Adventures in Reichelstan

it just gets worse

2005-10-05T23:34:00.000-07:00

Senator John McCain of Arizona is obviously still a bit upset about being snubbed last time he came to Tashkent. On Wednesday he was one of the leaders in the Senate who pushed for the United States to refuse to pay for the use of the Karshi-Khanabad Air Base in Uzbekistan. To say this further strains US-Uzbek relations would imply that there still were relations between the two. McCain also made an interesting statement, saying that, "Paying our bills is important, but more important is America standing up for itself... avoiding cash transfers to the treasury of a dictator just months after he permanently evicts American soldiers from his country." Let us apply this on a local level. Next time your shady landlord comes by and tries to evict you for any number of reasons from your apartment, tell him or her that, while it is important to pay your bills, America needs to stand up for itself and avoid paying money to those shady people who would evict us. Better yet, send a letter to your credit card company explaining how your non-payment is just America standing up for itself against high interest rate charges. See how far either of these tactics get you.

McCain exclaimed that the Uzbek government "has terminated counterterrorism cooperation with the United States," and has taken "actions so alarming that one would think this body [the Senate] would be considering sanctions." Does this just mean that the US can no longer send its prisoners to be tortured, I mean questioned, in Uzbekistan? Maybe he is really just upset that they can't outsource their dirty work. It is widely known that for some time the United States has been flying its prisoners to places it considers to have poor human rights records to get around those pesky human rights regulations. [more info on US terror flights]

Let's face it, Bush would never allow an independent international investigation of anything to do with the United States. So why exactly does the US government think that Uzbekistan should do the same? How many international monitors do you hear about walking around Camp X-ray? While an international investigation of what happened in Andijan is not officially being allowed, the Uzbek government seems to have been more than tolerant of organizations like OSCE crawling around the country and doing just that, investigating.

The reporting in the West is so one sided that it is just as bad as the Uzbek propaganda. There are some elements of truth coming from both sides. Somewhere in the middle you can discern a blurry picture of what really happened in Andijan. After having talked to people who lived through it, I can tell you for sure that neither side is telling the whole story.

the tulips have wilted

2005-09-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

A while ago I wrote about how all of these so-called democratic revolutions that are championed in the West weren't improving the situation in the countries where they take place. I questioned if the Kyrgyz Tulip Revolution in March that drove Akayev from power would really change anything. It unfortunately didn't take long for things to play out. Politicians are being shot dead on the streets and officials investigating corruption are getting sacked. Even their own parliament declared in a resolution that, "the criminal situation in the country has sharply deteriorated over the past several months." In addition, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev stated that, "It is no secret to anyone that law-enforcement agencies and bandits are to a certain extent working together." As EurasiaNet points out, Kyrgyzstan's Revolution is at risk because:

...the political tension in Bishkek could deepen the divide separating residents of northern Kyrgyzstan from southerners. Many northerners associate the rise in crime and corruption with the March revolution, which was led mainly by politicians with southern political roots, including Bakiyev. In a broader sense, the political wrangling is prompting many Kyrgyz to lose faith in the revolution’s potential to bring about a more responsive government. The great popular complaint against Akayev’s regime was that it had grown out of touch with the day-to-day concerns of the population. Now, the perception is growing among Kyrgyz citizens that members of the executive and legislative branches are intent mainly on accumulating personal wealth and gaining control over income-generating state assets, instead of working to improve socio-economic conditions in the country.

At some point the people of Kyrgyzstan are going to have to stop asking for everything while doing nothing. They need to get out of the handout mentality which runs throughout their society.

random things

2005-09-20T21:06:00.000-07:00

A few random things:

Uzbekistan's Independence Day (Mustaqillik) was on September 1. I was out of the country and missed the festivities, but noticed that a few things had changed around Tashkent when I returned. The major roads around the city had been repaved and relined. Not that the roads were bad (especially when I think of all the potholes on La Brea in Los Angeles), but one less bump in the road is always nice. If you've been to Uzbekistan, you know the lengths that people will go to avoiding the most minute imperfection in the road (head on traffic being preferable to running over a pebble). There was also a new monument constructed that is very bright and shiny, but the name of it escapes me at the moment. Also, they decided to repaint the common area (staircase) of the apartment buildings. In my building the paint job was so-so and didn't change the overall appearance much (other than making a huge mess on the stairs from scraping the walls). In some of the other buildings, though, it really made a big difference. Dark and dingy became light and bright.
Drivers (and passengers) here seemed to be on edge for some reason last week. I saw two instances of road rage that really surprised me. The first happened when the car in front of the taxi I was in was cut off by another taxi. It was very close to being a three car pile up. The car in the middle had a man (the driver), woman and two children in it. The driver didn't take to kindly to the empty taxi endangering his family so at the next stoplight he got out and pulled the taxi driver out of his car and started pushing and hitting him. They were both somewhat round, middle aged Uzbek men, but the taxi driver definitely had the size advantage. The woman also got out of the car and started pummeling the taxi driver. I've seen shouting matches here, but this was the first full on physical altercation and it was taking place in the middle of a busy street. My taxi kept going, so unfortunately I can't tell you how it ended. The second instance of road rage was a bit more mellow, but a bit more involved because it was my taxi chasing someone down. We were making a left turn at the intersection of two major streets and a car runs a very red light and goes flying past us. The driver yells a few choice words in Russian and I figure that's the end. Nope, he slowly speeds up and before I realize it we are alongside the speedy blue Nexia and he is cussing at the woman driving it. His yelling eventually turns to a mumbling and we continue on our way.
The trials have started here for some of the people accused of inciting the riots in Andijan back in May. You can learn more about it from the Moscow Times, Pravda, BBC News and CNN International. The reports are definitely skewed depending on the writer's bias.

fleecing the american tax payer while stroking their ego

2005-09-14T21:25:00.000-07:00

A former colleague forwarded me an article that was written about the people I used to work for by someone I used to work with. A portion of what is written I would have to say is unfortunately true. If you want any clarifications or more details, you all know how to reach me.

The article is below (and is in Russian):
ПРАГМАтичный шулер и доверчивый узбекский игрок. ЮСАИД оскандалился

To read a rough English translation, go to Babelfish and enter http://centrasia.org/newsA.php4?st=1125345600 as the site to be translated and select "Russian to English". This should give you a good idea about what the article says and what type of expats I used to work with. Believe it or not, this is a mild commentary on the type of people they are. Don't misunderstand me, there are some great, hardworking people on the project; just not the people running it (mentioned in the article).

piece of meat

2005-07-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

As of late, I have been a master of slack... but this is too, how shall I say, interesting to not post.

The story goes a little like this:
I was standing on the street getting a taxi like I do every day to go to lunch. Only on this day the car that stopped was different. It was driven by an Uzbek woman. First, let me explain, there aren't a lot of women driving here. For a traditionally dressed Uzbek woman to stop and offer me a ride was a bit out of the ordinary to say the least, especially with another woman in the front passenger seat already.

I say hello and tell her where I want to go. She says ok and then I ask the price. She wants 1,000 soum, but eventually agrees to 800.

