Hello friends! Here are a few updates from the oba:
It's May and that means potato digging time! On Friday my host
parents spent all day in their field and harvested over 370 kilos of
spuds, which they sold for 1 manat/kilo – about 35 cents – making a
little over $100 in the deal. Families the village over are digging
up their potatoes now and selling them to middle men who will in turn
sell them to other, not so potato-rich provinces. Although everyone
uses the Russian word for potato – kartoshka – there is a Turkmen
word: yer alma. Literally it means "ground apple." Rather a lovely
image, don't you think? As you might suspect, my diet this week has
been heavily potato based, which can induce culinary ennui, but
freshly dug Turkmen potatoes are surprisingly tasty and not at all
starchy like the standard Idaho variety. They are sweet and delicate
and impel volunteers to wax poetic about the subtle flavor and the
excitement that a pan of frying potatoes brings.
It's not just potatoes that are ripening now. Strawberries appeared
at the bazaars a few weeks ago and now sour cherries are coming into
season. My family's tomatoes and peppers haven't produced anything
yet, but people with greenhouses are harvesting theirs. I planted
green beans and zucchini again this year, and my beans are steadily
climbing and my zucchini plants look very healthy. They've even begun
flowering! I should soon be up to my ears in squash and I can't wait!
My parents (my real parents) recently purchased their plane tickets
for our summer vacation, my last as a PCV! They bought the tickets
sooner than I'd anticipated and as such, the last time I was in
Ashgabat (the only place one can purchase westward-headed tickets), I
didn't have sufficient funds to by my Ashgabat-Frankfurt ticket. By
the end of April, all economy tickets to Bangkok had sold out though
August, so although Germany isn't the hot Russian tourist destination
that Thailand is, I was worried that if I waited there would only be
business class left, or nothing at all. Of course, business class
isn't a big deal. Because of a lack of economy tickets we flew
business class to Bangkok in December, but I'm saving money to buy
carpets and purchasing a business class ticket would have broken my
shoebox bank. A number of tickets are set aside for acquaintances,
too, so even if there are tickets left, you might not be able to buy
one without knowing the right people or crying. It can be a headache.
Thus, when mom told me that they had their tickets in their hot
little (electronic) hands and I was faced with waiting another month
before I'd be able to purchase mine, I began to look for alternative
solutions. Enter: Bagageldi.
Babageldi is the son of one of my counterparts. He's in university in
Ukraine but he came back to Turkmenistan a few weeks ago to apply for
a visa at the American Embassy. I helped him practice for his visa
interview and actually set up the appointment for him. And then I
thought…hey, Babageldi is going to Ashgabat, and since he flys to
Ukraine all the time, he knows where the ticket office is and how to
buy tickets. So during our last meeting, I gave him my passport and
ALL my money and asked him to buy a ticket for me. He agreed. A few
days later he returned, with an American visa (yay! If anyone is in
Ocean City, New Jersey this summer, let me know and I'll tell you how
to find my Turkmen friend! While visas are usually different for
Turkmen to obtain, he applied to go to the States through some program
via his university and therefore had a much easier application
process) and my airplane ticket and all my leftover money. I was
thrilled!
The practice of buying tickets for other people is commonplace in
Turkmenistan. I didn't bat an eye handing my passport and savings to
him. Turkmen are tremendously trustworthy and it's a trait that I'll
miss in people when I return home. I don't know that I'd ask a casual
acquaintance for such a favor in the States, which is unfortunate,
because it was wonderfully convenient.
We're looking at less than six months left in Turkmenistan. It's
mindboggling to think that I've already been here over a year and a
half and time only seems to be speeding up.
Leaving is going to be difficult. I've grown very fond of my Turkmen family, friends and
neighbors, but it will be nice to see all of you again, too.
