Third - Entering Tajikistan

3am after a flight on Turkish air that was packed, a little sleep but not much. Off the plane, waiting for baggage and people are filling out...? Something that Jeri and I and others didn't have, that magic very necessary form. How to get one? The room was rather small, a few British men were there as well having the same issue, where is the *&%# form? Others have it! Finally a few more were brought in and as we waited in line to get past immigration I saw the sign:

SANITARY - QUARANTINE

Check Paint

It's just after 3am, how can that not be funny :-). Jeri worked hard at herding her fatigued cats to meet our leader from the local Dushanbe affiliate, Farhod, a very kind, soft spoken young man. They took us to the office and as it was not even 5am and no one was there to greet us, we putzed around, then just found the most comfortable spot and laid down, my favorit was on the floor under the conference room table, last thing seen before sleep: the soles of Steve's shoes on the other side of the table. After the arrival of the staff we had a briefing then took off for a walk, and Farhod took us around the neighborhood and into a market which was just being stocked for opening. Markets are always fantastic, the colors and the aromas, the people. We were getting our first glimpse of "national dress" which is a tunic shaped smock dress over pants. So many women wear the same style, yet the creativity comes out in the fabrics they choose, some very vivid! It must be hot though and scarves are often worn. After lunch it was back to the airport for the flight to Khujand and the job site, our reason for being in this time and place. And where is this place amongst the mountains in central Asia?

http://europe.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&country=TJ&addtohistory=&city=khujand Tucked into central Asia above Afghanistan, to the east and south of Uzbekistan, west of China, south of Kyrgyzstan.

THIS LAND IS GORGEOUS, THE FAN MOUNTAINS RISE UP TO GREET THE PLANE

The plane was OLD...30 or so passenger twin prop and LOUD....but the views, oh my the views. It was a clear day and as we levelled the ground came up to almost meet the belly of the plane in the form of snow covered peaks. Photos just cannot do it justice. As the mountains began to bow away after their elegant presence, the captain came out of the cockpit and went to the back for a beverage. When he tried to get back into the cockpit the door was jammed! He worked and worked at it, then went to the back again, returning this time with a pen knife! This very diminutive captain jimmied the door open with this swiss army type knife. "hope the co-pilot can land this thing alone!" Finally the captain made it back into the cockpit and all was well.

We were met by vans and driven to the Khujand Habitat affiliate, along the way the Russian architecture of several decades ago was very apparent. Some lovely parks, mosques and a theater were the spectacle from my van window seat as I gazed out at the streets so very clean. At the office we saw the layout of the job site. The government had given section "29" the "New Land" for building. There are spaces for about 240 homes and 12 are complete. We were to work on 2 homes in this district each quite close to each other. This build would be a bit different than others as this development is so new no one is there except those building, so there would be little interaction with children, no village feel, too early for roads, gardens etc. On the flip side though, what an honor to be at the ground level of something so important for this area, and imagine a few years from now with more houses built and occupied, a school and some markets what vibrance will come to it. Everything has to start somewhere.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME, APARTMENTS WITH SOVIET ARCHITECTURAL FEEL TO THEM

Our homes for the stay were apartments. In the end quite luxurious! We had TV with over 600 hundred channels and only the BBC that we could find in English. We had AC that sometimes worked, a shower with hot water that worked for me but not for Jeri during the first couple of days. We even had seperate bedrooms in an alcove studio type set-up. It was the dark entrance at night and the 3 flights of stairs that could get a bit creepy, but after we initially saw the dead bolt for the door, we felt quite good about it. First night dinner, get to know each other a bit more and settle in, work begins tomorrow. Farhod picked a restaurant that served a variety of kabob from the stick and in the pot (with a good spicy sauce but not hot), rice and salads. We actually ended up here frequently and acquainted ourselved with a menu that has pictures ( fantastic help when nothing is in English). No other women were in the restaurant except the morning waitresses and sometimes we would sit on an elevated platform on cushions around a draped table. The name of the restaurant is Olive, a short walk from the apartments. Just down the street was an outdoor kabob restaurant which was always hopping and the kabob seemed to be a variety of meats like tongue, some organ meats, lamb and beef. First night in the apartment with the faux wood finish on the door.