I get in and off we go. The woman in the passenger seat turns and asks if I am British. I say no, I am American. She then asks if Americans are black or white. I say we are both. It took a little while for my answer to sink in, but it was finally accepted by both of them. Then the passenger tells me she studied German in school and doesn't speak English (but still tried a few phrases). They introduce themselves.

We stop at a stop light. The driver turns to look at me, then gives me the once over... twice. She smiles and turns back around as the light turns green. I start to get this creepy feeling. It is not everyday that I am objectified.

As we continue on our way, the conversation returns to the typical taxi conversations I have. Questions like, what are you doing here, how long are you here for, etc. They conversation pauses every once in a while for the two of them to discuss something (presumably me) in Uzbek.

We come to another red light. Again, the driver turns and looks me over like a slab of meat hanging in the bazaar. Her smile really makes me wonder what in the world she is thinking. As we start to go again, something is said that could have been interpreted as an invitation to join the two of them for something more. Not wanting to join them (and not fully understanding what the really want) I decide it is time to forget all the Russian I know.

Unfortunately, she doesn't really know where she is going so my cover is blown when I have to speak up and explain it to her. At this point we are only a block away from my destination so I start to get my money ready so I can make a quick exit.

I hand over the money and hop out. They both smile, look me over one last time and wish me well in Uzbek and Italian?!

For some reason when I hear women talking about being on equal footing with men, I don't really think this is what they mean. Or maybe they do?

travel warning

2005-06-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

So today I was told I may want to pack my bags in preparation for evacuation from the country. I'm not sure if this is just a precautionary measure or preparation for imposing sanctions or who knows what. Peace Corps people are not even being allowed back to site to collect their belongings. Others are being told random travel restrictions.

For the most up to date info, go to http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_uzbekistan.html

where have all the soums gone?

2005-06-01T22:59:00.000-07:00

There are still no soums to be had in exchange offices. The only option for people to exchange dollars into soums is on the black market. The easiest place to do this is usually at a bazaar. Normally, you would get the official exchange rate or maybe even one slightly better if you were lucky. This is not the case now. The traders are taking advantage of situation and using it to make a bit of extra money. Some of them are even buying up the few soums that may be left at exchange offices and then offering them at sub-standard rates.

So where did all the soums go?

They went to pacify the people of Uzbekistan. The government knows that the country is crawling with foreign 'investigators' who are roaming around interviewing the 'common' folk. They know that the people are in an agitated state. They know they are hungry and poor. So how can you keep people calm and save face while you are in the international spotlight? You start giving out money. You pay people the wages you have withheld for months or even years. You pay back the small companies for all the work they've done for you. You even (apparently) give money to some people for no reason at all. Not only that, but you stop sending out the loathsome bill collectors. No more Mr. Taxman coming around to remind the people why they were so upset. Then you hope that with money in hand and food on the table the people will think nothing but happy thoughts and praise your virtues when talking to the international press.

Other things of note:

Peace Corps are pulling out. I hear they will all be gone within two weeks.
I am finally back home in Ferghana (but only for 3 days).

got soums?

2005-05-31T00:42:00.000-07:00

How did I spend my Memorial day you ask? I spent it driving around Tashkent trying to exchange dollars for Uzbek soums. I went to no fewer than 10 different exchange offices and banks (I lost count somewhere along the way). No soums anywhere. I did have one guy approach me on the street and offer to exchange money for some ridiculously low rate. For some reason no one has soums in Tashkent. Everyone I talk to is having trouble finding places to exchange money. I have yet to hear of anyone who has been successful in the past two days. Now not only is there nothing worth buying here, there is no way to buy it.

an endangered species - the 200 soum note

growing rift?

2005-05-30T23:48:00.000-07:00

Three US Senators, lead by Republican Senator John McCain, came to Tashkent to press for an international investigation into the events that took place in Andijan. Instead of the usual high profile reception that high ranking US delegates used to get from Uzbek officials, this time the Senators were given the cold shoulder. Not a single official from the Uzbek government would meet with them. They were forced to hold their press conference in the basement of the US Embassy.

For more on the visit, check out Radio Free Europe or the San Jose Mercury News.

China and Uzbekistan joining forces against the USA (as Pravda puts it) also illustrates the growing rift between Washington and Tashkent. While the USA is growing increasing critical of the events in Andijan, hardline Chinese leader Hu Jintao has been very supportive of the way Karimov handled the situation. China wants regional stability above all else. Both sides believe in ensuring this by any means necessary.

Chinese leader Hu Jintao and Uzbek President Islam Karimov

Also of note is that the police have started rounding people up who are suspected of being part of the opposition.

Probably the most interesting piece I have seen on the whole situation was a recent op-ed article by Charles V. Pena of the Cato Institute called 'In Uzbekistan, Washington should side with no one'. I encourage people to read it and let me know what they think.

a new spin

2005-05-26T23:07:00.000-07:00

Last night I was talking with the head of a local film studio in his office. It was just a casual conversation. The room was warm and lit by fluorescent lighting. A mosquito was buzzing around my head. One of his friends enters the room and offers a cigarette. I politely decline. Then he asks what I had heard about Andijan and the phone. I eventually realize he isn't saying phone, but fund when he adds the name Soros to the sentence. He asks me if I had heard that the Soros Fund had given money to the people in Andijan to protest. I said no, I hadn't heard.

I was a little confused by the question until I looked into it a little. Later I found out that it had been announced in the local press that Soros had funded the recent uprising. So I started looking more into the local press reports. It is interesting to see how the facts are presented. They took all of the international calls for investigations and turned them around by saying that the internal investigation was not complete and that OSCE and the UN are both here and "their colleagues can visit the site and speak with people." (full article) They are using the presence of these organizations in Uzbekistan to show their willingness to work with the international community and show they have nothing to hide. These organizations really can't do much here, though, and are basically being used as pawns in a game of political chess.

freaky?

2005-05-26T06:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so how exactly did UPS know to deliver a package addressed to my Ferghana address to the exact location I was at in Tashkent today?

Now that's what I call tracking technology!?

idiots

2005-05-25T04:49:00.000-07:00

Why do I ask people to do anything here? I know better than to ask them to do their jobs, but for some reason I still try. Why is it with money matters it is always ok to be off by 500 or 1,000? If I decided to be off by 500 or 1,000 soums with paying them or buying something for them I think it would be a different story. But hey, for me it is ok because I am from another country and therefore I like to throw away money, get ripped off or have it stolen from me.

taking a break

2005-05-23T04:32:00.000-07:00

After spending nearly 10 months in Central Asia (and factoring in a little regional unrest), it was time to get away. I decided to head west to Turkey to visit a friend. For 5 days last week I got to relax and enjoy all of those things I have learned to live without.

