Back from Tajikistan: A Brief Update from the USA

In line to check my bags in Tashkent (L) and looking out the plane window on the Black Sea (R).

At the end of May I left Tajikistan, returning to the US after exactly nine months abroad.  I flew back via Tashkent with an overnight layover in Istanbul.  Getting even the slightest, briefest taste of that spectacular city was well worth it.  

I don't have any particular interesting or amusing "reverse culture shock" anecdotes to share. Sorry!  Food prices have been a bit jarring for sure, but I was kind of prepared for this.  My first week or so back I definitely greeted and thanked people with a bit of the Tajik style hand-over-heart gesture.  But yeah, that's really it, I think.

Kiku at an airport hotel in New York after
24 hours of travel.

I've been keeping busy doing a fair number of different things, but not really writing.  So I'm starting to make up for that now!  Anna--she and Kiku, our adopted cat, flew back separately a few weeks after me--and I have been talking about our experience quite a bit as we catch up with various family and friends.  We've been asked great questions on a wide range of topics.  This process has also helped us reflect on our experiences.

This is a "life update" post, not a "life abroad" post.  I know this isn't everyone's thing, so I'll summarize the key information:  

1. We're living, for now, in New Hampshire, where much of my family lives
2. Anna's doing the same program again next academic year but in a different Tajik city
3. I'm not going with her, at least not for the full time
4. I'll continue writing this blog

If that was enough for you, thanks for stopping by!  For more details on all of these items continue reading...

Item 1: As I mentioned a bit in my post from last month, New Hampshire is home for the next year or so.  We own a house here, a family place near Newfound Lake.  Over the years, Anna and I have gone here during our summer and winter breaks.  The house is a special place for us and we've always felt so, so lucky to have it, especially now, as a "landing pad" during this transitory time in our lives.  Home ownership is increasingly difficult, especially for people our age and younger.  

Item 2: In the spring, Anna was offered the chance to do a second year in her program, English Language Fellows.  She and we weighed the pros and cons and, after considerable time and thinking, said "yes."  Her new assignment is in Panjakent, a much smaller city in the far west of the country, very close to Uzbekistan.  Including time at the border, Panjakent is about 90 minutes from Samarkand.  We spent a night in Panjakent on both of our two trips with family, so we've gotten a little taste of what it's like.  Anna's looking forward to her new assignment.  It'll be similar to the teaching work she did this past year in Khujand.

Item 3: I'm actually not going back to Tajikistan, at least not for the whole time that Anna's there.  So maybe I need to tweak the name of the blog?  One of my priorities is to get an American job and begin making (and saving) money again.  I'm looking and open to a lot of different possibilities, but one thing I know I don't want right now is a traditional classroom teaching job.   If anyone has an leads or suggestions shoot me a message!  

In the year ahead I'll also have our cats, all three of them.  Big, big shout out to Anna's brother Joe for looking after them last year!  Staying in the US, and specifically living in New Hampshire, also gives me time with my family in a way that I haven't had in years.  I plan to visit Anna, hopefully for an extended amount of time.  I'm not going to write more about being apart from Anna--it just isn't what I want to write about here and now--but rest assured that neither one of us is taking this dynamic lightly.  We know that away from one will be a challenge.

Item 4: I'm by no means done with Trailing in Tajikistan.  I've got more I want to write.  I feel especially invigorated to write in part because I'm back in the US.  Directly sharing my experiences in Tajikistan with others definitely influences and inspires my writing.   It reminds of this bit from the excellent Tajikistan: the Bradt Travel Guide that I first read probably about this time last year:

The single most important thing you can do for Tajikistan is to advertise the country's existence.  Too many people still look at you with an utterly blank expression when you say 'Tajikistan' ... Responsible tourists can contribute in all of these areas by becoming both observers and ambassadors (72).  

The "single most important thing" visitors can do?  That feels a bit rich, but yeah, like I said, these words stuck with me.  On the whole thought, this perspective really resonates with me.  Now that I'm back in my home country and sharing so much with others, I feel a responsibility of sorts to be an observer/ambassador.  It's a dynamic I look forward to very much, which includes continuing my writing here.