My first couple of weeks at site has proven to be quiet enjoyable. The weather has been wonderful, the people are hospitable, and the food is... sustenance. And amazingly I still have not gotten sick while in-country (other than that whole cut me open thing in Tashkent).
Today was my busiest 'day off' yet. Though I usually take Saturday and Sundays off from work for personal things, I often find my personal business to be more exhausting than my official business. I start every Saturday morning with a trip to our cities largest bazaar which is about a block from where I live. On Saturday mornings they have what is called an 'old stuff' bazaar, which is kind of like a big tag sale. Where else can you find a pair of jeans for under a dollar? Plus there is always the freshest goods and native Uzbeks journey from desert Kishlocks far away to pedal there goods once a week.
After which I met with the "Generation" Youth Advocacy Club. With them I went to a play performance put on by the local acting club of citizens with disabilities. There are some Generation Club members in the acting club as well. Though I had some trouble understanding due to the lack of a PA system (and the fact that it was completely in Russian) I think I got the gist of it; it was about love. But what plays aren't? After that I went straight to my Little League practice. That's right, baseball in Uzbekistan. Last October a couple of dedicated fathers across Uzbekistan started a baseball league for their kids. Like most of the world, soccer (futbol) is the big past time here. But America's sport of baseball seems to be finding roots (without any direct American influence). There are 3 teams across Uzbekistan located in the cities of Navoi, Tashkent, and Samarkand. They have third-hand equipment that got from America to needy teams in Kazakhstan. And after the Kazaks were done with them they were sent to our teams. Two team members that volunteer at the Navoi IATP (Internet Access and Training Program, run by the US State Department) also play on the Navoi baseball team. I go into the center often to use the internet and one of them noticed I was from America and invited me out to watch their practice and before I knew it I was the new coach. None of the team members (including the original coach) speaks any English and ages range from 6-15. We even have a girl on the team which is VERY rare for Uzbekistan. Coaching brings back a lot of memories of playing baseball in Connecticut. I forgot how much I love the sport till I left America. Even when I was in Tashkent I was feeling a need to attend a baseball game. Now I have my own team, that needs a lot of help! So I have been jogging down memory lane, recalling all the things that my father and various coaches had taught me over the years.
Then straight from practice I went to my Russian language tutor. And starting tomorrow I am opening an English language club. It should be interesting to see what sort of interest there is for it. And then posley-zaftra (Monday) its back to work. P.S. Check this entry again soon for pictures of my team and our awesome "field" (complete with irrigation ditches, cows, and farmers) on the edge of the desert. Its so exciting because when then ball hits the ground you never know which way its going to roll! More thumbnails ...
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