Some of the highlights:

A sushi dinner with cold sake (oh, how I miss sushi)
Lots of good food (and it wasn't smothered with oil!)
Shopping in stores that have things worth buying (you have to love Zara)
Seeing Episode III in an actual theater
Riding in a non-Daewoo car
Being able to use a credit card (after looking at my bill, not sure this is a highlight)
Hearing real djs play real dance music
Enjoying the ambiance of a rooftop bar until closing
Believe it or not, going to the malls (which is something I used to avoid like the plague in America)
Domino's Pizza (delivered in 30 minutes or less)
Getting to hang out with my best friend and just chill

It had been almost 9 years since I was last in Turkey. Last time I spent the whole time in Istanbul and thought it was very different from the West. This time, I spent most of my time in Ankara and thought I was in the West. Even Istanbul seemed more Western. A lot seems to have changed, or maybe it is just my perception of things that has changed.

more on the unrest

2005-05-22T23:50:00.000-07:00

I left the Valley in the early morning on May 14. I have been working out of Tashkent. There is a stepped up police presence and a strange uneasiness here. There have been a few minor demonstrations around town, but nothing major. The fact that there are demonstrations is something new though. They seem to be taking place out in front of embassies and the like. People I've talked to in Ferghana say that things are still very quiet.

The press seems like it is being manipulated by both sides because of the blockade of information. I find it curious that all of the numbers that are reported by the various media outlets seem to come from one source... who just happens to be one of the leaders of the opposition. Some of the events that were reported to have happened in other towns don't seem to have actually happened. Truth probably lies somewhere in the middle between the government reports and opposition claims - but in all honesty, no one, aside from those who were there, will ever know the truth (and even then it will be clouded by perspective).

The government here is taking a lot of heat, but they aren't the only guilty party. Those who incited the violence were well organized and demonstrated they were willing to use deadly force to achieve their means. The used 'innocent' civilians as pawns in their deadly game; knowing full well what would happen (like anyone who lives here should). I understand that the organizers (or people claiming to be) have said this is only the beginning and that they will create living hell in the Valley if their demands are not met.

I hear many pieces of information everyday, but I choose to keep it off here for one reason or another. The situation here is very complicated at the moment. Often by the time I sort out and process what I've heard, I'm just too tired to write about it.

update on andijan

2005-05-13T04:56:00.000-07:00

Over the course of the day I have heard all kinds of information from all kinds of sources. Things are still quiet in Ferghana. Some of the NGOs have pulled their expat staff from the Valley. Some are still free to travel around the Valley. Some say the mountain pass to Tashkent is closed. Some say it is open. Some say flights are cancelled. The airport says otherwise. I heard a report the 50,000 people had massed in the center of Andijan and have to say that the figure sounds greatly exaggerated because it would be the bulk of the adult population there. The most consistent number I hear is about 2,000. One report claims the rebels say they will fight to the death. Another report says the city is encircled by troops who are waiting for nightfall to put down the uprising. Currently most media outlets are being limited in what they can report and Russian stations are being blocked.

(a theatre burns in Andijan - photo from BBC News)

(a man with an automatic weapon waits - photo from BBC News)

For some more pictures of the events, go here.

As for me, I will head to Tashkent soon just to be on the safe side.

As for the man shot dead in front of the Israeli Embassy in Tashkent this morning... well, he was just a homeless Russian man who became the victim of a tense situation.

In other completely non-related and irrelevant news... The store I shop at regularly got a shipment of Red Bull today! This is the first time I have seen it in Uzbekistan. Only 3,000 soums (about $2.75) will buy you a nice cool one.

is it spreading? or is all hell breaking loose?

2005-05-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

I come into work this morning to hear the news that people are rioting in Andijan (a city about a 1 hour drive from where I live). I was told that the local government offices had been ceased. The city is very close to the Kyrgyz border so my first thought is that maybe the recent events in Kyrgystan are spreading here. Then I start reading the news and it sounds far worse...

According to BBC News, about 100 men armed with automatic weapons shot there way into a prison and freed thousands of convicts. Several guards were killed in the shooting. Additionally, an army garrison was attacked and the soldiers fled into hiding. Ferghana.ru reports that this morning random gun battles are still taking place and that both the city and regional government offices are under the control of a, as yet, unidentified group. It is also mentioned that several buildings are on fire.

The Ferghana Valley has always been one of the most volatile areas in the region, so who knows where this will go. At present, things in Ferghana City are quiet. Word reached Ferghana fast, though, and people are definitely aware of what is taking place.

LATEST:
Just received a phone call that informed me a suicide bomber was shot dead in front of the Israeli Embassy in Tashkent before setting off their bomb.

tashkent to ferghana

2005-04-15T03:42:00.000-07:00

Over the past three weeks, getting back to Ferghana from Tashkent has been no simple task. Every Sunday I have been hiring a car to take me back home and have had some interesting events take place along the way.

3 weeks ago:
It was about 9pm and had just arrived at the place where you get a car that goes Tashkent to Ferghana (next to the Northern Vokzal). I didn't feel like paying for a whole car so I only bought a seat. I had the front seat and a girl in her 20s got one of the back seats. She was dressed in a typical western style. The driver wanted to have a full car so we waited about 45 minutes. Then I got an important phone call as they were trying to get me to pay more so we could just leave. While I am on the phone, I stop paying attention and we leave with just the three of us. I am still on the phone when the car stops about 5 minutes down the road. A woman in traditional middle eastern (not Uzbek) clothing gets into the car and the driver loads her oversized bag into the trunk. I get off the phone about when we make it to the first checkpoint on the outskirts of Tashkent.

My passport gets checked and handed back... no problems. The first girl's passport is ok, but they hold onto it. Then the woman hands them a photo copy of a passport that doesn't look like her. This is where things start to get interesting. The police start to scrutinize their documents. It is clear there is going to be a problem. They have the woman get out of the car to show them her giant bag. When she is out of the car the girl tells me that this woman is incredibly nervous and that she wouldn't tell the driver what was in the bag when she got in the car. So the police take her bag out and carry it over to the police station to inspect its contents. All four of us get in the car and the driver turns the car around and pulls in from of the militsya station across the street. (yes... I have to admit I thought either the bag was going to go boom or it was full of drugs) As the driver turns the car around the woman hands him several $50 bills and a small white package wrapped in a bag and he hides them under his seat. I'm thinking to myself... what the f%$#!? I don't want to be involved in this mule's problems.

So they all go into the police station while I sit in the car. Unfortunately, the driver decides to move the little envelope of god knows what to the open dashboard in front of me before he gets out. Then my mom calls me... something that rarely happens (I think this was the third time since I left the United States). We talk for a little while, but I was obviously preoccupied with the situation that was unfolding around me. I keep most of the details to myself so she doesn't freak out... but had to tell her something to get off the phone.

This was only the first checkpoint on the trip to Ferghana. I knew there would be many more along the way. Even if the woman wasn't doing anything illegal, we were sure to face this problem at every checkpoint along the way. Being only on the outskirts of Tashkent City, I was ready to go back to the station and find another ride to Ferghana.

20 minutes into our pitstop, the girl leaves the station and comes back to the car. She tells me that for some reason that they thought she was with the other woman (and the other woman didn't help matters by just standing there silently). I tell her I am going to leave and ask if she wants to get a taxi back to the station to get another car. She agrees. There is one problem... we can't get the trunk open to get my bag out. The driver sees we are trying to leave so he comes out to try to get us back in the car. As this happens, the sketch woman tells the cops she gave the driver money so the militsya come down to check things out. Without hesitation, the driver quickly hands them her 'goods' (minus the cash).

