Day 19-20: Labor & Lenin

We couldn’t get an internet connection yesterday, so this is a two-in-one (we never actually planned to update daily for this trip, but we have found it to be the best way to keep in touch). Yesterday was Labor Day, one of the old carryover Soviet holidays. We used the time to meet with the folks who have invited us to join them here. It was a good time catching up, and a profitable time talking about future possibilities. In the afternoon we all went to an interesting local park together, where it was said that a man during the Soviet era had collected trees from all over the world and brought them back to Dushanbe for this unique park.

Today, after some air ticket purchasing, we went off to a nearby city for a scouting trip. Leninski is a predominantly Uzbek city just south of Dushanbe. As we traveled there, the remnants of a bombed out bridge or a damaged building still serve as reminders of the 10 year civil war that took place here. We arrived at the bazaar, and found that here in Tajikistan, a couple of hours from the Uzbek border, we could function completely in Uzbek. We spent quite some time talking with people in the bazaar and asking questions about the town. We went into a local café for lunch and met some of the most hospitable men, who ordered us extra food, then insisted on paying our bill. An hour later as we walked past the local police station, a policeman with a chip on his shoulder who did not understand the laws of his own country began to give us trouble. Amazingly, one of the men from lunch saw this and came to our defense. He must have been someone with some power, because he took the policeman into the station and put him back in his place. It was the end of our troubles. Other than the brief encounter with the policeman, it was a lovely town and several folks we spoke with told us that we must come back. We will see.

On an unrelated note, Ella really enjoys bathtime...

…But you may have noticed the water doesn’t look so clean. That’s because it isn’t. The water supply comes right out of the rivers that flow into town from the surrounding mountains, and it can be pretty filthy, but it still gets the job done. Although Jen thinks she may be better off not washing her hair. Here’s a shot of the tub.


Don't take what you've got for granted.