20 April...great dinner at Mamura's

20 April
2:30 p.m.

Just back from trip to Khujand in car with Nastia and her mom Tatiana. It took 20 minutes to get there by car. Busy main road, beautifully paved and very wide, with one- and two-story stores lining each side. There was a rim of tall, rather serious looking brown mountain framing one side of the panorama. We drove through acres of apricot trees, toward the Arbob Palace, which is modeled after the Winter Palace of Peterhof. Strange, considering it was built as the cultural center of the area’s collective farm during Soviet times. The elaborate tiered fountains are in disrepair, but the pastel edifice still recalls the power and beauty of imperial Russian buildings. Today I noticed more and more statues of Lenin. The guy remains popular. We went to the public library in Khujand, a city of about 170,000, to the “American corner” to use their internet resources. No news from DC regarding my documents. Still too early. Nastia and I bought 2 Russian primers (1st and 2nd grade) so I can work on my Russian and maybe feel competent (smile). Tatiana pointed out all the out of work men in the road (not every road). So many people have left Tajikistan to work in Russia, America, Israel or other places, because there are no good jobs here. I’d love to see statistics on this so I could better understand the scope of the issue.

We had shashlik for lunch--or at least Nina and I did. Nastia and Tatiana have 4 more days to go in their Lent fast--no meat, dairy, eggs or…I can’t even remember. I just feel bad for them considering how much good food there is to eat around here. We washed our hands with a bucket and soap dispenser tied to a tree. Can’t wait to develop that picture. Maybe we’ll do that for the White Party??

About Chkalovsk: during Soviet times (many explanations begin this way, I’ve discovered) this was a major site for uranium extraction and refining. In fact, uranium was brought here from several sites across the former Soviet Union for refining. Radiation levels remain high in this area, particularly in Chkalovsk. This activity brought Germans, Israelis and others to this part of Tajikistan, and Tatiana was telling me you can see it reflected in the architecture (see how this was built by Germans?) but I’ll just take her word for it. So many buildings in this town are way past their former glory. Nastia pointed out the old university, a grand edifice with peeling paint and broken windows. It is no longer in use, and it looks like a big, tired, rumpled guest at a fancy party, one who knows no one but isn’t sure how to make a graceful exit.

Got home around 10:00 or so from Mamura's house. Wrote to Mom, Dad and Chris about the wonderful ambiance, food and conversation of the evening. Definitely my favorite social event so far. The men drank a whole bottle of vodka, a considerable feat considering there were only 2 of them. It's quite unusual for these two men, which made the event all the more remarkable. Nina and I liberally sampled the homemade wine. I'm never going to be a sommelier of Tajik wine, but I'm no longer a novice.