At this point, I am fully convinced that we are all going to end up in an Uzbek prison. To my surprise the driver just gets in the car with us and we appear to be leaving without the woman. He turns the car around and everything seems ok. Just when I think we are back on our way, he stops the car on the side of the road next to where we initially had our passports checked. He gets out and runs back across the street. This time, though, he left the keys in the ignition so I grab them and jump out of the car to try to force the trunk open. No luck. Then I see them bringing the woman's giant bag down the stairs and toward us. There was no way she was getting back into the car with us after this 45 minute delay. We tell the driver hell no. So what happens? He and the militsya guy leave the bag on the side of the road and we take off.

Back on our way, we start to relax. Of course we want to know, what was in the little package and the big bag? The driver tells us that the little package only had a few dollars and some gold jewelry in it. In my mind, this is really nothing to get so worked up over, so I wonder if we got the true story. And in the big bag... just some old clothes. Something didn't add up... why would she be so nervous? At this point I was just happy to not be in prison so I shrugged it off, thinking to myself "Oh well... not my problem." But why did they let the driver go after he hid her 'goods'? Simply because he told them his brother worked for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They let him go rather than risk having problems if he was telling the truth.

The rest of the journey passed without incident... until we were in front of my apartment. The reason I couldn't open the trunk earlier was because the trunk was broken. The militsya had dented in the trunk when they closed it after taking out the woman's bag in Tashkent. The driver had take apart the whole back of his car at 1:30 am in the dark. After 10 minutes of fumbling in the dark, I finally had my bag and could call the adventure complete.

2 weeks ago:
It was late when I finally went to get a car. It was a little after midnight by the time I was finally on the road to Ferghana. I was tired and didn't feel like waiting for other passengers so I paid for a whole car. I figured I would just lay down in the back and sleep. As we took the long, straight road from Tashkent it started getting foggy. We were still moving at a good pace so I decided to try to get some sleep. I dozed off for a while.

About an hour later I sat up. We were ascending the mountain and moving at a snails pace. The fog was so thick we had little choice but to follow inches from the center divider. The driver, seeing I was awake, attempted to have a conversation with me in Russian. I wasn't really in the mood, but I humored him. This night was going to be a long one.

Heading down the other side of the mountain, the fog would let up sporadically and our pace would increase accordingly. I figured I had kept the driver entertained long enough so I decided to try to catch some more shuteye.

When I wake up from my light sleep, I instantly notice something is not right. The car isn't moving. So I sit up and realize my driver has reclined his seat and pulled his cap over his eyes. It is now 4am and we are stopped on the side of the road in an unidentifiable city. I am a bit pissed at this point. I just want to get home and get and hour or two of sleep in my bed. I didn't want to pay this guy to sit on the side of the road while he took a nap. So I start making a lot of noise putting my jacket on. Being the middle of the night, there aren't any other cars around to take me the rest of the way. I figure maybe I will get out of the car to stretch my legs and make a bit of noise to show my displeasure with the situation.

The driver wakes up, takes the keys from the ignition, turns to me and says, "Mozhno?" Figuring that driving the rest of the way myself is preferable to sitting on the side of the road... I snatch the keys from his hand and we trade places.

It turned out that we were in Kokand; about 100km from Ferghana. So while the 'driver' slept in the back, I drove the last leg at about 160km/h. I was home a little over 40 minutes later (and not the usual hour plus). The only strange thing along the way was a (presumably drunk) man in all black doing the central asian squat in the middle of the road at 4:30am. He came very close to becoming road kill.

I was hesitant to pay the full fare once we arrived, seeing as how I drove a third of the way. Being 5am, though, I preferred sleep to arguing and paid the agreed upon fare. Plus, it was kind of nice to be driving again so I wasn't too upset.

1 weeks ago:
This weeks driver set new land speed records for the journey back from Tashkent. The guy was a great driver... we made it to my apartment in less than 3 1/2 hours! This was no small feat considering the roads were still in desperate need of repair after the winter rain and snow took there toll. He pretty much followed the logic that if you go fast enough, you will glide right over the potholes. This worked really well except on one oversized hole that actually did a bit of damage. Nevertheless, he kept going at breakneck speed. On top of that, his car smelled clean and he didn't blast the music. He even asked before he stopped to buy some water! Definitely one of the most hassle free rides home to date.

theological thermodynamics

2005-04-14T03:30:00.000-07:00

Apparently, Heaven is hotter than Hell, or at least that is what science tells us. Using science and the Holy Bible as guides, an unknown researcher determined that Heaven is 977°F and Hell is less than 455°F. In either case, they both are too hot for my taste (I prefer the high-80s with a nice offshore breeze). Check out the site to see how they arrived at these results and how more recent calculations may challenge these findings.

the kyrgyz fallout

2005-04-13T23:19:00.000-07:00

With Akayev resigning, life in Kyrgyzstan seems to have returned to normal for most. I wonder how much difference the recent changes will really make. There may be some reduction in government corruption, but it will still exist. The country doesn't really have any natural resources, except maybe clean water. A year from now, the people will still be poor and unemployed. Sometimes the people focus too much of their attention on the government rather than themselves. After the velvet revolution in Georgia, people expected everything to miraculously get better. It's over a year later and the same problems still seem plague the country.

Part of the problem is that people want something for nothing. They don't really want to work to make things better. They are opportunists. When authoritarian leaders like Akayev are removed from power, there is no one to keep the opportunists in check. This was evident in the nights following his departure when Bishkek was looted. Even with the new government up and running, the opportunists haven't stopped. The land grab currently going on in the outskirts of Bishkek is a perfect example. The opportunists are serving to further destabilize and already unstable situation.

Just how stable the new government is in Kyrgyzstan is anyone's guess. As Kyrgyzstan faces its post-Akayev future, some rifts are already emerging. The two main players now in Kyrgyz politics are interim President Kurmanbek Bakiev and former political prisoner Felix Kulov. Bakiev is from the poorer south and lead the demonstrations that toppled Akayev. Kulov is from Bishkek, the country's economic and political center. He spent the past four years in prison on charges that many believe were politically motivated. His time in prison may cause problems should he run for President (and many believe he will). Both men enjoy popular support in their respected region, but are seen as becoming increasingly competitive with each other. The prospect of a civil war is what everyone fears most.

Akayev has accused American organizations of helping to remove him from office. The fallout from this statement is already being seen in Uzbekistan. Ferghana.ru has an interesting, if somewhat unfocused, article about how Uzbek authorities are getting rid of organizations that they think are trying to instigate revolution. What is good about the article is that is discusses some of the key differences between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Another interesting point the article makes is when it calls the president's daughter 'the worst irritant'. The woman is a constant topic of conversation here and I have never heard her mentioned in a good way. The people know how much of the country she controls and are less than thrilled about it.

