July 5th, 2019

We had our first test today. It went all right for me. I am glad to have it over with but we have another test next Friday, which is technically our midterm, since it will mark half way through the program. The test consisted of a written portion and a speaking portion. I did equally well on both, but I am just glad there wasn’t a reading allowed portion. We are randomly split into two groups, but the other group had to recite these short stories we read in class, but our group didn’t. The groups switch the teacher who they spend the majority of time with weekly. Next week my group will have the other teacher and presumable the harder test as well. There is a big emphasis on memorization here. Almost everyday part of our homework is to memorize something whether that be a poem, part of a poem, a short story, or a summary of a short story. They are not joking when they say this is an intensive language program.

            After class, we went to a nearby Turkish restaurant to hang out. We don’t have curfew until 6pm, so we are allowed to be out in the city until then, as long as we are in groups of at least three. The ice cream at the restaurant was very weird. It was kind of stretchy and tasted vaguely of Play Dough. They brought us (and charged us) for an extra piece of cake that no one ordered as well. It is taking some trial and error to find good hang out spots in Dushanbe.

            Altogether this week has flown by, while the first week seemed to drag a lot. This weekend we are giving a presentation about American college to a group of Tajik students, visiting a teahouse, and visiting one of a very few Ismail centers. While the week has gone by fast, I am still exhausted. I am going to try to sleep in tomorrow if my host family doesn’t wake me.

            Tajik moment of the day: Walking down the street to school and just seeing a man lying a wheel-barrow in the left-hand lane of the busy street.