Mark Jahnke

Tales From The Trolleybuses of Tajikistan

Published on 30 June, 201322 April, 2017 by Mark Jahnke

Remember how I was waxing poetic about Dushanbe’s marshrutka system? I really glossed over a lot of the other routes of transportation. In particular, I did not do justice to Dushanbe’s beautiful rusty old trolleybus network. My love for this relic of Soviet Russia has grown many times like flower in pot. These elegant green and white and iron oxide colored buses quickly whisk people from one stop to the next, manned by a driver and a fare collector who rides in the door and tells the driver whether to stop and mercifully wait for people running for the bus or to drive by completely without stopping. In general, they are far more eager to take an extra one Somoni fare from a passenger than to maintain a “schedule,” though, so I rarely miss them like in the US. Here are some of my favorite stories about the trolleybuses so far.

Continue reading “Tales From The Trolleybuses of Tajikistan” →

In Tajikistan, “It’s A Thing” Is A Thing

Published on 29 June, 201322 April, 2017 by Mark Jahnke

Many in our Tajik classes are not too thrilled to be diverting attention to the local dialect of Persian here in Tajikistan. As security studies majors, they see it as a little-needed language that will not help them outside of communicating with their host families here. When their hair falls out because they couldn’t read the label on a shampoo bottle, the rest of us will be laughing, but in all honesty, I actually really enjoy our Tajik classes, partially because most of my language practice here is actually in Tajik, not Farsi, and partially because our Tajik teacher is so hysterically funny. Continue reading “In Tajikistan, “It’s A Thing” Is A Thing” →

Tajik National Unity Day

Published on 28 June, 201322 April, 2017 by Mark Jahnke

*Two parts Olympic Opening Ceremony, one part Soviet-style nationalist rally, one part Beyoncé concert*

Yesterday was by far one of the most spontaneous and interesting days we have had since arriving in Tajikistan. June 27th is National Unity Day, and marks the anniversary of the signing of the peace accord that ended Tajikistan’s brutal civil war that devastated the country from 1992-1997. On that day 16 years ago, representatives from the government and the opposition met in Moscow under UN supervision to sign an accord and begin a process of reconciliation that seems to me to have brought a national pride and unity to the country. I’m sure that somewhere, people are unhappy, but that’s the way that countries work. In any case, it is an important day to Tajiks, and serves as a solemn reminder of their country’s suffering on its journey to independence. Continue reading “Tajik National Unity Day” →

“An Evening in Tajikistan” Got Some Press!

Published on 27 June, 2013 by Mark Jahnke

Yesterday night, I was sitting with some friends at the Irish Pub here in Dushanbe (yes, it exists, yes it has Guinness, and yes it does literally look like a little hobbit hole on the side of a traditional Tajik building) when one of my friends mentioned that apparently, my post on The Harvard Crimson called “An Evening in Tajikistan” made the Google News top ten stories about Tajikistan of the last week or so! If you haven’t read it, bounce on over to the Crimson and take a look! And as always, feel free to send me questions and ideas for new things that you want to hear about on here – it’s super easy using the form below!

“Wow, this internet is faster than dial-up!”

Published on 26 June, 201322 April, 2017 by Mark Jahnke

I’m actually shocked that I’ve been able to get so many blogs up this week. When we first arrived in Tajikistan, we traveled for two days without really any internet, then had some slow internet at a hostel where we spent the first morning. From that Thursday until Monday, we did not access the internet in any form. It was some serious cold turkey quitting going on. But, when we finally did have access to the internet, actually loading a page was another issue entirely. Continue reading ““Wow, this internet is faster than dial-up!”” →

Managing Marshrutkas

Published on 25 June, 201322 April, 2017 by Mark Jahnke

A few marshrutkas in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Dushanbe is a small city, but it’s even easier to get around than you might think. Everything is only a few blocks off of the main drag, Rudaki avenue, and if that weren’t enough, there is a robust network of public (and easily accessible private) transportation.

Easily most visible are the rusty trolleybuses that ply Rudaki as bus route 1, many of which have a Tajik flag billowing on a little mast above the driver’s cab. You step on at any of three doors, and pay an attendant one Somoni for the ride. As many a Tajik have learned, you then assess where the sun has been hitting the vehicle most recently. Since Rudaki runs north-south, depending on the time of day, one side of the bus is considerably hotter than the other because it’s in direct sunlight. Maybe that’s why so many people looked at me strangely for the three days I chose to sit on the sunny side of the bus before realizing on the fourth that the right side of the bus was a good twenty degrees cooler. Continue reading “Managing Marshrutkas” →

A Lada Love

Published on 24 June, 2013 by Mark Jahnke

A few days ago I took my first hair-raising ride in a Lada. I had just meant to catch a marshrutka or shared taxi to go to a restaurant with some friends, but when the first one to stop was a black old-fashioned Lada, I couldn’t help but hop right in and smile as we began to weave our way through Rudaki avenue at 80 to 100 kilometers per hour. Given that I’ve cracked at least two jokes at the expense of this automobile, I figured it only reasonable that I write a post all about them. Continue reading “A Lada Love” →

Making Sense of Somonis

Published on 24 June, 2013 by Mark Jahnke

Tajikistan is a cash economy, which means that I’ve handled more cash in the past week than I have probably handled in the previous four years of my life (with the exception of my international travel in the past year). There are a handful of places that accept Visa and Mastercard, but out of fear of causing a card problem, I’m hesitant to use them. I might just give it a check in the next few days, just in case.

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An Evening in Tajikistan

Published on 23 June, 2013 by Mark Jahnke

Today the Harvard Crimson published a piece I wrote about my trip. Because of the copyright, I cannot reproduce the entire entry here, but here is an excerpt. Continue reading it on the Crimson website!

Each day, after my classes finish at the Language Center, I like to take a walk along Rudaki Avenue. The entire length of this long, beautiful boulevard is covered in a canopy of massive hundred-foot tall trees, stretching from the train station and airport in the south of the city to the small neighborhoods a few miles to the north where I live with my host family here in Dushanbe.

Continue reading…

The First Week

Published on 21 June, 2013 by Mark Jahnke

A statue of the poet Rudaki in Rudaki Park in central Dushanbe, Tajikistan

It’s been a VERY long week it seems, probably because of the 15 hour-long days that start at dawn and go until well after dark. I’m definitely sleeping well, but more from exhaustion than from the bed. It is comfortable, but has taken some getting used to, particularly the part where it’s not extra-long like my dorm bed. Luckily, the temperatures in the evening drop into the 60’s from the 100’s during the day, which means I actually have to sleep with a blanket or something (usually my sweater – it’s too warm the first half of the night to have it on).

My house is nice, and understanding my host grandmother has gotten a lot easier. My host mom and I get along great; she is very warm and caring, but also very patient and willing to help me try out grammatical structures and use new vocabulary. I took it as a very positive sign (and a great practice opportunity) when today she asked me to translate a sunblock package into Tajik so she could understand it, then since she had not used sunblock really before, asked me how I would advise her to use it. She also had me translate and describe how to use foot and hand cream. I think giving beauty tips in Tajik definitely helped my language skills. Continue reading “The First Week” →