The big story, of course, was the Marine Ball on Saturday night. Unfortunately, when I was getting dressed, I discovered that apparently my waist has shrunk since I got the tux fitted and the pants were quite large. I couldn't find my suspenders so I had to use safety pins to hold them up. Not the classiest solution, but it worked and no one was the wiser. Stephanie looked stunning, of course, so we took some pictures before we left.
Things just kept getting better and better. We didn't drive since alcohol features prominently at the Marine Ball and we thought that we'd have to walk a ways to get a cab since our street was closed. Lo and behold, someone had opened the end of our street! We were able to get a cab not far from our house out to the Hyatt, where the event was held.
The Marine Ball, which is held to celebrate the birthday of the Marines, is always a major event for the expat community wherever there is an American diplomatic presence. In a place like Dushanbe, many people consider this the social event of the year. As you can see, the venue at the Hyatt was great. You'd never know we were in Tajikistan at all. It was really nice to get all dressed up and go out to a formal event. Not to mention, the food was fantastic.
As part of the celebration, there is always a presentation about the history of the marines, complete with the presentation of colors and a traditional cake, which is cut with a sword. In our case, the Ambassador was the guest of honor. It was a nice ceremony and I have to say, it was great being at an event that is really focused on the Americans. So much of what we do is geared towards outreach, but this was a celebration of our history and country and it was a great feeling when they played the National Anthem. 
After dinner, a local band played. It was fun for a little while, but the music had me thinking that Borat was going to peek out from behind a door, so after dancing for awhile, we made our goodbyes and headed home. All in all it was a great evening and something to look forward to for next year.
Today (Sunday) we spent most of the morning recovering, and then, as I mentioned, I promised some local boys that I would stop by to chat today. I took Stephanie with me, but when we got there, the boy who invited us was gone. I explained to a gentleman what happened and he immediately invited us in. We thought he was just going to get the boy, but he led us into a room and had us sit down. Before we knew it, he was bringing in plate after plate of food for us. Stephanie was thoroughly embarrassed. It certainly wasn't our intention to impose like that.
I told the man that we didn't want to be any trouble, that we would just be fine to chat, but he said that this is how they do things. And wow, there was so much food. Cold cuts, cheeses, breads, plov, cake, sweets, salads, you name it, and all of it delicious. We spent a good hour and a half eating and chatting with this gentleman and a few of his sons. Finally, I explained that I had some work to do (which was true) and gave my e-mail address to one of the older sons before we made our goodbye. They invited us back some other time, but I'll make sure to bring a gift when we go back. They were extremely hospitable and seemed to enjoy having us.
As I mentioned, I had to leave due to work. My team was preparing items for an auction and i had to go approve everything. I used the opportunity to ask some of my staff about the situation in the afternoon and he said that was their tradition. He said even if we went to the poorest village in the country, they'd likely kill a sheep and makes us eat it and then ask us to stay the night. It's very nice to be treated so well, but knowing that so many people struggle makes it hard to accept. However, I'm told that to refuse is a grave insult. I'm hoping to learn if there is a way to repay the favor.
But now, Sunday's almost over. After a couple of short weeks, having to work all five days is going to be quite a challenge. And on the down side, it seems the road opening Saturday night was just a tease because it was closed again on Sunday. Here we go again...
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