Updates and... more on food!

Hi all,

Tomorrow is the first day of Turkmen spring! And the weather? Overcast and cool. I am in Ashgabat -- got here on Friday morning to attend a concert given by the American embassy to celebrate Black History Month. It was awesome. Culture shock within Turkmenistan -- there was a jazz band! They were great!

Anyway, about my host sister: I shot from the hip. My emotional discourse about Bagul was made in good faith, but as with most things in Turkmenistan, issues are often many layered and convoluted. Nothing here is cut and dry. So what's the deal? Well it turns out that a) admission into bank school is three thousand dollars but students must pay an additional $100/month on top of that and b) the teachers institute is only two thousand dollars but it's located in a different region and she'd need to "buy" a new license to be able to move there.

This whole license business is a complicated mess. Once it became apparent that paying for school could be a major headache I talked to Bagul about her options. She's really interested in moving to Ashgabat or somewhere nearby and finding a job. She's got a well-connected relative in the city that has told her that he can get her a job if she moves here. And she's got relatives with whom she could live. The only problem is that Turkmen can't move around freely. You need this license and getting a new one is only possible under the table. Moving to Ashgabat involves at least $5000. Moving to a "suburb" costs less – about $2000. So my idea was to give Bagul money to move in with her aunt outside the city. That way she'd be able to work in the city and save money and get out of the village. Then I learn that her aunt's house is set to be bulldozed to make room for a new road and Bagul doesn't know where they're going to move or what their own license situation is going to be.

Further complicating issues, Collin, Summer and I had lunch with our former Turkmen language teacher on Saturday. She lives in Ashgabat, but her family doesn't have the license so she can't get a job and has to sit at home. Her husband is able to work because of some special permission. She told me that they tried to buy the license and offered ten thousand dollars and were turned down. I don't know if that was for her whole family of four or just the husband. And she told me that people living in villages near Ashgabat can't work in Ashgabat, which would totally defeat the purpose of Bagul moving.

UGH. Is there a pea at the bottom of this ever growing pile of mattresses? We need to do some sleuthing and get answers, but we're likely to continue hearing different answers from every source we talk to. And I guess that's what it all boils down to: you have to find the right people. If not? S.O.L.

Anyway, that's the latest on that story. I'll keep you posted as we clear away the cobwebs of confusion and bureaucracy.

In the meantime…more on food! Enjoy :)

Love,

Jess