The Kyrgyz revolution has definitely had an impact on the Uzbek part of the Ferghana Valley. Opposition groups may be inspired, but the common person is finding life just keeps getting harder. With the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border essentially closed, trade between the countries is now next to nothing. Prices are on the rise as the cheap Chinese made goods that made there way to Uzbekistan through Kyrgyzstan have dried up. People can no longer easily visit family members who happen to live on the opposite side of the border. Things are getting harder for people here, but it remains to be seen what they will do about it.

overheard

2005-04-08T02:16:00.000-07:00

An Uzbek, shot of vodka in hand, saying to a German:

"The Russians tought us how to drink, but they didn't teach us when to stop."

tulip revolution?

2005-03-24T21:39:00.000-08:00

Things changed quite a bit in one day in Kyrgyzstan. Akayev has fled and the new leadership has been named. It is now being called the 'tulip revolution'. Last night things descended into lawlessness. Gangs of young men were out looting the stores of Bishkek. A friend tells me that Beta Stores, Tsum, Narodnee and the Plaza were all looted. One (non-Kyrgyz) friend was attacked last night and beaten. He has cuts and bruises and now lacks a passport, but is alright none the less.

Things have calmed down considerably today. From what I am told, the streets of Bishkek are quiet and it is like nothing happened. In Osh, the people are feeling good about the changes and things are operating as normal.

People here in Uzbekistan have finally started to really talk about it. It has moved from a passive interest to an active interest. The are paying close attention to the Russian news outlets for the latest information. Comments have varied. One person said, "It would not be so easy here in Uzbekistan." Another remarked, "I wish they would throw some rocks at our police." It is interesting to read about how the Kyrgyz turmoil is being reported in the regional press.

kyrgyz unrest part 2

2005-03-24T02:38:00.000-08:00

The situation in Kyrgyzstan appears to be deteriorating rapidly. The main government building in the capital of Bishkek was overrun today by protestors and there are running street battles with sticks and stones. People are fearful things will quickly turn to bloodshed. I got a message last night from a friend in Bishkek who said things got bad really fast. He said that Bishkek had been totally militarized and the militia had been armed with orders to fire on civilians. At the time of the message he was preparing to evacuate north to Kazakhstan. Another friend in Bishkek just wrote saying that the opposition took over the White House and the Defense Ministry today.

Last summer you could tell the Kyrgyz people were angry. They were unemployed and unhappy with what was going on around them. At the time, a lot of their anger seemed focused on foreigners because they were all perceived to have money. It now seems like they have focused their anger on the internal causes of their problems.

People here in Uzbekistan don't really seem interested in or willing to talk about what is going on with their next door neighbors. Some say it will just calm down eventually. Some think there will be bloodshed before things go back to normal. Others just said that Kyrgyzstan has always been a very dangerous place.

kyrgyz unrest

2005-03-23T03:59:00.000-08:00

The West seems to finally be taking notice of Central Asia again for the first time since the United States went into Afghanistan in 2001. This time the focus is on the unrest in Kyrgyzstan following the February parliamentary elections. The opposition claims that the government of Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev is corrupt and rigged the elections. They say that the election of two of his children to parliament is an attempt to secure his legacy. People have taken to the streets and it appears that they have taken control in the southern cities of Jalal-Abad and Osh. In the capital of Bishkek, protests where violently put to an end after Akayev appointed a hardliner as the head of security.

In the BBC's article on why Kyrgyzstan matters, author Leonid Ragozin states accurately that:

The outside world has been watching events unfolding in Kyrgyzstan with a mixture of excitement and fear. Excitement because this could be the beginning of another "velvet revolution" in a former Soviet country. Fear because in such a poor and volatile region as Central Asia, it may not be as non-violent or democratic as those in Ukraine or Georgia.

Kyrgyzstan's Central Asian neighbors have all taken notice. The authoritarian leaders fear the Kyrgyz contagion will spill across their borders and threaten their regimes. The Uzbek Foreign Ministry in Bishkek issued a statement on the events taking place in Kyrgyzstan that expressed their 'concern' and called for a 'peaceful' solution without 'external interference'.

In this part of the Ferghana Valley, things are calm. People are starting to talk about what is taking place across the border in Osh (where the majority are ethnic Uzbek). One person did ask me jokingly if I felt like taking a trip to Osh. Security was no different than usual at the Tashkent and Ferghana airports this morning.

misc

2005-03-23T01:01:00.000-08:00

a few things:

No more oversized house. I moved a week ago to a new apartment in the center of town. It is basically across the street from work so I can just roll out of bed and into the office now. It is a lot smaller than the house, but still more than I really need. It isn't as nice as the house, but is a quarter of the price. I was impressed by my new landlord though. Not because she did anything special, but because she did what she said she would do. Most landlords in this part of the world ignore your every request once you have paid and moved in. She fixed all the problems and more so I think this apartment will work out well. The only thing I really miss? Having a washing machine.
One of my few expat friends in Ferghana has been sent home. She helped the local community to put on the Vagina Monologues and Peace Corps didn't approve. Without so much as a written warning, they sent her home. It is sad because she had the local community behind her and was doing some great work getting people to talk about women's issues (something that is definitely needed in this society). She will be missed by all. Hopefully her appeal will be successful and we will see her back here shortly.

you go daddy

2005-03-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

Let me take a second to talk about a company I really like called Go Daddy. For those who don't know about Go Daddy, they are primarily a domain name registrar. They are the people you go to when you want to buy a .com, .net, etc. domain name. If you want to get your business on the internet quickly and cheaply I recommend you check them out. Domain names are about $8 per year if you register with them and the whole process takes about 5 minutes.

Why do I like them (aside from there quality service and competitive prices)? Well, they have personality and generally seem to care about their customers. It seems to me that it starts at the top with their founder and president, Bob Parsons. Take a second to read his bio; he's an interesting guy. One thing he says really stands out:

'Since 1997 when I started Go Daddy, there was only one principle that I used to build the company. It's a simple one. Do the right thing for the customers and provide them with as good a deal as possible.'

In my opinion he has done a great job of following this principle. This past week Go Daddy once again demonstrated this principle in action when the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (part of the Department of Commerce) decided that the First Amendment rights to anonymous free speech didn't matter. They essentially decided that .us domain owners have no right to privacy. Go Daddy took an immediate stand against NTIA and thier invasive new policy. Their general counsel Christine Jones went as far as to say:

'This has nothing to do with them clarifying an existing contract. We've been selling proxy registrations for three years; they knew it but never said anything against it. They established a new policy, and for them to say otherwise is pure crap.'

I admire a company that isn't afraid to take a stand and fight for its customers. If you ever need to register a domain name, I highly recommend you give them your business.

driven

2005-02-28T22:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was out with a client looking at a site that is on the outskirts of town. On the way back, the client stops the car, gets out and hands me the keys. He then has me drive to his factory. After going around his factory for a bit, he has me drive us back to the office. So I got to drive a Matiz! Not just any Matiz mind you, it was one given to him by none other than the President himself. I almost got pulled over on the way back to the office because I was driving a bit fast as I passed a few militsia. He tells me, 'Don't worry, the President gave me the car." I've now driven in 4 countries: USA, Spain, Emirates and Uzbekistan.

