The Midwinter Blues

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To quote a British friend here who, on a recent night celebrating that Britishest of pre-Lenten festivities (Pancake Day? I'd never heard of it), said that it seemed we all were coming down with a case of the midwinter blues. It's been cold for a while, though I can't blame the cold for my lack of internets communication--mostly I blame busy-ness. Lots more classes this semester, lots more extra stuff I want to do, especially as I see the end of my time here swiftly approaching. I feel--and I'm sure I'm not the first one to feel it--that just as I finally get my Tajikistan-legs, my perfect personal mix of individual strength and cultural respect, of hardness and kindness, it'll be time to go back to my wonderful home, and get a new set of legs all over again. And so it goes!

I finally had the experience of buzkashi, the craziest sport mankind ever invented. Imagine American football, but on horses, with no rules, big leather whips with which to hit each other, 100+ participants, and no defined field, so that if you happen to be in the crowd you had always better be ready to run. And also your car might get crashed into by a horse at full speed. Oh, and also, instead of a football, the headless carcass of a goat. THAT was a good time!

I took a wee detour to Kazakhstan for a conference of English teachers, and let me tell you, at least the city where I was is nothing like the Borat movie. Everyone looks like a supermodel, and if it weren't for the cyrillic alphabet, I would've thought I was in Oklahoma City, y'all! It was a nice getaway but strangely made me extra homesick for America and also for home #2, Khujand.

These days, the things that make me miss home most are the people I love who are there, and...you know...a university system that's not rife with corruption. *sigh* I know there's not much I can do. One student the other day was telling me about a problem his friend was having because of "an injustice." I said...well...there is injustice everywhere, in my country too, and it's up to the people your age to fix it when you're older. I wish you could meet some of the students here. They sure are amazing.

I also wish I had some good pictures! I will work on taking more. Especially of crazy sporting events.

In the meantime, check this out, courtesy of a photographer friend here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/markomoudrak/sets/72157632628785511/

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Comments

[Ma]

Thanks for the link to the photos...looks very much like the drive across Arizona our first time...remember?