Hiking in Central Asia (Video!)

There is something holistically edifying in hiking up a mountain just because you can.  And here in Central Asia there is no lack of opportunities.  The videos below were taken from atop Safed Kue (White Mountain).  This is one of the things we love about living here!  Enjoy!

Judo (and Food-oh!)

The heart and soul of cultures have many external faces.  From foods, to celebrations, to recreation.  Sports, being one of those faces, has a unique appeal to many people here.  It's the only country I know of where volleyball seems more popular than soccer.  Recently as a part of our NGO work, we funded a Judo tournament for the village.  Approximately 60 kids, ages 7-17 came to test their talents.  Judo is a sport that people here thrive in, even on an Olympic level.

Despite the sub-freezing temperatures inside the gym, a four-hour power outage, and crowds that could hardly fit in the space provided, it turned out to be an amazing event.

Here are some pictures:

Facing off.

Lunch for the organizers.  Amazingly tasty.

Osh!  Notice the garlic bulb. Oh so Yum!

Exciting.

Judo is centered around throwing moves.

I had the honor of giving out some of the medals.

A good day to get to know faces in the community.  People
have already come up to me since, saying they'd seen me there.
I mean, do I really stick out that much? :)

The City Called Monday

There’s dust in my nose 

and cars are expelling diesel exhaust.

From the ground a foggy film rose

to the mountains covered in frost.

The air is hot 

and the sun does glare.

The traffic becomes a clot

of cars and people without care.

Bumpy roads run 

and colorful people walk.

Kortas shimmer in the sun

with shinny suits in bulk.

There stretches Rudaki

and by him grand Russified buildings surrounding.

Trees grant shade as far as the eye can see

with the fountains’ chorus resounding.

Valiant and firm stands Somoni

and he continues to rule in hearts from afar.

A head above the city he’s raised,

a dynasty with hope to again ajar.

There above a pattern projects

and carries across the sky.

Red, white and green with a gold crown it sets

gloriously waving high.

The rain comes down on my head

and the dust begins to set.

Above the city is a true crown; 

the snow-capped peaks unmet.  

There are various forms of cultural jumps here.  Many say that once they arrive in the capital (translated as "Monday"), they feel a sense of "culture shock".  USA to city life in Central Asia is one level.  The next level is from city to village life.  A degree of difference almost as steep as the first.  

All this to say, we enjoy going to the capital for R&R every once in a while.  The city is 3-4 hours' drive from where we live.  There are advantages to both sides of the coin though.  The valley is great with the beautiful mountains, river, gardens, hiking, hospitable neighbors, etc.  The city is nice for the restaurants, long walks down broad avenues, and feeling more inconspicuous.  

Here are some pictures of the city called "Monday."

World's tallest free-standing flag pole and
the world's biggest flag.  Pretty amazing in the wind.
Note the lamp poles for perspective.

The eastern gate of the city.

Somoni was the emperor of the ancient Samanid Empire.
Most people here claim deep
affinity with their  Persian roots.

Water is THE resource of this country.
They like to show it off.

The Presidencial palace.  Absolutely huge.

This is inside of the bazaar.  Bargaining is a way of life here.
Gaining good relationships helps you get a good deal too.
We have a nut/dried fruit lady that we see when we're in the city.

A rare and very much enjoyed restaurant visit!

Special Treat, aka: Magnum Bars.
Great to have in the city!

The Bazaar.  Cyrillic letters passed down from Russian rule.

Lovely mountains surrounding the city.

Typical traffic jam on the way to/from
the capital city.

  

The New Normal

It's 7am and the rooster has been crowing for an hour.  At first it sounded like young boys screaming in unison.  I lay in bed listening to water continuing to struggle through pipes in the havlee.  Crowding my morning thoughts are new words from my language session and the growing need for an imminent venture to the outhouse.  

After breakfast I walk outside our house.

"Asalom!  Shumo chi khel?"  A voice speaks to me in the early morning light.

"Asalom...Nagz,"  I respond.  

She follows with unintelligible words.  

"Nafamnidam (I don't understand),"  I reply.

I walk out of the gate and see mountains standing firm.  The air is fresh and cool.  The cows are "mooing". 

It's a new day here in Central Asia.  

Here are some pictures of our new normal life:

The town we live in.

Joanna with the women of the host family.

Tim with the men of the host family (and little Yusuf)

Mountains.

The host family's home.

We're staying in a small house separate from their home.
We will be moving into another house across the road at the
end of the month.

Life source.  It's always on, coming down from the mountains,
though the water has gone out a couple times.

The outhouse.  Really not as bad as it looks.

