Tajikistan-the world's craziest drivers

So, I haven't been to a lot of other countries so I have no foundation to make this comment, but I am going to say it anyway. Tajikistan is full of crazy drivers!
It doesn't matter where you are on the street. You can be in a crosswalk, the sidewalk, an alley, or a staircase, you still have to watch out for drivers.  I heard a story about a car that hit someone while he was walking out of the store (a good 30 ft from the street and up a small stair case!)
I walk to school everyday. Everyday I am on the look out for drivers.  Luckily I only have to cross on street because most of the crossings are underground, but whenever I cross the street I triple check for cars.
Transportation here is quite interesting.  First you have the trolley bus. The trolley bus is very cheap, about 60 DRMs (which might be like 10 cents?) It runs on electricity through cables.  Sometimes the cables will come off and you will see a man trying to put the cables back on in the middle of traffic.  When the power goes off, you will see a group of people pushing the bus.   I wonder if you get a discount if you push the bus when the power goes out?
Another  popular mode of transportation is called the Marshuka. I am not sure if that's how it's spelled, or  if that's the right pronunciation, but that's what it sounds like.  It's a van that squishes people in that follows the bus routes.  They have numbers in the van and it costs about 2 somoni (roughly about 45 cents).  There are no seat belt laws here, so the drivers of these vans will cram people in. Sometimes I see vans full of people drive by with people on the laps of other people and children sitting on the floor.
My favorite mode of transportation so far as been the shared Taxis.  I am pretty sure they are illegal, but you will see a car with a number on the dashboard.  The numbers indicates the route of the car.  The car will drive you along the route and will drop you off.  Other people get in, and you all share the cost of the car.  It's 3 somoni for this.  I think it's illegal because every time we drive by a cop, I see the driver hide the number on the dashboard. I think the shared taxis are great. They work like a bus, but you see them much more often than the buses, and they are quicker.
Yesterday, my friend Justin and I took a shared Taxi home from school.  I don't normally take one home, but I had a lot of stuff to carry and it was HOT! There was already a guy in the front, and a guy in the passenger seat.  So Justin went in first next to the guy in the back and I followed because I have to get out before Justin does. The guy next to Justin was moaning and groaning in Russian.  So when we get close to my apartment, I get out.  I get a phone call from Justin later that said the guy next to him must have just come from the hospital and was groaning because he had a huge cut that ran along his stomach.  No bandage, just stitches! So when I got out of the car and when Justin was moving over, he lifted his shirt and showed Justin his wound! I think I might have sprang for a regular taxi if I were just coming home from the hospital.
There are regular taxis here too.  You bargain a price before you get in. You tell the driver where you want to go and he will always give you a crazy number.  That's when you bargain.
I will try and get some pictures and post them of all the different modes of transportations and post them for you to see! I am still trying to get a picture of the cable coming off the trolley bus!

Tajik vs Russian

Well I have been settling in nicely to life here in Dushanbe.  My apartment is lovely. I have been told that I live in the "Beverly Hills" of Dushanbe.  Ok, keep in mind that our standards and Tajik standards are very different! I must say, I feel like I am the luckiest person at my school to have this apartment.  Every morning I wake up and sit on my balcony and drink tea (the coffee here is terrible, so I have switched to tea.  Oh what I would give for a Starbucks!)

Life here is different in so many ways. I will try and focus on other aspects in later entries, but today I want to focus on my dilemma, which language to learn, Russian or Tajik.

Here are the pros to learning Russian:
I can speak to 144 million other people
(ok I can't actually think of any other pros to learn Russian)

Here are the cons to Russian:
IT'S EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO LEARN!
It uses the Cyrillic Alphabet, which I am struggling to learn.

Pros to learning Tajik:
It's easier to learn.
I like the idea of Tajikistan trying to form their own identity apart from the Russians.

Cons to learning Tajik
When I move away, I will only be able to speak to Tajik people and maybe a few other groups of people that would understand me.