For those who haven't visited Uzbekistan (what are you waiting for?), the country is populated by Daewoo cars. There is a Daewoo factory in the Ferghana Valley that supplies the country. It is incredibly expensive to import foreign cars because of import duties, so everyone drives a Daewoo or an old Soviet car. At one time the cars were relatively cheap, but the value of the UZS was realigned and the prices went up dramatically. People can essentially choose between the Matiz (pictured below) or the larger Nexia sedan. You also see quite a few of the older model Ticos and the Damas micro-vans driving around. If you can read Russian, you can build your own Matiz on the UZ-Daewoo website.

The Daewoo Matiz - photo from uzdaewoo.ru

bishkek revisited

2005-02-28T04:07:00.000-08:00

I was in Bishkek for the past few days for work. After a few months away, I looked at the city with new eyes. It looked much nicer than the dirty city I spent the summer in thanks to a fresh coat of snow. It was also good to see some great friends and visit some old hangouts.

Elections took place on Sunday in Kyrgyzstan. The OSCE seemed to be all over the place watching out for any type of funny business. The elections for parliament were being watched carefully for an indication of what may follow in the presidential election that is just eight months away. Kyrgyzstan is seen as Central Asia's best hope for democracy to take root. The West has poured a lot of money into the country trying to prop it up and create stability. The United States pays a healthy sum of money to use the Bishkek airport as an airbase to support operations in the region. The country, nonetheless, has remained poor. People are unemployed and don't see the situation improving. Over the past year, pick-pocketing has given way to beatings. Most of the expats I know in Bishkek (both male and female) have been attacked at one time or another. People are watching President Akayev to see if he will relinquish control and to see if Ukraine's orange revolution will spill over into Kyrgyzstan.

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan at night on Feb. 24, 2005

do you hear the beat?

2005-02-18T05:20:00.000-08:00

The drums of war are beating again in the United States. The lead up to the Iraq War seems to be repeating itself, only this time with Iran and possibly Syria in the crosshairs.

Ponder this:

For the dialogue we have substituted the communique: 'This is the truth,' we say. 'You can discuss it as much as you want; we aren't interested. But in a few years there'll be the police who will show you we are right.'
-The Fall page 45

to work and back

2005-02-17T05:02:00.000-08:00

So I had an adventure getting to work and back yesterday. As I walk to where I usually catch a taxi, I had to laugh at what I saw happen... although it was a little freaky as it happened. Yesterday morning it was snowing pretty heavily. The snow was very wet and the roads were icy. I was walking behind a woman and in front of us we watched as a Damas on the other side of the road lost control. It was trying to stop and let someone off. As it lost control it started sliding toward our side of the road. It all kind of happened in slow motion (and it really wasn't moving that fast). It started to spin and come toward us. When it finally came to a rest, it was sitting in front of us perfectly facing the other direction as if it had been going that way the whole time. A young man got out laughing uncomfortably and we all kind of looked at each other and smiled. It was as if the driver had been trying to do a crazy drop off, but we all knew he wasn't.

This isn't where the story ends though. With the Damas back on its way (and out of my way) I waited for a taxi. Two men, one middle aged and one older, came up and waited alongside me. A taxi came shortly thereafter and we all piled in. The middle age man seemed excited to be getting in the taxi and having us all join him. Once inside I realized why. The whole car smelled of weed. The two men were completely high. It was actually pretty funny because the conversation was so random. After a slower than usual drive because of the weather, I finally arrived at work and wished them well as they departed.

The ride home was not nearly that nice. I took a taxi that already had a passenger in the front seat. The driver agreed to take me for 800; a fair price. I had a weird feeling when I got in though. The passenger was giving my a creepy vibe and I could tell he was friends with the driver. He tried to start talking to me in Russian. I don't think his Russian was much better than mine. He started asking me questions and for my phone number because he wanted to come over to my house and drink. At this point I started playing dumb and saying in Russian that I didn't understand. I was starting to feel a bit uneasy. Before I got to my house I told the driver to stop near a store that I shop at often in case there was a problem and since I didn't really want to let them know where I lived. I hand them 800 and the passenger starts saying that it isn't enough and trying to say it won't even pay for the gas. Not in the mood to argue I open the door and get out and the guy tries to drive away before I get out. The door closes on its own and I walk away as they drive off in an erratic manner honking the horn. Once they are out of sight, I turn around and actually start walking toward my house. Taxis here can be really, really sketchy. Luckily this is first time I've really had to deal with it and nothing bad happened.

we don't need no stinkin' accreditation

2005-02-11T00:42:00.000-08:00

Living in Uzbekistan isn't as simple as just having a visa. No, you need a local registration stamp that displays your local address. You also need to get accredited at the national level. Up until recently, accreditation was handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). On New Years Day the task of issuing accreditation was shifted to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). Also on New Years Day, everyone's accreditation stamp expired. Every foreigner had to get an HIV test and reregister with the MOJ, but the MOJ doesn't seem to want to issue the new stamps. This wasn't really an issue for the most part and people just went about their business without them. I had a few questions at the airport about where my new stamp was so I told them that the purpose of my trip was to get it. The second time I just showed my local registration and they never even asked. Now, things are starting to get interesting though. Most people are here on short term visas that are expiring and the MFA no longer wants to issue new visas to people who aren't accredited. People are starting to get told that they will have to leave. Some are already here illegally without visas.

On January 28, Uzbekistan's President threatened to crack down on western aid groups. It is claimed that many groups are encouraging political dissent and are operating outside of their declared scope. The speech seems to have been inspired by the events in that took place in Ukraine and to a lesser extent Georgia.

See a connection?

What does all this mean to me? Not a whole lot. I have a year long, multiple entry visa. My accreditation expired like everyone else's, but my local registration allows me to get around just fine. I applied a month and a half ago for new accreditation, but have yet to hear anything. On the bright side, the country director for my project may have to leave.

voice work

2005-02-10T23:15:00.000-08:00

After my New Years Eve public singing debut (a story for another time), my vocal cords were once again called into action. This time to play the role of 'man'. I spent yesterday evening helping friends record English dialogues for their TOEFL classes. The dialogues in the TOEFL guide are really quite random and ask questions that left us all scratching our heads. If you are a native English speaker and have some free time to kill, check out the TOEFL website. Play with some of the practice questions and see how well you do. For better or worse, most non-English speakers are learning English with the guides put out for this test.

attack of the one-celled creatures

2005-01-25T22:13:00.000-08:00

If it seems like I've been a bit lazy about posting lately, there is a reason. I have been attacked by some sort of one-celled creature. They have been ravaging my stomach and digestive system. All part of the joy of living in the middle of nowhere in a third world country. Over the past two weeks, I have received all kinds of 'wonderful' local advice. Let me list some of the more interesting bits:

Drink vodka with black pepper
It is because your stomach is cold, you need a warmer coat
After taking only my temperature and blood pressure, a doctor decided I needed 5 different medications and that I have an ulcer, food poisoning and amoebas
(from someone not a doctor) You need an injection of antibiotics
You need someone to cook for you
You should eat soup
You should eat rice
You should eat vegetables
You shouldn't eat vegetables
You should drink dairy
You shouldn't drink dairy
(two weeks after it started) It's because young men cook for themselves and don't eat breakfast
(wisdom of my boss) I CERTAINLY would have done [insert random tidbit] and I CERTAINLY would have done [insert random tidbit] and I CERTAINLY would have done [insert random tidbit]...

