Tag: Dushanbe

A Lada Love

Published on by Mark Jahnke
A classic Lada

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 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.

Continue reading “Making Sense of Somonis” →

An Evening in Tajikistan

Published on 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 by Mark Jahnke
Rudaki Park
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” →

Man Down

Published on by Mark Jahnke

Today I fell in a hole in front of a giant crowd of Tajik students. Whoops.

I’ll back this story up to provide some context to what so far has been the funniest thing to happen to me since arriving in Tajikistan. Here there are a lot of open areas for water drainage – the rare rain that comes can cause major flooding, and so the city has a very effective system of water drainage from sidewalks and streets.

However, this results in many open holes and channels, or jubes, that are occasionally hazardous to people and Ladas alike. We had been warned that we should always look where we were going because of “open manhole covers,” as it was put to us, but having only seen one that was actually a manhole, I sort of brushed this aside as I walked along chatting with some people after class.

And then suddenly there wasn’t ground under my foot and, “like a train wreck in slow motion” in the words of one of my friends, down I went. It was noon at one of the busiest intersections in the city, and people were already watching us. I blinked for a second before jumping back to my feet. All we could do was laugh and walk quickly before I blushed too much.

Lesson learned: watch your step.

Mark, Meet Dushanbe

Published on by Mark Jahnke

We arrived in Tajikistan at 3:30 in the morning a few days ago, and since then I have a lot to report, partially because I have not had a lot of access to the internet. On our first day, we spent most of the day trying to orient ourselves after having had very little real sleep for several days. After clearing customs, we were bussed over to a hotel in the center of the city to rest for a few hours before eating and having an in-country orientation. We all had thought that we would immediately pass out for the entire rest period, but many of us ended up sitting around using the internet to update friends and families as to our location and arrival (this was when I posted my last blog, assuming I would have internet the following day to post another). After finally being able to fall asleep, though, many of us regretted the decision because we were so sleepy when we woke up. After our orientation we had lunch at a Persian restaurant, and then walked around the city for a few hours. Continue reading “Mark, Meet Dushanbe” →

Moonrises

Published on by Mark Jahnke

On Tuesday evening we watched the moon rise over Dulles, its orange crescent form more slender than even the wings that would carry us to Frankfurt and beyond.  In many calendars, including the variety of Islamic calendars, the new moon is the start of a new month, but for us it was also the start of a new journey.  The next time we see the new moon, it will signal the halfway point on our journey here in Tajikistan, and will also signal the beginning of the month of Ramadan, which many plan to observe. Continue reading “Moonrises” →

DYU

Published on by Mark Jahnke

Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The city that will be my home for two months this summer. A city the size of Boston located in the heart of Central Asia, isolated by mountains on all sides. A city whose past lies not in a city but in a market that took place every Monday for centuries. It is that market from which the city and this blog take their names. Follow my blog and my journey as I graduate college and move on to travel across the globe,beginning with Dushanbe in June.

 

Image from: http://ds-lands.com/dushanbe.html