I got my first haircut in Taj!! I think it turned out quite fantastic:) We found this amazing salon that is rather inexpensive and has loads of spa treatments as well... what fun:) Language class is going good... there's always an interesting aspect of Tajik culture to discuss.... today was the "get married=get pregnant" scenario... I was rather intrigued, my teacher said that you are pretty much expected/required from family and peer pressure to get pregnant within the first few months of being married... if you are not pregnant by the 6th month there is something wrong and your family will figure out what is happening and what the problem is.... interesting I thought.... well...the temp. has finally cooled down a bit, today got to 8 degrees C
I'm not quite sure what that is in F:) alrighty, talk to you later

Rhahmati Kalon (Many Thanks)

well.. I do love this time of year... ALthough Thanksgiving always brings me back to traditions from my origins of food and family time, this is not my first Thanksgiving away from family, however this year, more than ever, I realize and would like to express thanks from the bottom of my heart for all of my friends and family who have been a HUGE support to me this year! For without them I would not be getting to celebrate Thanksgiving here in Tajikistan. I am also thankful for the new fun that God has brought me here in the midst of hardships and having to say goodbye to so many people and things. It has been in this season of transition and adjustment that I have realized the extent of sacrifice that love requires.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving, enjoy the people you are with and the food you get to eat!
Although we can't get sweet potatoes or green beans, we will have Turkey:)
I hope you all know that you are appreciated dearly and loved much... Just thought I would include a picture of me in a korta dancing at a tuee ( a big party for a son's circumcision)... and Ruth and I... I love this part of Tajik life:)
Love

3 weeks in Dushanbe

So...
It's been just over 3 weeks being here in Dushanbe, and it seems like so much longer. Let me begin where I left off... It was Tuesday, October 16th that Ken and Chase loaded up my 4 bags and took me to DFW airport.... from Dallas I flew to Frankfurt, and I don't wish to remember much about Frankfurt besides the 2 gals from Georgia ( in the US) that I met and chatted with, who were going to Yeman to study Arabic, and that was rather refreshing... from Frankfurt I flew to Istanbul, Turkey, and there I had about 3 hours from the time we landed till the time my next flight departed, and somehow I managed to get to the gate right as it was boarding to leave... After waiting through the customs line twice, talking to several people who didn't speak English, realizing that I did have to buy a Turkish visa just to get out to the baggage claim to in turn take my bags upstairs to get checked back in, and paying entirely too much money for having too many bags I made it to the gate and met Ruth (who is from Iowa, will also be in Taj for a year, and is my roommate :)).... We boarded the plane at about 8:45pm in Turkey, ended up sitting on the tarmac for about an hour and a half because someone got sick and had to get escorted off, and then arrived at the Dushanbe airport at about 4:30AM... which the (international) airport was quite interesting, just 1 room, divided into sections with glass.. one side was the customs line with 2 customs booths, and the other was the baggage claim with 1 baggage carrosel... the funny thing was that we waited at the baggage claim for a good hour because Tajikistan only has 1 luggage cart to transport luggage from the plane to the baggage carrosel, so it takes a lot of trips to get everything out:) Anyhow... the director's wife of COH picked us up and informed us on things and got us to our apartment at about 6:30.... the rest of the day consisted of unpacking, taking a hot shower, and getting a nap...
That week that we arrived, there was a medical team here doing eye exams and health training seminars out in a village about 30 minutes outside of Dushanbe... that Saturday was the first community outreach that COH Taj. has conducted, and it was a huge success! There were free hair cuts, eye exams, training on HIV/AIDS, woman's issues, arthritus, along with agricultural training on soil and composting, games and fun with the kids, food and school supply kits were distributed, along with cool COH tatoos! There are plans to continue relationship with the people that were impacted by this outreach.

The second week in Dushanbe Ruth and I were taken care of by the team members here, who took us around to get the various things we needed for our house, internet and cell phones, Azors and Kortas (the national dress), food, ect... I am so excited about working with the team here, they are awesome! They have been so helpful and welcoming...we are blessed. That Friday night we took the bus down to the other side of town to eat at a fried chicken place (which was really good:), and ran into the "Bear Man", who is an old guy who has a bear under his captive, it's muzzled and on a leash, and he makes it do tricks and take pictures with people:) Well, I just wanted to take a picture of the bear and man and a helper guy who were all sitting on a bench in front of the opera house; however they had different thoughts in mind... within seconds they were insisting that I take a picture sitting on top of the bear, but they woudn't take the bear off of the bench, so here are the pics that proceeded...








That weekend followed with the Taj team fall retreat up to the mountains in Sarob, about 30 minutes north of Dushanbe.. it was a pretty place high in the mountains, and actually the big building was a sanitorium built in the 50's during the soviet times... you could and still can go there for ANY health remedy:).. that weekend was filled with planning and visionizing along with a few visits to the hot sulfer spring hot tub...the weekend ended with a sickness breakout amongst the team... I was thankful to not be apart of that:) The sheep were taking over the road heading up the mountain:)







The third week was the beginning of language classes and work with COH... what a good week it has been...my language lessons are on Monday and Thursday, Tuesday and Wednesday I will work with the COH social worker with the projects that are currently taking place... I will get to build wheelchairs in homes while the SW talks with the family- what fun!... Fridays I will be helping out at a small international school teaching jr.high math and science (just until Christmas break), and then also helping with gym class... Today we got to babysit several of the international kids while their parents were in a marriage seminar:) here are a few pics of what we did... and our apartment... and that is the package of fun I have had so far... stay
tuned...