Here I Am!

Hello All,
I've finally arrived at my official site in Urgench! Today marks my one-week anniversary - and after waiting at my host family's and then in a Tashkent hotel for a couple of weeks for a new visa, I'm very happy to be where I'm supposed to be. I live in a huge 2-story house with my new host family - Mom & Dad (Dilberjon & Kodomboy), 2 brothers (Otabek and Muzaffar), 2 sisters (Sanober and Niloofar), a sister-in-law (Shohista), and her and Otabek's 2-year old son (Mohammed), who I could watch laugh all day long. [Mohammed and particularly his father, Otabek, have frighteningly similar mannerisms to my own brother David and his 3-year old son Gabriel.] My folks are in their 50s and siblings are between 19 and 27, so it's a pretty adult crowd. My new room is very large - about 20 x 30 feet (5 x 7 meters), albeit empty with only a desk, small dresser/cabinet, and bed. But, I do have a ceiling fan, which is more than I ever expected to have. I think I'll try to get some plants and a lamp at the bazaar this weekend.

My host family is strictly Muslim and Uzbek, compared to my previous Russian and loosely Muslim family. Sadly, this means I will not continue to improve my Russian via my host family, but it will certainly help me pick up some Uzbek and experience a new part of the Uzbek culture - and I'm definitely going to have to learn some Uzbek because this part of the country is way more Uzbek than Russian. The women of this household tend to keep to themselves, as is part of the culture, and I've yet to have a conversation with my new sisters. They never make eye contact with me and leave the room as soon as I enter. Perhaps that will change after I'm here a little longer and become less of a guest and more of a member of the family. Muzaffar speaks English fairly well and is anxious to practice with me, so I speak with him from time to time, loan him some of my books, and showed him how to use the Internet yesterday. It's nice to have a translator around, though I'll have to be careful I don't abandon my own studies and fall back on his English skills. My host family is fairly well-off - Kodomboy is a surgeon and Otabek an economist (who always asks me how much things cost in America - a question I try to avoid answering), Dilberjon is a history teacher and Moozafir is an economics student and Niloofar a med student. Despite their relative wealth, the water in this region is turned off everyday and only comes on full blast (i.e. moderate trickle) at night. I've started to stockpile drinking water that I distill in my room - God knows I've got the space - for if and when the water goes out for longer. Save for the fact that they don't speak Russian, I'm quite content in my new digs. I have started to investigate new Russian speaking families - a rarity in this part of the country - and may move within the next week or two, but it's hard to give up good people and a ceiling fan. After my first three months, I can and probably will move into my own apartment.

The pace of life is thus far pleasantly (and only rarely frustratingly) slow. If I'm able to accomplish a little thing each day I feel productive. For example, my first day I organized my room. The day after that I opened a bank account. My third day was quite impressive - I walked 45 minutes from my house to the office, found a "gym" for $3 per month, and finally registered at the Ovir (see below for more on the Ovir). My fourth day I had a long discussion in Russian in a cafe with a 19-year old sound technician comparing the poor of India and America and discussing the health benefits of cherry compote for one's brain. Plans for next week include hiring a Russian tutor and making pizza for my host family. In America, if I did all of these things in one day I'd still feel like a couch potato, but over here I'm a superstar.

My new job has yet to begin in earnest. For now, it's more important that I get settled in Urgench, improve my language skills, befriend my co-workers, and learn the intricacies of the office. Peace Corps advises we take at least 3-6 months do these things before attempting to suggest a change. I think that makes sense - it would be difficult for anyone to accept the suggestions of someone they barely knew, particularly when that someone can't speak the language and doesn't even know what to suggest. There are 3 people in my office who speak English fairly well, so I don't think communication will be too difficult, but like my host-brother, I have to press them to use Russian because they all want to improve their English - or they speak Uzbek. [I keep trying to put myself in their shoes. If I were back in the States and a "PCV" from China arrived in my office and I really wanted to learn Chinese because I thought it would help me get ahead in my career and create a better life for me and my family, I would probably act the same way.] Overall, I feel extremely lucky to be in my office - everyone here is intelligent, friendly, and honest. Next week I'm going to begin doing some interviews and completing an organizational assessment to figure out how I can best help this NGO.

