I had no idea what to expect, and I think it's probably better that way. After getting my visa (and nearly loosing all the money I brought with me, which was of course in cash), I followed everyone else through a doorway which I thought would lead me to the greeting area of the airport. My foot crossed the threshold and landed on dirt. I had already made it to the parking lot! My sleepy hosts greeted me and one 5-minute car ride later we were home! And then of course it was time to eat - although it was scarcely 4am. My hosts mother had stayed up all night cooking naan for me! Unfortunately I also prepared for my 3am arrival, making sure to eat on the plane. I'm sure you can guess who won our argument about whether or not I was going to eat again...
I was also pumped full of drugs because of the cold I caught from the cold, rainy London summer. I was also informed that "in Tajikistan we drink lots of tea!" and thus my immersion officially began. So far I've only had to drink green tea and regular black tea, but my host mother makes mushroom tea, and I've been suspiciously eyeballing it as it sits in large jars here on the window sill between the living room and the kitchen. The mushroom floats up at the top. I think that the tea level it just as high as it was this morning - which means no one has slipped me any yet.
After a few hours of sleep, we went to the bazaar to buy some food to take to the village. My host family was honoring the life of their oldest daughter who passed away several years ago by taking lots of food to the village and distributing it to the neighbors. We ran around the bazaar pretty quickly, so I will wait until later to comment, but I did happen to spot sugar-coated almonds, which are my favorite! Oh, I almost forgot! On the way to the bazaar we went to get gas for the car. The station was out of gas, but there were some young guys standing on the road opposite to the station selling it from these huge yellow containers. I don't understand much Tajiki, but when the brother said "benzine harami" I understood perfectly - this gas was stolen.
Wow, so much writing and only half of day one is complete! Pictures and more stories to come!
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