Me
My name is Mark and if there was a DSM-defined disorder called wanderlust, I would have it (EDIT: Apparently, there is). And not the “I’m going to selfie in front of every landmark in Paris” kind (oh whoops, I definitely did that too). I don’t collect passport stamps, but I love to dive deep where most people haven’t dreamed of going – I’m that crazy person who says “Kabul? I hear it’s lovely in the spring!” It’s a perspective that grew from living in Geneva for two years when I was in middle school, and led to me teaching English in China, doing research in Iran, going to language school in Tajikistan, interpreting at a conference in Senegal, and now, working in the Peace Corps in Kyrgyzstan.
In the Peace Corps, I work in Kyrgyzstan’s impressive Health Promotion System at a regional level, supporting innovative solutions to improve awareness of health challenges and reduce the incidence of many common preventable illnesses. I also work on sustainable organizational development and fiscal responsibility with several local NGO’s.
You’ll probably also see posts referring to my time as a competitive figure skater, marathoner, and yoga enthusiast. I picked up skating way back in 2002 as a way to stay fit and express myself, and wound up competing at the national level in the United States. After I stopped skating, I took up distance running, and since 2013, I have run four marathons, including Boston twice (2013 and 2014). Skating, running, and yoga have been outlets for energy and creativity for me, and have played a huge role in helping me keep my life organized, focused, and happy.
The Site
You probably have already asked yourself, “Why Monday Bazaar?” Well, I originally began this blog to chronicle a summer spent in Dushanbe, Tajikistan after I finished my undergraduate degree at Harvard. In Tajiki, “Dushanbe” means Monday, as the city was originally a tiny village known for its bazaar that took place on Mondays. Since that summer, I’ve expanded my scope a bit, and I share thoughts, stories, sights and sounds from all over on here, more than just on Mondays.
One of my goals in maintaining this blog is to share with my friends outside of Central Asia a bit more about what everyday life is like, including cultural experiences, pretty pictures, recipes, anecdotes, and stories of getting lost with limited language skills – those are always entertaining. I hope that you all find it interesting, educational, enlightening, and hopefully entertaining (like the time I fell into an open manhole in front of a large group of Tajik students – whoops).
If you have any thoughts, ideas, questions, etc. please feel free to e-mail me or comment, as I love for this to be a dialogue, and not just me firing content into the void.
All I ask is that you keep in mind that the views and the opinions presented here are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of any individual, institution, program, or government supporting my travel and programs, including but not limited to the Peace Corps, the US Government, the Critical Language Scholarship Program, and others.