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Sunny park in Tashkent
Posing by a fountain in the park for a picture Weekend fun
Pictures coming soon...
Saturday: Tourist stuff
We woke up late, and I decided to go for a run in the yard, as I think I was going through running withdrawls. I’ve been doing some other exercises in the morning that have made me quite sore in places I haven’t been sore in a long time, to try to make up for running. But nothing compares, and then I’m just left stiff and sore! So, I ran for 20 minutes or so and listened to my I-pod in the 30 yard long space our house lies in, surrounded by a wall. We were transported all around town in the MTI van, along with Yulduz, and a man named Rick who works in the Portland MTI office and is here on a work trip. We walked through a park and saw the Mourning Mother monument, a memorial for soldiers who died in WWII. We got our pictures taken by a nice fountain in the park. We went to a museum full of Uzbekistan exhibits and history. We had Plov for lunch, a traditional meal of rice, beef, carrots, and seasoning. I tried a small bite of horse meat
which as brought with the meal but I could not bring myself to eat more than a small bite! We went up the Tashkent tower, and paid extra to go to the highest level that is safe. Amazing view of this humungous sprawling city! See pictures. We went to an earthquake monument, a memorial of the 1966 earthquake. Last we went to a place where local people sell handmade art, pottery, woodwork, jewelry, and other goods. I bought a couple of things, and a cold bottle of water. By this time we were pretty exhausted from the day and went home to rest, use the internet at the office, and read. We all watched a movie on Ella’s computer last night to pass the time, which was nice!
Sunday: Another cultural experience (from the perspective of a western dressing, picture taking, non language speaking American), who Uzbeks find interesting to stare at!
Woke up late again, and I went for another run in the yard! Yulduz came with another man who drove us around town all day in the heat! I can’t believe that MTI pays their staff to drive us around and transport us from here to
At the higest allowed level
We paid extra to go to the higest safe level of the tower- walking on wires and making sure not to drop our cameras down the openings! The view of this huge city from the top was pretty nice there. We would walk in somewhere, come out 2 hours later, and he would be waiting, watching for us to come out, and then come over to pick us up. We all appreciate this very much! Yulduz took us for a “girls day on the town,” and we first went to a wedding exposition, then to the giant market in the center of town, which you can see in our pictures. The entire second floor of one of the domes was busy with people selling bulk nuts, dried fruits and seeds, while the first floor was spices, rice, beans, and some strange yogurt foods. It was like Fred Meyer’s bulk section times 300! Incredible amounts of everything. There were also amazing amounts of fruits, vegetables, salads, ect, and outside under tents was sold other things such as electronics, clothes, shampoo and toothpaste, sandles, and lots of little knick knacks. I bought some sunglasses for 8000 Sum, which is about 6 dollars or so. We all bought a few traditional silk scarves as well inside one of the several fabric shops at the market. Tonight Ella and I decided to try them on and wear them in different ways (see pictures).
We also bought some foam that we ran across in the wood working section of the market, for our next seating and positioning lecture where we will try to position some kids in wheelchairs. But we realized it is very expensive so we bought a limited amount. Later in the day we went jewelry shopping and then bought groceries for ourselves in a smaller market (but still huge)! It was quite the expedition! We were so thankful to have Yulduz show us around and translate for us everywhere we went! Not to mention the driver again, who was so patient and kind.
On another note, I’m missing my family who went to my sister’s graduation today in Spokane. I’m hoping to talk to them soon if they call (hint hint family), as we have a cell phone and a land line here! Anyway, tomorrow brings a new week, and a full one, as we will be spending at least double the time at the orphanage. Ella and I have decided it will be a good idea to do evaluations on all the children in the lying down and sitting up rooms. So we’re going to use forms from the
Disabled Village Children book and do our best, then make recommendations for treatments for each child. Hopefully the caregivers will be able to follow through.
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jenny
non-member comment
What a great experience, it sounds awesome! We miss you!