And now for some non-chronological but interesting things...
1. Yes, the swearing-in ceremony was just as memorable as I hoped it would be. Our training director, who has now returned to his home in the Dominican Republic, gave an excellent speech; all manner of friends and family were on hand; and perhaps best of all was the tiny (real) Italian restaurant I and a few other Volunteers found that night. We all splurged and each spent $10-15 (about a tenth of our month's stipend) on a feast - I had a real steak and spinach ravioli! I also learned the new term, "food porn," which is something PCVs are wont to partake in when they fantasize about all the tasty treats back in the States. Bagels... OJ... ahhhhhhhhhh...
2. One thing I'm really looking forward to: My NGO, in an effort to diversify its sources of revenue, bought 2 traditional Uzbek houses (large huts) in the desert and plans to offer overnight camel trips to tourists. They're just getting started on this, but I definitely want to help, if for no other reason to get a camel ride and sleep in the desert. Sadly, the desert here is more scrub and caked earth than beautiful "Laurence of Arabia" type sand dunes, but hey, it's still the desert. Hopefully this camel trip will work out better than my last one in Egypt - ask my family if you don't know the story...
3. Muzaffar, my host brother, entered my room late one night and asked me how much money I needed. Surprised, I answered, "I don't need any money." He said, but you told me at lunch "Give me some credit."
4. While waiting for my visa, I spent a lot of time with other volunteers. One day we made burritos from scratch - and I mean from scratch. We soaked beans for 7 hours and then boiled them for 3 more until they were soft; made our own tortillas from flour, salt, and water; and whipped up a mean salsa from fresh veges from the bazaar. I made the same thing for my first host family the last night I was there and they really liked it. The whole cooking process was fun but I have a new appreciation for canned beans and ready-made tortillas - so easy!
5. The Ovir is kind of like the head of the local police. When you move anywhere in Uzbekistan, you must register with the Ovir in your regional capital - tell them where you live, work, etc. I had to submit letters from PC, my host family, and my work, plus two passport photos and then fill out another form from the Ovir office. So I went three times over three days to try to get their stamp in my passport and each time they told me to come back the following day - I think this was because if after three days you have not registered, you may be charged $50 to do so. The final straw came when I was told to come back at 3pm on Friday, only to find the necessary official and most of the office was at a soccer game. A SOCCER GAME?!? So we waited and waited some more, and eventually they came back around 7pm and after about an hour of schmoozing and 45 minutes of paperwork they gave us the damn stamp. This makes for a good incentive not to move... ever.

Thanks for letters and emails - they always make me smile and I have a special PC folder just for them.

The Curveball

Hello Once Again!
Well, in 2 days I will have finished training and be an official, honest-to-God Peace Corps Volunteer. Amid much fanfare, pomp, and circumstance the UZ-18 group of 63 people will be sworn in on April 5th at a ceremony in Tashkent. The Ambassador will speak, two members of my class will deliver speeches in Uzbek and Russian, and I and another will sing and play the guitar. Peace Corps is providing a couple buses for our host families so they can attend as well. We'll also meet our new site counterparts, who had flown, train-ed, or bus-ed it to Tashkent. All in all, it looks to be a good couple of days.

I had planned to wait until after the ceremony and send out an email from my new site in Urgench, on the other side of this California-sized nation, with news about my new city, host family, work, and friends. However, I'm typing away here in Chirchik, still at the home of my original host family. The reason is that the Uzbek government has been slow to grant us - and all foreigners - proper visas. As of writing this, mine and most of the other Uz-18ers expire on April 19. Peace Corps and the US Embassy are doing their best to resolve the issue ASAP, and they think we'll be granted 13-month visas within two weeks. But, until such time as this issue is straightened out, we'll all be staying in or around Chirchik. I'll busy myself with more Russian classes, maybe try a beginner Uzbek lesson or two, and come up with other ways to occupy myself - basketball, hiking, exploring this region, etc.

So, if you've already sent something to my new address (below), no worries - they'll hold it until I get there. But until I get my visa and move to Urgench, please continue to use the first address of the Peace Corps Office in Tashkent.

PS - Some (wonderful) people have asked what makes a good care package in Uzbekistan. Well, no sense in only sharing with a few of you, so here's a list of some of the "greatest hits" with Uzbek PCVs: DVDs, Clif bars, photographs of you, newspapers, DVD or VHS recordings of good Red Sox games, letters (of course), real beef jerky, and anything else you so desire.