August 3rd, 2019
Needless to say I did not get any sleep last night before the flight. Though I was able to sleep on the plane to Dubai. As I write this I am on the plane to Chicago. It’s 14.5 hours of hell. I am not very good at expressing my emotions, but I am very sad. In six short weeks I have begun to feel at home in Tajikistan and comfortable in that environment and navigating in the language. In the Dubai airport I kept trying to speak Tajiki to people, before catching myself and realizing that I wouldn’t really have any place where folks will understand it back in the states.
We nearly missed our flight to Dubai as well because our RD’s ticket had been canceled and it wasn’t rebooked. It was quite the scare. In the airport I was wearing my tokii (traditional Tajik hat) and got lots of compliments on it. I think they treated me better at security because of it.
In the Dubai airpot I have started hearing a lot of English spoke all at once by people not in my group for the first time. Sometimes it takes me a minute to realize that the random backpackers behind us are speaking to each other and not someone in our group. I wonder what that will be like in the US.
On Tajik Attitudes towards the environment and environment impact
You will see some recycling bins in Dushanbe alongside normal trashcans. Sometimes these wouldn’t even have a bottom or a divider between the recycling and trash sides. These are donated by the Chinese. Another thing an American Councils staff member noted I believe was that climate change is actually beneficial to the Tajik economy which depends on the Russian economy, which depends on oil. Climate change is beneficial to natural gas and the oil industry.
My environmental impact this summer has also been totally terrible. I bought massive plastic bottled water frequently and took two thousands-of-miles plane trips. Additionally, I never recycled, since it is not available here. Also, they use so many plastic bags here, for trash, for bread, for shopping. Paper bags are not a thing here.
On Religion in Tajikistan
Tajikistan is a Muslim-majority country. Every host family was a Muslim family, though Christians (primarily Eastern Orthodox) also exist. Some families are very devoted and others less so. In my family, the host grandmother prayed five times a day, but not for every long (5-20 minutes), while the kelean didn’t. I think my host father did, but I didn’t see him very often. Girls start praying at 9 and the boys at 12. Some people said their family would pray for an hour each time.
After meals, people will also pray, cupping their hands near their lap saying something I could not understand and then rising their hands and cupping their face. Only (Muslim obviously) men are allowed in mosques here, but all of us were allowed in the Ismaili center in Dushanbe. Most women wear a traditional Tajik head covering with the scarf tied behind the neck, as opposed wrapped around the neck and under the chin.
We nearly missed our flight to Dubai as well because our RD’s ticket had been canceled and it wasn’t rebooked. It was quite the scare. In the airport I was wearing my tokii (traditional Tajik hat) and got lots of compliments on it. I think they treated me better at security because of it.
In the Dubai airpot I have started hearing a lot of English spoke all at once by people not in my group for the first time. Sometimes it takes me a minute to realize that the random backpackers behind us are speaking to each other and not someone in our group. I wonder what that will be like in the US.
On Tajik Attitudes towards the environment and environment impact
You will see some recycling bins in Dushanbe alongside normal trashcans. Sometimes these wouldn’t even have a bottom or a divider between the recycling and trash sides. These are donated by the Chinese. Another thing an American Councils staff member noted I believe was that climate change is actually beneficial to the Tajik economy which depends on the Russian economy, which depends on oil. Climate change is beneficial to natural gas and the oil industry.
My environmental impact this summer has also been totally terrible. I bought massive plastic bottled water frequently and took two thousands-of-miles plane trips. Additionally, I never recycled, since it is not available here. Also, they use so many plastic bags here, for trash, for bread, for shopping. Paper bags are not a thing here.
On Religion in Tajikistan
Tajikistan is a Muslim-majority country. Every host family was a Muslim family, though Christians (primarily Eastern Orthodox) also exist. Some families are very devoted and others less so. In my family, the host grandmother prayed five times a day, but not for every long (5-20 minutes), while the kelean didn’t. I think my host father did, but I didn’t see him very often. Girls start praying at 9 and the boys at 12. Some people said their family would pray for an hour each time.
After meals, people will also pray, cupping their hands near their lap saying something I could not understand and then rising their hands and cupping their face. Only (Muslim obviously) men are allowed in mosques here, but all of us were allowed in the Ismaili center in Dushanbe. Most women wear a traditional Tajik head covering with the scarf tied behind the neck, as opposed wrapped around the neck and under the chin.
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