I was over at Justin's house on Monday and his neighbor invited us over to sit and chat with him and his family.  It was refreshing to speak to someone not from school about the Tajik culture.  I asked him his opinion and he said Russian.  It seems as everyone in Tajikistan thinks Russian is a better language. I think it's because it was once used by the wealthy.  The Russian schools were much better for children than Tajik schools, so most families wanted their children to go to a Russian school (this was back when Tajikistan was apart of the USSR.)

Justin and I have been hanging out with a guy from our school named Sharif.  I doubt it's spelled this way, but this is how it looks phonetically.  When he talks to people on the streets, it's a mix of Russian AND Tajik. Justin's neighbor also confirmed that people often speak both languages in the home and on the streets.  That doesn't really help me.

So for now, I can say hello and how are you in Russian. I can say thank you in Tajik.

Do Svidaniya!

Dushanbe, I have arrived!

After 26 hours of traveling, I finally made it to my new home! I couldn't have asked for a better apartment.  If Dushanbe were Las Vegas, I would be living on the Strip. Minus the casinos, nightclubs and fun.  Okay, so it's not really like Las Vegas in anyway, but the street is wide like the Strip and it's the main driving road, with big wide sidewalks. 

Here are some pictures of my place.  I am living in a two bedroom apartment on the 4th floor across from the most beautiful park (which I will compare to Central Park.) My apartment is charming.  It has high ceilings, beautiful chandelier in every room, and french doors.  The walls are decorated in a gold/silver/beige wall paper.  The furniture seems to be pretty cheap.  I think the mattress might be about 3 inches thick.  There is no box spring. I have slept for a total of 3 hours in the bed and I already have a back ache.  My first purchase tomorrow will be a mattress pad of some sort. 

I have gone to the Rudaki park everyday since I have been here. It's quite beautiful.  I am so lucky to be living across the street.  It's the kind of place I want to take my lunch to and eat while I people watch.  I have this amazing balcony which faces the park.  I will have to say, this is the first time where living on the 4th floor isn't an advantage.  The tree leaves are at the same height as my apartment so I can't see much of the park. 

I haven't seen much of the city yet.  The weather is very similar to Denver (so at least its not humid!) but it is hot and doesn't have Denver's thunderstorms to cool everything off.  

I am very excited to take my first hot shower since arriving.  It's been two days of cold showers. The hot water heater is in the bathtub with you, and you first need to turn on the switch, close some valves and wait for a few hours.  Someone finally had to come show me how to do it.   But that is what I am doing as soon as I sign off. Ahh...hot showers (reason #210 living in Tajikistan is like camping).

Count Down-5 days to go!

Well, this will probably be my last post from Denver, Colorado.  Next time I am on here, I will be in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.  So, you must be dying to know how I have been spending my last few days in Denver, the city by the bay!

I have been having dinners and drinks with EVERYONE I know. I think I might have gained at least 15lbs just in the last month from eating and drinking.  I might also be turning into a Mexican.  I don't know if that's possible, but since I love Mexican food, that's all I have been eating.   So if it's possible to turn into another race from eating their food, I will be a full Mexican by the end of the week. Ay, Caramba!

My immunizations and medications are completely taken care of! I can't get polio, typhoid, hep A or hep B, so if you have any of these diseases and want to hang out with me, let's do it! I am immune from you!

I had a great experience at kaiser yesterday. They were able to get all of my current prescriptions for the next year to take with me.  It was a bit of a pain, but I am just thankful that has been done.

So, if anyone is reading this and will be planning a trip overseas, I have some advice for you below:
#1 Sam's or Costco is your best friend.  You can get 150 pills of Imodium for 10 dollars! I never really thought that I needed 2 gallons of NyQuil before, but I think it will be quite useful in Tajikistan.
#2 Think about designating someone as your Power of Attorney for Banking.  This isn't something I thought about, but I guess its good to get someone you extremely trust (in my case it's my parents) to be my power of attorney so they can take care of anything that may happen with my bank while I am gone.
#3 Roll and Pack is the best method in packing clothes.
#4  Don't put all of your clothes in one suitcase, medicines in another. Mix and match in case a suitcase is lost.

Okay, this is all I can really think of.  If anyone has anymore suggestions on packing or anything I should bring, please leave a comment! I am not leaving until Tuesday!

 Gracias Mi Amigo! See you on the other side of the world!