The worlds 3rd least visited country…

Fools!!!!

Yesterday I visited Dangara with my Director.

Picked up at 6.50am and getting back at 7.30pm it was the very best day of my experience yet. The only photograph I didn’t get was the FEAST at the Mayor’s house. A large room full of the finest Tajik fare – delicious, fresh, colourful, never-ending!

Thank you Theo van de Laar for the lend of your camera – I would have cried not to have captured some of the images. Thank you sister Anne-Marie for posting my charger, I hope it arrives. Thank you brother Aslambek for an incredible day. I wish I could have taken my translator home…

Here are the pics!!! Though they’ll never do the experience justice they come close I hope. (broadband slow so may have to it bit by bit..)

Day something more than 7…

It feels like I have been here for weeks now. The days are packed.

Last night I flew the flag with my Irish passport at a reception from the new British Ambassador in his residence. With my British VSO colleagues we had a really lovely evening (free G & T…) and met some very interesting people.

Today I had a half day in work with the Deputy and Director of my organisation. I had no translator so of course it was surreal as butter at times – but Google Translator is proving to be a life-saver. My patrons, of course, are very accommodating and I just wish I could speak their language and share their obvious good humour.

In the afternoon brother Theo Van de Laar (my very good Dutch friend ((guide, bon vivant, nutty as a Snickers)) teaching Tourism in a Institute) invited me to speak to a room full of students. My theme was Lateral Thinking (something which I think I need a lot of here) and it was a great success. The students were attentive and interested, and who knows – it would nice to think I sowed a seed in their heads…

Tomorrow I am being picked up at 7am to drive to Dangara by my Director who has personally taken to showing me his home town and the projects there. I’m really being treated well.

As I write this I am EXHAUSTED. There is a kango-hammer going next door and it would appear that they are attempting to drill for oil. An oil rig would be quieter and less intrusive. God bless them.

 

On the whole this is certainly been the most surreal day. There is nothing, nothing, that relates to my life back home. My grandchildren will run from me in the future, as indeed many of you will, when I try and recount a hundredth of what is experienced daily.

For now. Toodle pip. Jolly good. Carry on. Don’t Panic. Drink plenty of water. Keep using the cream.

Soon. Insha’Allah

Day 1

(this will not pan out to be a day by day diary but I expect the first week or so will be full and it will taper off….)

Well.

I went to bed sometime last month and now I’ve woken to find myself in beautiful Dunshanbe, Tajikistan.

Pre-landing I got a glimpse of the Alps at 30K + feet. Someone had spilt a tin of white paint on them and it was the same for anonymous mountains near Sophia. It gets one in the right frame of mind for the trip ahead.

Istanbul airport gives you a sniff of the chaos and world central-ness that must have been the same when it was Constantinople. People watching is a whole different ball game here.

And now Dunshanbe at 4.30am with the sun just arrived and a brief tour of the buildings on the way to the VSO house.

Wide, open avenues. Trees. Mountains looming at the back of the painting. Clean. I mean really really clean city. It was quite breath-taking.

OK. The VSO house looks great. I can live here. I came out into the bright warm sunshine this morning to be greeted by a tortoise – I don’t know his name yet, and a painter who is whitening the outside of the building. Maybe tools are short supply because he has spent an eternity cleaning and scrubbing his brushes. The work is of the highest standard.

……..

Tommy – the tortoise.

All day in country training and when I arrived home I received a warm welcome, some beers and an epicly good meal from Jeff, Theo, Lynn, Mary and Shaikh – all hailing from India to Holland to Indonesia and back. They work in Tourism, on the whole, and were the most kind and accommodating folk.

They could probably tell I was about to go into a standing coma with the lack of sleep and shock of the new….

I had my first trip the ‘supermarket’ today. Spent 85 Sonomi’s (21 dollars-ish?) and I couldn’t tell you what I actually bought but I know the most expensive item was hazelnut spread. My first bus was hairy but useful. Ulsterbus, you have nothing to be concerned with – except these guys would put you to shame for regular services…

…………

Wow. What a day Sunday was!

I and several of my colleagues took the Dushanbe Walking Tour with Theo and one of his students. The first stop was the Green Bazaar. Huge, bustling, colourful market selling every form of food you can imagine. IT BLEW ME AWAY. We tasted mountain honey (I don’t really like honey but I could drink this stuff) – we sampled nuts, soya. Maybe some pictures will help. Yes. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

(I processed these with a dimmed screen so, anyway…) CLICK ON THEM TO GO INTO A GALLERY

When we finished we travelled to the Museum of Musical Instruments and watched a really good band play. It was small and intimate and a lot of us went to the Irish Pub after for a shot or two of vodka…. Theo managed to lose his shirt to the lovely lead singer of the group.

Over the next few days I will be meeting with my partner organisation – in this case the Ministry – and sorting out a work plan. Then the fun really begins. (and Mum – you can stop worrying now…)

Last Call

4 days to go – but in real terms, only 1 left for me to pack. 30kg just does’t seem enough.

The final 4 day course in Birmingham was brilliant. It’s great to meet the other volunteers who are also on the cusp of leaving. Papua New Guinea, Mozambique, China, Tanzania, Rwanda, Guyana, Ghana…

Everything is as ready as it can be. Stripping down the house for storage has been therapeutic.

Even at this late stage there are things I’m finding out about Tajikistan – and the excitement is building. Day to day there are waves of nerves, followed by excitement and then calmness (yoga is the way forward on that front…)

A few pints last night and a nostalgic one at the Dome, Limelight in the city with Brian McGettrick. Belfast tonight for a send off with friends here. John Gerard Gilmores’ finest Guinness with friends and brother in Kircubbin tomorrow night.

And so the mantra begins: Don’t Panic, Stay Alert and Pay Attention (’cause it’ll all change tomorrow!) {expletives deleted}

Short Update

Well it turns out I will now be Communications Advisor to the Free Economic Zone in Dangara for the Ministry of Trade & Economy. Possibly travelling between there and the capital Dushanbe.

The launch pad is set for the 11th April so I have quite a bit to do, organise, sell and learn (Tajik) before I go. I will be provided with my own translator so its not as scary as it could be.

Carry on…!

Hello world!

Post #1.

I have just agreed to go to Tajikistan and work as a Business Development Advisor with the VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas). Just waiting for the final OK and then there will be some last minute training in Birmingham – a rush to get some more injections – and then I must get that motorbike sold.

The country looks stunning. By all reports, the people are great. Judging from weather reports there is a good chance of a tan in the summer…

But, it is going to be a whole crazy can of crazy soup different and challenging.

Here goes.