Here are my solutions... clean the water supply, stop using the community eating method (where every dish is fair game for double dipping, hands and used forks and spoons), wash the dishes with soap and clean water at the restaurants and have the cooks wash their hands after using the restroom. That cleanliness grading scale used for Los Angeles restaurants sounds like a wonderful idea to implement here. To bad it would mean closing every place you could eat. Not that it matters. All of the places serve the same 2 or 3 soup dishes, the same poorly cut piece of meat smothered in something like breading and grease and shashlik. Heaven forbid you ask for variety?!

The battle for control of my stomach wages on. Some days it seems like my medicine cocktail is working, others it doesn't. I think that all I need is some Pepto to straighten things out. Unfortunately, nothing shipped to me from the States ever arrives so I ran out long ago.

come get your freedom

2005-01-25T21:48:00.000-08:00

Twenty-seven times in a twenty-one-minute speech? That's how many times Bush said the word freedom in his inauguration speech. He seems to have a bag full of 'freedom' ready to hand out to the world. His sales pitch of an inaugural speech was recently critiqued in an interesting op/ed piece in The Nation.

dusted

2005-01-18T20:12:00.000-08:00

It finally happened... it snowed here in Ferghana. It was a light dusting last night that just looked like frost in the morning and was gone soon after the sun came up. I don't look forward to getting any more. Snow is fine as long as I can appreciate it through a window while sitting next to a warm fire. Unfortunately, my nice big house is freezing cold at the moment because the gas pressure is so low.

making news

2005-01-09T20:01:00.000-08:00

Well, not really. I was at a local cafe when someone took a picture that ended up in the news. See if you can find me in the article at ferghana.ru.

happy new year

2005-01-01T04:32:00.000-08:00

welcoming the new year at barkhan in Tashkent

guilty pleasures

2004-12-29T05:00:00.000-08:00

I hate to admit it. I like a reality show. I couldn't stand the things in the States. Over the summer I started watching a show called Dom 2 (House 2). I don't know why, but I liked it. It is absolute cheese and in Russian but it is pretty entertaining. I can even understand enough to get an idea about what is going on. The basic idea is that people need to couple up and fall in Love. Those who don't fall in 'love' get voted off and new people are added. Sometimes the couples are placed in special rooms that are more comfortable. Over the summer they were building the house and recently finished it. Eventually they will stop adding new people and get it down to just 3 couples with the winning couple chosen by audience voting. I haven't figured out exactly what they win though. The show is on every night at 21:00 on the TNT network.

While on the subject of pop culture, I am still working on the central asia club report. New ETA, sometime in 2005.

you might just learn something

2004-12-29T04:34:00.000-08:00

Ignorance is bliss, or so they say. The lengths to which so-called conservatives will go to end open debate is amazing. Students threatening teachers and labeling them unamerican or even anti-American because they don't like an opposing point of view the teacher made them study. Suing a school because they made you read part of the Quran? Heaven forbid you actually open your eyes and realize that the world is bigger than Smalltown, USA. Guess what? Not everyone thinks like you. In fact, most probably don't. Get over your own self-righteousness!

Learning is about being exposed to different viewpoints and challenging your own. What are these people so afraid of? Open your minds, you might just learn something.

how do you define democracy?

2004-12-28T03:02:00.000-08:00

from dictionary.com:

de·moc·ra·cy (d-mkr-s)n. pl. de·moc·ra·cies
1. Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives.
2. A political or social unit that has such a government.
3. The common people, considered as the primary source of political power.
4. Majority rule.
5. The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.

So with that said, there were elections held here in Uzbekistan on Sunday. They were a bit overshadowed by the dramatic runoff in Ukraine that took place the same day. The BBC details the not so surprising outcome of the Uzbek election in its article titled OSCE raps Uzbek 'no-choice' poll. It is interesting that an 85% turn out is being claimed. I haven't met a single person that actually voted. Just like in the USA, another election came and went and nothing really changed. The sun still came up.

tashkent photos

2004-12-23T01:24:00.000-08:00

Here are a few photos of Tashkent...

Tashkent at night

Snowing in Tashkent on Dec. 18

More snow in Tashkent on Dec. 18

tashkent or bust

2004-12-14T06:56:00.000-08:00

It was one of those days. Or should I say nights. Well, actually I guess it was both. Last Friday I had a ticket to fly from Ferghana to Tashkent on a 10pm flight. This was going to be my first time flying within Uzbekistan. Up until Friday, a Nexia had been the preferred mode of transport to and from Tashkent. The flight was supposed to be a little over 40 minutes and only cost a little over $12 so it sounded pretty good.

I leave my house around 8 to give plenty of time since I have no idea what to expect. I arrive at the airport and go through a quick security check at the entrance. The airport is almost like a hanger with its high ceilings and is only partially lit. It is cold and there are only two other people waiting for the flight. I sit down in one of the 4 seats and wait for them to announce boarding. It is cold and I feel tired. The two people next to me eventually move up onto the ledge that covers the radiators and start to doze off. A few more people slowly trickle in. After an hour and a half of waiting I can't sit any longer so I pace a little. The woman sitting on the ledge points out it is actually warm. It turns out she's an American. I sit on the lukewarm ledge and start to thaw out a little. A small boy walks to up to the front desk and asks when the plane will arrive. I think the man tells him 11pm, but I'm not sure. I start talking to the woman* next to me and we exchange the usual information... who are we, what are we doing here.

Around 11:30 they make an announcement that they will start boarding our flight. What this actually meant was just that they were going to check our tickets, put us through another security check and move us into another room (and this one was even colder). C and I continue our conversation and the wait passes somewhat quickly. I make a phone call and find out that our plane actually started in Moscow and had two other stops in Uzbekistan before coming to Ferghana.

Around 12:30 we finally walk out onto the runway and see the Tu-154 that is supposed to take us to Tashkent. It's quite a large plane for the 15 or so passengers. Unfortunately, we didn't get onto the plane. We just stood there. Under the star filled sky. Freezing. 10 minutes pass. Then a van resembling an ambulance pulls up. It sits there for about 5 more minutes doing nothing. Two men in fatigues open the back and then stand around for another 5 minutes. As this is going on, I notice two men walk up to the wing of the aircraft and drain a liquid into a glass jar. One swirls the liquid around while the other observes. I didn't think much of it.

They take a man out of the back of the ambulance on a stretcher and set him on the ground. He is wrapped in blankets, but I can see that he is also wearing fatigues. Eventually, they get around to carrying him up the stairs to the plane and amazingly avoid dropping him.

After a half hour of dancing around on the runway trying to keep warm, we were finally allowed to board. Not that we left. We just sat there. The stairs were taken away. The doors were closed. The flight attendants served beverages. It was almost as if we went through the motions of the flight. An hour passed. We still sat. Most of the passengers were falling asleep as it was now after 2 in the morning. After another hour and a half of dozing in and out of consciousness, a crackly voice came across the cabin loudspeakers. We weren't going anywhere tonight. Time to get off the plane. No idea why. No idea how I was going to find a Nexia to get to Tashkent at 3:30 in the morning.

