Dear friends,
Greetings from sweaty Turkmenistan. Seriously. Last week I could see my breath each morning as I made my way out back to the outhouse. Now, I'm sweating in my koynek (dress). It's been quite mild the past few days. Today had to be in the 50s at least. Maybe 60s? Warm enough for a light dress and a sweater. Unfortunately, the heat is still on in our house. And I get the feeling that it's either on or off, no happy medium. As such, it's really, really hot in here.
I was talking to my mom today (oh the wonders of skype! ) and it came to my attention that she was a little confused re: my current living situation. Perhaps you are, too. Let me clarify: Yes, my new house is nicer. There are more rooms, it's better decorated, there's a TV antenna, a phone, a car, and I have a sofa to sleep on. The walls in the house are painted.
[Turkmen house painting is well, different. Maybe something that only pictures would do justice to, but I'll try to explain anyway. There's a base color, usually light blue, and then beginning a third of the way up the wall, there are fake painted pillars (or, pillar-esque things). The bottom half is painted to look like crown molding. In our house, there's also a floral motif on the ceiling surrounding the "chandelier." Quite decorative. In my room, there's a mural. It's a forest scene with two deer, what look like aspen trees, a creek, and mountains in the distance.]
Each room in the house is connected to another room – my room has two doors, one into each adjoining room. The kitchen is in a separate building. It's also nicer than the previous kitchen. There's a stove and a small food prep area. There's also a gas heater (very hot – we use to heat the water for bathing) small cabinet and refrigerator. Bathtub and sink in the bathroom, but still no running water.
And yes, still an outhouse. Although this one has a light, which is a definite plus when one wakes up at 6:00 in the morning to use the facilities. Which I've been doing on a nightly basis since I've moved. Which basically means I've been eating way too much watermelon.
Why do I eat so much melon? Well, not only is it tasty, but this family has a thing for carbs. For dinner the past three nights in row, I've eaten one main dish that was purely carbohydrate. For example, tonight was potatoes and bread. Yummy potatoes, but just potatoes nonetheless. And yes, I know watermelon isn't the most nutritious of all the fruits, but it's not brown and so it makes a difference. I eat quite a bit.
I would like to call to your attention the fact that in Turkmen, there is no word for "weekend." That's because in Turkmenistan, there is no weekend. There is only Sunday, "Dynch Gun," (not prounounced "gun," but "goon") or "Rest Day." The work/school week in Turkmenistan is Monday – Saturday. TGIF doesn't hold quite the same meaning here, I'm afraid. Unless you're a Peace Corps Volunteer – we go fun places on Saturdays but we're special.
You might think, then, that Sundays must be the time for kicking back and relaxing. Nope. On Sunday, we wash all the dirty laundry by hand and clean the house. Washing machines? For sissies with running water who don't wish to spend all day scrubbing and squatting!! All the carpets are swept and the molding wiped down with a damp cloth. Sunday is the day you have time to do all the work you didn't get to during the week. So friends, be glad for Saturday. Take heart in Friday evening.
This makes me chuckle: My new host mother – whom I like more this week than last – seems to think I don't wash my hands. I think she was spying on me the other day when, at 6:30 as I was coming back to the house from the toilet, I bypassed our small carafe of hand washing water. Then, as I was again going to the toilet before breakfast, she asked me if I wash my hands admonished me to do so once I'd finished in the toilet. She demonstrated with her hands how I should do it. I agreed and gladly washed so she could see. Now, what she doesn't know is that after my early morning bathroom visit, I used hand sanitizer in my room. And that before breakfast, I had also doused some sanitizer on my hands. I didn't feel like making an issue of it, so I didn't say, "But I did wash my hands!" Rest assured, I do always wash my hands. Especially here. So, why does this make me chuckle? Well, because she thinks I'M dirty, even though:
a) I wash my hands with soap, which is more than I can say about some people… (*cough, most Turkmen)
b) We don't have flies all over our kitchen at home. Furthermore, we don't have flies waltzing all over our dinner at home.
c) We cover our mouths when we hack up mucous at home. Or, at least I do.
d) We flush at home.
e) We don't lick raw ground meat off our fingers at home. (Again, I don't. You might.)
f) And lastly, but probably most importantly, I've never gotten giardia at home. So there!
It's not upsetting or frustrating. I just think it's funny – clearly our concepts of personal cleanliness are not the same.
That's all I have for now – healthy and happy for the time being, albeit a little sweaty J
Thankful for the magic of Friday evenings,
Jessica
P.S. Here's my new address as of December 7 – remember that it's best to always use both the English and Turkmen versions, but if you only write the English, your letter/package WILL arrive (just maybe not as quickly). Also, Summer had a pair of gloves stolen out of a small padded envelope, so if you send anything bigger than a letter, make sure it's got a lot of tape on it (the Thieving Post People are less likely to mess with stuff that's taped really well esp. if it's red, white, and blue USPS tape). Happily, I have not had anything stolen out of my packages thus far. If you're nervous, you can always use the Ashgabat address. I'll get whatever you send, but just not right away because I'll have to go to A-bat to get it (or ask someone else to).
US Peace Corps Turkmenistan Türkmenistan
P.O. Box 46 Lebap Welayaty
Central Post Office Türkmenabat – 22, 746100
Turkmenabat – 22, 746100 Merkezi poςta, abonent 46
Lebap Welayat Parahatςylyk Korpusy
Türkmenistan JESSICA HOOVER
JESSICA HOOVER TÜRKMENISTAN
TURKMENISTAN
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