even been able to get out and about a bit, which is a nice part of my job. I should mention that I'm thoroughly enjoying myself- it's nice to be back in the grind (again, that's just two days in.)
We may have found a solution to our home internet access troubles, which would mean - you guessed it - pictures! (and no more blogging on my lunch hour) Until then, I hope everyone is doing well and will stay in touch.
Nick
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Road to Dushanbe
I don't think most of my posts will be this long, but this is the story of how we got to where we are and I felt I had to do it justice. **Due to road work in front of our house in Dushanbe, there will be no internet for some time so pictures will have to come later.
As you know, Dushanbe is on the other side of the world in the middle of nowhere, (even the Russians called it the end of the world, and they have Siberia), so it's no mean feat getting there. For the most part our trip went smoothly and we had a lot of fun. Here's the skinny on how it went down...
The first leg of our journey took us from Dulles airport in DC to Frankfurt, Germany. For the most part, the trip was uneventful - perhaps too much so. While the flight crew was very pleasant, everything else about the journey was not. It was hot on the plane - I was actually sweating - and there were no air blowers on the ceiling, so sleep wasn't really an option. And then to pour salt on the wound, the only in-flight entertainment was the Hannah Montana movie. Seriously, I can't imagine that more than a few percent of passengers on international flights are girls under the age of 15 - so I don't know who in their right mind would subject the remaining hundreds of non-under-15-year-old-girl passengers to Hannah Montana. Usually, I'll watch movies that I'm totally uninterested in on a plane just to pass the time, but a man has to draw the line somewhere.
So we arrived at Frankfurt airport, unslept and gross, and had to schlep all the way across the airport, and go through two security checkpoints, (even though we never left the terminal), before we reached our gate, which looked like an airplane hangar with a few chairs in it. Sitting there, the time for our boarding call came and went, and the screen suddenly showed a flight that wasn't ours. So Stephanie asked an unfriendly airline employee who told us the gate changed (no announcement) and directed us up a set of stairs that led to a locked door, out of which came and angry security guard who sent us back the long way around to our correct gate. Fortunately the flight was late and we didn't miss it.
About 2 hours later we landed in Istanbul for 3 days of beautiful weather and sightseeing. Our hotel was a converted Ottoman mansion in the historic district, about a 5 minute walk from the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque. I'll save the story of our trip to Istanbul for when I can upload pictures along with it, but we had a fantastic time and a much needed chance to recharge on our journey.
Finally it was time to head on to the final leg of our trip from Istanbul to Dushanbe. It was sort of the opposite of the first, with a frustrating airport process, but a delightful flight. We arrived at the airport with 2.5 hours to spare before our flight. At the airport, we carried our enormous quantity of luggage, (we had to pack for at least 1 month), through a long line only to have the woman at the Turkish Air check-in counter tell us that since their system didn't show us as originating in the US (different airline) that our baggage weight allowance was 40 pounds less than what it was when we left DC. She procedeed to send us to stand in a different line to pay a hefty overweight baggage fee (fortunately we should be able to cover the cost).
At this other line, we had to take a number (like at a deli but with no food). We were number 121 and we waited while they served number 84 for about 10 minutes. Since we now were down to about an hour before our flight, that wasn't going to work. So I went to the business class line that had no one in it and paid. From there, we stood in line for passport control next to a sobbing Chinese family for about 30 minutes before we got through to the gates. The gate on the screen was different from the gate on our boarding pass so we had to walk a bit further then we expected (at least it was sans humongous suitcases). Then, once we reached our gate, they changed it two more times, moving it farther and farther, before they ran out of airport (we were literally at the farthest edge from where we started).
The boarding procedure was a bit of a mad dash. The guy in the seat next to ours had also stolen all the pillows and was sitting on them. Stephanie stole one when he stood up for a moment, but I convinced her to give it back - I didn't want to sit next to an angry dude for 5.5 hours - not to mention that they pillow had been sat on already. Many passengers kept getting up and moving their bags from one overhead compartment to another and just generally walking around like it was Central Park on Saturday instead of an airplane. Finally, most people were sitting, but this one woman didn't like her seat and sat in the row behind us in a seat reserved for an airplane technician. There were 3 crew members trying (politely) to get her to move and the situation was only resolved because the pillow hog next to us agreed to switch seats with her.
From there it was pretty much hunky-dory. There was enough leg room to dance in, the in-flight entertainment was fine (Everybody Loves Raymond, Zoo Babies (baby elephants are impossible not to watch) and Wolverine), and they gave us little menus with the food and drink choices - which was outstanding by airline standards and would have been decent even in a restaurant.
We landed in Dushanbe at 3:30 am (30 min late thanks to the seat hopper), and I got to use some Russian right away to make sure the bus we got on was going to baggage claim and not to Kyrgyzstan - one never knows. There were expediters who helped us get through customs quickly and after not too long of a wait, we had our luggage and were picked up by an embassy driver and our social sponsor.
We finally got to our house around 5am. It's even better than it looked in the pictures, and is enormous. Instead of catching a few hours of sleep, we spent the rest of the night exploring the huge basement, finding new rooms, and playing with the ultra-modern shower. It's a little funky and a lot of fun. Again, once we have internet at home, pictures will follow.
