Barbershop Conversion

I'm still working on the pictures from our recent trip, but have a couple of good local stories to share since we got back. We each got through our first week back at work, me barely, due to the fact that I couldn't eat anything thanks to my 'welcome home' case of Tajik Tummy. By the end of the week, I was on antibiotics, which slowly improved the situation over the weekend.

The snow storm that delayed our departure represented a big change in the weather pattern. It's rained almost

every day since we got back. Given that it hadn't rained since July, it's not unwelcome. But when Friday started out warm with a threat of showers, we weren't expecting snow. I left the embassy around 10am to look

at some new options for the housing pool and it was raining. When I returned at 11am, the weather had turned over to snow. I've never seen anything like it. There were these giant snowflakes (barf-flakes if you prefer),

falling so thick that you could barely see. It took awhile for the ground to freeze and the snow to stick, but by the next morning we had a good few inches.

On Saturday morning, I went for my monthly haircut and this time there were a couple of guys hanging out there who were interested in talking. Early in the conversation they asked me if I wanted to convert to Islam. I politely declined, but a slightly uneasy conversation followed where I tried to convey respect for their religion but also that Americans it's important for all religions deserve respect. I don't think I offended them because the barber didn't cut off my ear and the coversation eventually turned to more mundane topics with a friendly tone. At one point they rennamed me Negmatullo, which they said was as close to Nick as they could get in Tajik. They said it was a very good name because it was godly.

With that out of the way, I came home to work on expanding my digestive capabilities to their former capacity.

This morning, I went to the bazaar to refill our refrigerator. In addition to the normal staples, I found quail eggs and whole rabbits and decided to experiment.

The quail eggs didn't taste very different, but they were fun to cook and eat.

The rabbit went in the freezer to wait for a time when I find a recipe I want to try on it. The only annoying thing was trying to buy onions.

Prices have gone up tremendously, which is normal for winter. But even compared to last winter the prices have gone up from about 1.5 somoni/kilogram to 3 somoni/kilogram. I have to remind myself that it's still only

about 35 cents/pound, but still, it's relatively expensive. What annoyed me was that when I looked around for a lower price, I found people selling them for as low as 2.5 somoni - however these people would not let me pick out my own onions, but insisted on grabbing whichever ones they wanted - many of which were rotten. So in the end, I decided that I'd rather have a whole kilo of good onions at normal price.

Hopefully the next post will be of our trip to Southeast Asia.