Things I can buy in Mazar that I can’t buy in Uzland:

• Philadelphia cream cheese


• American cereal (Special K; Corn Flakes; Rice Krispies)


• Gatorade packets


• Mangoes


• Cheddar cheese


• Snapple iced tea

Things I can buy in Uzland that I can’t buy in Mazar:

• all kinds of other fruits and vegetables


• nice fabric

Also, walking down the street is an ordeal every day, as men STARE and call you “Chinese” (who have a very bad reputation here…sorry my Chinese peeps!)… I am not very confrontational, usually, but they make me want to scream at them.  My Korean friend wishes she could wear a sign that said “I am NOT Chinese”. 

Yes, I have actually been hired to be the Pepsi spokesman here in Mazar (referring to comments from my last post).

Yesterday, we went out to a few villages in one area where we’re helping build the second floor of a school (for girls!)… and where we’re teaching SODIS.  Here I am on the roof… and to the right are the stairs that lead directly to the second floor (built on the outside of the school).

S is talking here about a healthy future for these women and their children — which can all happen with clean water. 
These women were really enthusiastic and eager… and ranged from the very young to the very old.

Camels never cease to amaze and amuse me.

More from Mazar…

  
Pizza!  In Mazar!  And quite delicious.  One large pizza costs about $5.

   
Girls!  Learning English!  They were all enthusiastic… raising their hands, fighting to be called on..
… despite what we would consider terrible conditions…

Pictures from my life for the past few weeks:

Bukhara…

  
L: see that yellow little “mosque” thing? I and others desecrated it later by standing on it to take photos. 
A man came and said “get off! you’re standing on the burial ground of 2,000 children!”
R: roses are sooo abundant and beautiful all around Uzbekistan and especially in this holy spot in Bukhara

Sometimes, WE ARE the main tourist attraction

Fruit…

 
I helped make 10 jars of strawberry jam.  It’s very time-consuming, and for each 1 liter jar,
we used about 1 kilo (2 pounds) of sugar!  SICK!

Here are MULBERRIES, as in “here we go round the mulberry bush”… except that mulberries actually grow on trees. 
They’re not very tasty, but still fun to eat.  They kind of look like grubs, actually. SICK!

Mazar…

L: Still women in Burkas, though not as many as before
R: City life…

Just in case you were going to bring it in..

 
What’cha looking at???

After a 4 hour drive from Shakrisabz to Termez… then 2 hours to cross the border (where I totally got felt up by a female border patrol lady)… then another 2 hours from the border to Mazar, I made it to our office here in Afgh.

It’s changed considerably since I was here 2 years ago… there are billboards, and women NOT wearing full burkas but dressed in scarves, showing their faces!  I also visited the local branch of the Kabul bank (full of men); went underground to change money (also full of men); went into the local “7/11″ to buy Snapple Iced Tea (!); and am now sitting in our office. 

I’ve also eaten mangoes.  YUM.    And it’s not sooo hot.  Of course, it’s only May.

Anyone want to work for our office down here?  We have A/C in our office; Snapple iced tea; mangoes; and plenty of work!

I had a busy weekend, and my stinkin’ camera decided to break.

But it’s getting fixed right now. 

Anyway, I went to Bukhara with 5 others.  We had a great time.  It was all about snakes, menorahs, “Karl, you’re a thief”… and generally, a sweet time with friends, old and new.  Pics to come as soon as my camera gets fixed.  Bukhara is the most beautiful city in Uzbekistan, with lots of rich history.  My favorite parts of Bukhara are the old, winding streets.  So frustrating that I can’t show pics of them to you right now.

Then I was in Angren, Dukent, and Yangi Yobod yesterday with some friends.  These cities used to be bustling vacation spots during the Soviet times.  Now, the towns are dead… many many many vacant buildings.  My friend is a chemistry teacher at a school in Angren and that was a terrible thing to see.  The classrooms have no lightbulbs.  The entrance of the school smelled like pee.  There are remnants of what used to be a good classroom – chemicals, places for bunsen burners, etc, etc… but now, no money flowing into the school… and since nobody seems to care about the kids, the kids don’t care about learning… She was giving a test, and everyone was asking each other the answers… but she didn’t stop them, and even then, the kids still do really badly because very few, if any of them, ever study.  So they’re all giving each other the wrong answers.

I can see now why some people long for the old days.

Wow!  People love telling me what they ate. I guess you don’t really have to think about it.

Is Cobb Salad really “in” these days? Two of you ate that for lunch.

I’m appalled at what some of you guys are eating for dinner! (melvis!)  Then again, I’ve eaten some crazy dinners as well.  And in general, it seems everyone is just busy, busy, buuusy!

I’m proud of what I ate for dinner last night: hamburgers (without the bun); oven baked new potatoes; and tabouli salad. I love tabouli salad.  Never made it before. 

Going to Bukhara this weekend.  12 hour train trip!  Should be fun.

Please comment with what you ate for dinner last night and lunch today.

me:

dinner last night: veg jal frezi + basmati rice (at home)
lunch today: beef stroganoff + tomato/onion salad + fries (at a cafe)

I’m trying to get some ideas of what to eat.

Strawberry season!!!

Strawberries have arrived en force and my friend Mary Lou and I went to the bazaar this morning to buy some for canning and also to eat (we have the day off for Victory Day! note: did you know that the USSR lost the most people in WWII?).

We bought 5 kg (approx 11 pounds) in this red basket for 2,000 soum or $1.60.  Crazy, eh?  Of course, most people buy 10-20 kg, but who are we kidding – we’re canning for the fun of it, not for utility.  Also, sugar is SUPER expensive now, relatively…   It’s almost double the price for a kilo, from 600 soum a kilo ($.50) to almost double, 1100 soum a kilo ($.99).  This is bad for those who want to make strawberry “jam” (called va-re-ni-ya, and more liquidy than our jam)… to last through the fall/winter season…

As we’re going away this weekend and won’t have time to can, we decided to freeze them… as strawberry season literally lasts a week or so.  Alice Waters ain’t got nothing on this place in terms of “fresh” produce and eating what ‘s available, in season!  You will never ever find strawberries anytime else.  Cherries are also out and won’t last very much longer either.  Next in the fruit line-up: melons!

The Music Man, Jr!

This past weekend, the kids who attend the Ch. school here put on the Music Man.  It was great!  I love watching kids perform and it’s especially fun watching kids you know whoop it up.  Some of the kids are amazingly talented.  Aren’t the costumes great?  All somehow made or found here….