I'll continue the story of our first days in Dushanbe in another post, but wanted to get this started...
As you know, Dushanbe is on the other side of the world in the middle of nowhere, (even the Russians called it the end of the world, and they have Siberia), so it's no mean feat getting there. For the most part our trip went smoothly and we had a lot of fun. Here's the skinny on how it went down...
The first leg of our journey took us from Dulles airport in DC to Frankfurt, Germany. For the most part, the trip was uneventful - perhaps too much so. While the flight crew was very pleasant, everything else about the journey was not. It was hot on the plane - I was actually sweating - and there were no air blowers on the ceiling, so sleep wasn't really an option. And then to pour salt on the wound, the only in-flight entertainment was the Hannah Montana movie. Seriously, I can't imagine that more than a few percent of passengers on international flights are girls under the age of 15 - so I don't know who in their right mind would subject the remaining hundreds of non-under-15-year-old-girl passengers to Hannah Montana. Usually, I'll watch movies that I'm totally uninterested in on a plane just to pass the time, but a man has to draw the line somewhere.
So we arrived at Frankfurt airport, unslept and gross, and had to schlep all the way across the airport, and go through two security checkpoints, (even though we never left the terminal), before we reached our gate, which looked like an airplane hangar with a few chairs in it. Sitting there, the time for our boarding call came and went, and the screen suddenly showed a flight that wasn't ours. So Stephanie asked an unfriendly airline employee who told us the gate changed (no announcement) and directed us up a set of stairs that led to a locked door, out of which came and angry security guard who sent us back the long way around to our correct gate. Fortunately the flight was late and we didn't miss it.
About 2 hours later we landed in Istanbul for 3 days of beautiful weather and sightseeing. Our hotel was a converted Ottoman mansion in the historic district, about a 5 minute walk from the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque. I'll save the story of our trip to Istanbul for when I can upload pictures along with it, but we had a fantastic time and a much needed chance to recharge on our journey.
Finally it was time to head on to the final leg of our trip from Istanbul to Dushanbe. It was sort of the opposite of the first, with a frustrating airport process, but a delightful flight. We arrived at the airport with 2.5 hours to spare before our flight. At the airport, we carried our enormous quantity of luggage, (we had to pack for at least 1 month), through a long line only to have the woman at the Turkish Air check-in counter tell us that since their system didn't show us as originating in the US (different airline) that our baggage weight allowance was 40 pounds less than what it was when we left DC. She procedeed to send us to stand in a different line to pay a hefty overweight baggage fee (fortunately we should be able to cover the cost).
At this other line, we had to take a number (like at a deli but with no food). We were number 121 and we waited while they served number 84 for about 10 minutes. Since we now were down to about an hour before our flight, that wasn't going to work. So I went to the business class line that had no one in it and paid. From there, we stood in line for passport control next to a sobbing Chinese family for about 30 minutes before we got through to the gates. The gate on the screen was different from the gate on our boarding pass so we had to walk a bit further then we expected (at least it was sans humongous suitcases). Then, once we reached our gate, they changed it two more times, moving it farther and farther, before they ran out of airport (we were literally at the farthest edge from where we started).
The boarding procedure was a bit of a mad dash. The guy in the seat next to ours had also stolen all the pillows and was sitting on them. Stephanie stole one when he stood up for a moment, but I convinced her to give it back - I didn't want to sit next to an angry dude for 5.5 hours - not to mention that they pillow had been sat on already. Many passengers kept getting up and moving their bags from one overhead compartment to another and just generally walking around like it was Central Park on Saturday instead of an airplane. Finally, most people were sitting, but this one woman didn't like her seat and sat in the row behind us in a seat reserved for an airplane technician. There were 3 crew members trying (politely) to get her to move and the situation was only resolved because the pillow hog next to us agreed to switch seats with her.
From there it was pretty much hunky-dory. There was enough leg room to dance in, the in-flight entertainment was fine (Everybody Loves Raymond, Zoo Babies (baby elephants are impossible not to watch) and Wolverine), and they gave us little menus with the food and drink choices - which was outstanding by airline standards and would have been decent even in a restaurant.
We landed in Dushanbe at 3:30 am (30 min late thanks to the seat hopper), and I got to use some Russian right away to make sure the bus we got on was going to baggage claim and not to Kyrgyzstan - one never knows. There were expediters who helped us get through customs quickly and after not too long of a wait, we had our luggage and were picked up by an embassy driver and our social sponsor.
We finally got to our house around 5am. It's even better than it looked in the pictures, and is enormous. Instead of catching a few hours of sleep, we spent the rest of the night exploring the huge basement, finding new rooms, and playing with the ultra-modern shower. It's a little funky and a lot of fun. Again, once we have internet at home, pictures will follow.
I'll continue the story of our first days in Dushanbe in another post, but wanted to get this started...
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Intro
Thanks for checking out my blog. I'm hoping to keep this updated so that I don't have to inundate people with pictures and e-mails everytime something new happens (should be frequent). Check back often or sign up for alerts when I post new info.
After a long 11 months of training in DC, we are finally heading out on the great adventure of being a diplomat in the Foreign Service. My first tour is in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Over the years, I hope to use this blog to capture my adventures and travels around the world.
Nick
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