Arrival in Tajikistan
Greetings from Tajikistan! Anna and I have been in the country almost two weeks. It's been a rather consistent but largely pleasant whirlwind of activity. We've already had so many important experiences. I plan to revisit some in more detail in future posts, but, for now, a summary and some highlights.
We flew here on Turkish Airlines. We had no delays or luggage issues, enjoyed high quality plane food, and even managed to get some sleep on our long first leg, an overnight flight from Chicago to Istanbul. Istanbul Airport, billed as the "crossroads of the world," lived up to the hype with its dozens upon dozens of destinations, store upon store of duty-free shopping, and all sorts of people from all points of the globe. Just look at this flight board!
The Istanbul flight boards display destinations in Turkish, English, and the local language. |
Upon arrival in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan, Anna received an orientation from the US Embassy alongside a small group of other State Department program participants, including the two other English Fellows matched with Tajikistan. I tagged along for the fun stuff, namely the sight-seeing and meals.
Our time in Dushanbe was a rather gentle introduction to Tajikistan. We really enjoyed our time getting to know the other people in the various programs, which kept us in a happy, social bubble as we all shook off our jet lag and actually tried using Tajik. The breakfast buffet at our hotel, the Rumi, was unquestionably a highlight of this time.
A great way to begin your day! |
Beyond the comfort of some American company, Dushanbe also felt very familiar to us in its urban hubbub. The city center is quite walkable, with shady, tree-lined streets and a smattering of tidy parks and plazas. We'll certainly make trips back so I'll certainly write more about Dushanbe in the future! Let me just put in a plug for my Instagram account. I posted some more photos of our time in Dushanbe there.
Last Wednesday we traveled five hours north to Khujand, our home for the next ten months. The drive from Dushanbe is truly spectacular, gradually ascending and then crossing the Turkestan Range, topping out at Shakhristan Pass at 11,083 feet. There's also dozens of short tunnels and one infamously long but no longer dangerous tunnel, the Anzob Tunnel.
Car photos are never great but here's a taste of the drive from Dushanbe to Khujand. |
We also traveled in style, getting driven in a US Embassy Toyota Land Cruiser! |
After two action-packed days of meetings, greetings, and apartment tours, we picked a spot and got moved in. I'm writing to you from a supremely comfortable couch with a great view. Life is good.
Solid mountain views from our apartment. |
That's all for now. Anna is getting started here with more meetings and classroom observations. We're learning our way around Khujand--a taxi app with an English language option goes a LONG way to help!--and making our new place our new home. It's hot here, with highs around 100 the next few days, so it seems like a great time to hang inside, stay cool, and get some more writing done!
Love the updat, Chuck!! Can't wait to hear more about the people, Anna's teaching, and everything you get into!
ReplyDeleteThank you and thanks for reading! Who is this, btw? :-)
DeleteHey Chuck, it's James Gregg! Didn't know what would happen when I hit post. Apparently I made an account years and years ago. Great to be reading about your trip. I see you have another post!
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