Visa Denial

I am considering renaming the blog 'how Not to get into Turkmenistan'.

I applied for a visa this past month to visit my old friends and family . . . and was rejected. My boyfriend, with no ties to the country, was accepted.

Of course, with all that went on during my two years there--signing the anti-government petition, assaulting a soldier, being denounced to the KGB by my local boss--I suppose I should have known it was coming.

It's only sad to think I might never be let back in again.

AUCA

I just heard from Rowshen, who got a scholarship to study in Bishkek. Not at the American University yet, but he'll have one year of high school level study and then a year guaranteed at the AUCA.

Balkanabat is represented well this year. Eziz, one of our Turkmen-Turkish school kids (private school that Akbar went to) is there on scholarship as well as Lida. Lida and Eziz were both on one-year scholarships last year and won three more years free based on their performance. All three of them are Balkanabat's pride and joy.

I can't begin to describe how much I support the American University there. Students dream of getting an education abroad but the financial/logistical realities of studying in America or Britain are unsurmountable for most. And the fact that I know these three kids and they all deserve something more than their surroundings. The university is something sustainable. If you're looking for something to donate to, there's your fix.

Rowshen:
there are many things to do here, however i don't have any free time to
do anything because we are given tons of homework everyday both at
college and AUCA. we stay up late and get up so early. we leave house at
7 am for college. classes start at 7:30. it is really something new for
our team.we are all doing our best!

Opportunity Knocks

Rita is coming to America! She won a slot in the TEA program through IREX that sends teachers to the states for a summer program. We're not sure where she'll be yet, but if any teacher deserves it, it's Rita! Hopefully we can rally a bunch of old volunteers together and make her feel at home. She cooked for us every week in tstan--because she promised Allah that if her daughter made it to America to studey on the FLEX exchange program that she would have the volunteers over for Sunday lunch as long as they were in Balkanabat. Hopefully we can show her some of the same hospitality in the states! Congrats Rita!

Igor

I was eating spaghetti when the phone rang and asked for Miss Kari. Who the heck in Moscow knows me as Miss Kari? Turns out Altyn somebody from Tstan passing along a hello from Igor my favorite violin student! Whoever Altyn is, she says Igor won the city-wide olympiad in math and is getting an A in violin. I passed along the best of the best back and only after I hung up did I realize I should have gotten Altyn's phone number so I could send them back a gift! Blin.

They told us during our orientation that messages will come from the most random people in the most random places. People have learned to deal with the lack of available communication methods. Evolution? Or just avoidance of all government services. Better send Altyn with a message as opposed to trusting the post or the phone. . .

Aziza's in town!

There was plov. I was in heaven. My sister came to visit for a couple of days before moving to Vladikavkaz to finish her senior year of high school and get a 'real' diploma. As usual there was a lot of gossiping and reporting on what's happening with all of our mutual friends. It doesn't seem like much, but there are so many people I can't keep in contact with there. The news wasn't bad this time--everyone is in the same place. No good news either, though. They love hearing the updates of all the volunteers who they knew for two years and then all ran off to the far corners of the earth. All of our plans are such surprises to them. We seemed so stable to them when we were there. Never moving, not going anywhere and suddenly we're all going to school and working and travelling and earning!

Of course, there was carpet talk too. But that's a given in really any guesting situation I'm involved in. They always love the joke about how I'll make a great Turkmen bride with my giant carpet collection as a dowry. Though they mostly laugh because they and I think it's funny to imagine me ever marrying a Turkmen. . . or any of them doing the same either :)

And in fine tstan tradition I showed them all the pictures I'd taken in the past six months. I gave myself a headache but they seemed to enjoy it.

I have to say, though, I missed plov. We make it sometimes but it's never as good as the real thing. And eating plov always brings up the never ending questions about what I eat and how do I survive since I can't cook to save my life. They don't look convinced when I say I eat salads. Hot dogs doesn't go over well either since for them that's a breakfast food. We finally agree that I go to restaurants and starve the rest of the time. I'll take a hit on that topic. But I should have brought up how I ironed a shirt last week! That would raise my status.

I gifted them an In Style magazine that Courtnee brought me from America. They gifted me a t-shirt that says California on it in honor of Aziza hopefully moving there someday and a set of sheets that I desperately needed. And of course pajama pants made in Turkmenistan. Feel the love.

Reunion

A whole day of gossip, gossip, and more gossip. It was a joyous reunion in Moscow.

Exit Visas

Exit visas were reintroduced. One has to apply through the government for permission to leave. Those on the top of the list are criminals (in the eyes of the government), drug user/dealers, except of course the higher officials involved in the drug trade. They will also stop anyone with questionable dedication to the regime. This has been developing for a long time. People pass through passport control without problem but are taken off the actual plan after everyone is seated. I guess it’s easier to find them when they’re in their seats--if Turkmen ever sat in their assigned seats in the first place. . .
It was said that this decision helps cut down on the 50% of those who fly out of Turkmenistan and don’t return. Those who fly to Eastern Europe and Turkey specifically. I just hope the UN steps in on this one.

Postlude

Enough time has passed since I left country in order to officially 'look back.' At the time, I thought I'd be an activist, a protestant, a something, just as soon as I left the country. I've dissapointed myself. I skim my weekly news briefs and I haven't held up a single sign protesting anything. Is this what happens to us all? We get connected to people, we live with them, help them, and care about them. Then distance gets in the way and we're lost. Now is the time when I can write about the current happenings without fear. I can read articles about Ogulsapar Muradova being killed, and Turkmenbashi's health being questioned. The freedoms, I suppose, are just easy to take advantage of. It seems so natural to have use of uncensored internet for instance. And feel like even if the government was listening in on my telephone conversations, they can do little about my insults. How does one prick themselves back to a second reality?

I'm Home

Freedom tastes like granola, yogurt and raspberries. I'll be in America for two weeks then off to Moscow. I now have the freedom to post and re-post all sensitive materials--or at least most of it. I'll get to work on that as soon as I finish my coffee. Yum, coffee.

The end

The last look at my perfect little apartment. I had to say goodbye to all the trinkets that made my life so full. I left behind the basket next to the toilet that housed used toilet paper. I won't forget the front door that held itself shut only with the lock locked. Memories to cherish forever!