The gate that enters into what they call a havlee (the space
enclosed within their gate)

Our front door for another three weeks.

Kitchen.  A separate room near our house.  And that is
Extra Virgin Olive Oil we picked up in the capital city.
Another life source. :)

    

On Our Way

We're leaving today at 11pm Eastern time!

Leaving Colorado on our way to Maryland with all our bags.

Enjoying some watermelon.  A treat that will not be lacking in Central Asia.

Farewell party in Maryland.

The chaos of packing.

"Good bye" and "Hello"

"You never know what you got 'till it's gone."

From song lyrics, to common speech, the reality of this phrase has plagued all of us.  It is an unwelcome gift to the settled and a reminder that one must enjoy the little nuances of life or be faced with the devastating reality of "good bye."

Sometimes it's hard to know exactly what we'll miss when we move to Central Asia.  But there are a few things that we'll definitely dream about with longing.  We have been trying to prepare ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally, etc. for the difficulty of "good bye."  It's true though that "good bye" leads to "hello" and "hello" to the new "got!"

Some things we'll miss:

1)

There is more in that burrito than rice
and meat.  There is life-instilling
goodness and love. Currently we
enjoy it whenever we can!
We look forward to this being our
last meal in the US as we leave out of
Dulles Airport.

2) Family and friends-  This should be #1 but it's hard not to consider that beautiful burrito as one akin to our hearts.  Seriously though; we'll miss our beloved grandparents, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, nephews, and nieces.  And we'll miss our friends too.  You are all in our hearts.  We love you all so much!

3)

Joe has become a great friend over the years.
It's one of our favorite stores.
Where some grocers just want to take your money, Trader Joe's
wants to say "HI".... and then take your money. 

4) Consistent electricity

We are actually looking forward to figuring out what
it means to live with rationed electricity during cold winters.
But I'm sure there will be those moments when we reach for
the light switch and feel helpless in our darkness.

5) Running and racing--This has always been a consistent, if not daily, activity for the two of us.  We practically met each other while running.  It was one of our first common bonds.  We're not sure what running will look like overseas, but it's safe to say that we are prepared to give it up.

We've been blessed to be able to run numerous
marathons the past five years.

And 5Ks

6) English- The language our hearts are best expressed in will be known by few.

Some things we are excited about:

1) Living in mountains.

These are mts near Joanna's house in CO.
We see them from her house.
CO is home to 54 14,000 ft mts.
In Central Asia We will be living under mountains
that can reach up to 24,000+ feet!
Hiking anybody?

2) World-renowned hospitality- We can't wait to get to know our neighbors.

3) Gardening- Being in a largely agricultural society allows us the great opportunity of learning how to raise our own food.  From chickens to veggies, we look forward to getting to know our food in a closer way.

4) Language- ассалому алейкум! ("Peace be on you" or "hello")
It's been fun and challenging so far getting a foundation in this new language.  We look forward to learning it more in depth once we arrive in one month.

All in a Day's Work

Many work schedules pace routinely from 9-5.  Ours isn't so simple.  Some days are long: figuring, planning, thinking, speaking, calling, writing, and learning.  And some days are short.  It's hard to predict what work looks like one week to the next.

But we wanted to let you in on some of the tasks that fill a typical day as we prepare to move overseas.

Joanna taking notes during a preparation course.

We are truly thankful for all our supporters and
we love to express that in this tangible way.

Tim learning the language.

We have enjoyed the language so far.
We look forward to using it in country.

We plan our week each Monday to make sure
we use our time as efficiently as possible.

We've been busy communicating our work to small groups of people,
families and individuals.  Here Tim explains some of the background
that has grown him toward this opportunity.

Joanna connecting with friends and
scheduling meetings.

The Epic Colorado

Colorado could have its own legend...

It's a land of genius, beauty, and fifty-four 14,000ft treasures.
And yet earthquakes possess no place.
It's a land of skis on white cold powder.
And yet one of the sunniest and most pleasant states in the union.
It's a land shaped like a square.
And yet most people live outside the box.

How can this be? 

I'll leave it up to your own imagination.

But here we are!  Our last leg of preparations before we move overseas in September.  Here are some pictures of what we've done in our free time:

Rockies game!

On our way to run the Bolder Boulder 10k.
50,000 people running an amazingly organized course.
This is what it means to celebrate Memorial Day in this part of Colorado.

We've had a great time with Joanna's parents.

This is on Joanna's b-day.  We spoiled her so much.

One of the many amazing views on our walks/runs.

Joanna's 24th b-day.  Hanging with the amazing Susanna.