There we are in the dark, empty airport trying not to freeze. The other passengers are kind of standing around in a daze too. There are no taxis at the airport at this hour. We aren't even sure if this is a temporary thing or if we should just go home. I give my new friend C my cell phone and she calls to try to get a driver to pick us up and take us to another American's house so we can figure out what best to do next. While we wait for her driver to arrive the other passengers slowly disappear into the night. Then a militsiya man comes up and tells us to follow him. This makes us both a little nervous and we are hesitant to follow him. Unfortunately we were having to rely on my broken Russian at this point. I tell him our friend is coming to pick us up. He still insists. So we follow him. He was actually a really decent guy. He showed us to a warm little room and put on a movie for us to watch.

Another man came into the room about 10 minutes later and I decided to ask him what was wrong with the plane (in half-asleep broken Russian). He told me that they had put bad fuel in it in Moscow and something about the engine being damaged. Now I understood what they were doing before we boarded the plane... they were sampling the fuel. He said it might fly around 11 in the morning, but he wasn't too sure.

Around 4:45 the driver arrived and took us to J's* house. What a great guy. Even in the middle of the night he was warm and hospitable. We decided it was best to wait another hour to try to get a car. Around 6:30 I started trying to make arrangements to get one of my regular Ferghana-Tashkent drivers. By 7:30 it was all arranged. J gave us a great breakfast so our stomachs were filled as we left to meet the driver. At 8:30 the driver arrived and we were finally headed in the right direction.

Even during the drive, though, it still seemed like we weren't destined to make it. Our driver got pulled over and had to deal with the militsiya. He seemed pretty pissed when he got back in the car. He even peeled out. At the checkpoints our passports were scrutinized more than usual. All of the gas stations before we headed into the mountains were out of gas and we were already on empty. I was sure I was going to have to push the car over the mountain. We finally made it, though, at about 1:30 in the afternoon... about 18 hours after I left my house.

It was one of those trips you just had to be patient and laugh about. And laugh we did. C was a wonderful travel companion. We kept each other sane and in good spirits throughout. I may have lost a day of my trip, but I made a new friend... a good deal in my book.

*I leave out names only out of respect for people's privacy.

uzbekistan thought of the day: part 2

2004-12-10T04:47:00.000-08:00

A friend got a free t-shirt today from Unitel (one of the cell phone companies here) when he bought a new SIM card. On the packaging for the t-shirt it read:

"Made in Uzbekistan by KOREANS"

The funniest part is that I didn't add the emphasis to make it more dramatic. That was how it was actually printed!

constitution day

2004-12-10T04:08:00.000-08:00

Today I'll return to life in Uzbekistan after my little detour to Cuba yesterday.

December 8th was Constitution Day here in Uzbekistan. I'm not really sure how people celebrated it. It was on a Wednesday so it wasn't like you could go away for the weekend or anything. It seemed like most people just stayed home and enjoyed having a day off.

I decided to host a little dinner at my place and invite some of the Peace Corps volunteers over. We all met in the afternoon to go to the bazaar for supplies. Amazingly, this was my first time at the bazaar in Ferghana. It only took two months. I guess I just prefer to not have to hold my valuables in a death grip the whole time I shop so I don't get pick-pocketed. The bazaar was thankfully (and surprisingly) somewhat empty. It was a lot less chaotic than we expected for a holiday. We got all the supplies we needed to cook up our interpretation of Chinese food. We also bought what can only be described of as a heavenly sugar brick. It was made from sugar, more sugar, a little more sugar and maybe a little bit of coconut for flavoring. We consumed nearly a half kilo of this wonderful treat over the course of the afternoon.

We cooked a massive amount of food for the four of us. It was nice to finally have leftovers in my fridge. Nothing like a little Chinese food after a hard day at work. We had planned to watch a movie after dinner, but the power grid wouldn't have it. The TV kept turning itself off because the power wasn't stable enough. I tried unplugging everything in the house and turning off the lights... no luck. The longest it would stay on was about 5 minutes. Funny thing is that after everyone left it worked fine. During peak usage in the evenings I have given up on watching TV. I have to wait until about 8 or 9 and then it's all good (unless I want to run the washing machine too).

vive la biotec

2004-12-09T05:38:00.000-08:00

When most people think of Cuba, they think of cigars and Fidel (and maybe rum).

the partagas factory in havana

Most are amazed to learn that Cuba has a very advanced biotech industry. Cuban biotech developed the world's first meningitis B vaccine. They have become experts at producing cheap generic versions of patent protected drugs for the developing world. Wired recently wrote a pretty good article about the Cuban Biotech Revolution. While the article criticizes their business sense, their hearts are in the right place. I was lucky enough to be allowed to see the work they were doing first hand last year.

signage in the heber biotec lobby

Along with several colleagues, I did a consulting project for Heber Biotec S.A. that considered the impact the lifting of the U.S. embargo would have.

Considering how crippled Cuba was when the Soviet subsidies dried up, it is amazing to see what they've done. In a country where doctors drive taxis because they can earn a better living, biotech is a shining star. Just take a look at Heber's product pipeline and you will be amazed at the products they are working on and how far they've come toward curing some of the world's biggest killers. Cubans may be poor, but at least they have cheap and reliable health care.
a pharmacy in havana

Former President Jimmy Carter has praised their work, while Bush says they are just making weapons (but who doesn't he say that about?). The embargo seems pretty silly when you realize that it prevents life saving drugs not available in the U.S. from reaching Americans who may need them. After decades in effect, it has only served to hurt the average Cuban. Fidel isn't going anywhere. His foresight to move into biotech will assure that he has the cash to remain as feisty as ever in the face of tired American threats.

uzbekistan thought of the day

2004-12-03T05:26:00.000-08:00

You know you've got a tricked out Lada when you put some Daewoo hubcaps on it.

coming soon: I'll finally get around to writing about clubbing in Central Asia.

got power?

2004-12-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

Well, that depends. Over the past week the power supply has been less and less stable. We've had the power go out a few times at work since I've been here. It was usually once every couple of days. A nuisance, but bearable. It died a few times while I was at home on the weekends too, but it was only for a few hours in the morning. This past week has been everyday, several times per day. The annoying part is that it hasn't been fully going out... just dimming enough for my computer to reset itself. Great fun when you've got work to do. My auto-save is now set for every 4 minutes. When it does go out all the way it takes about a minute for the building's generator to kick in. Then when the main power comes back on, they turn off the generator and things go off again before coming back on. After the second or third time this happens it gets hard not to yell out a few choice words. We have three extra battery backups for the computers but none of them work. It's all part of the adventure of living in Uzbekistan.

a power outage in ferghana

Ain't no party like an Uzbek party

2004-11-30T20:18:00.000-08:00

Birthday parties are always good in my office because it is the one time I see people relax and enjoy themselves. Sometimes they seem to be taking things too seriously. Get a little vodka in them and their true personalities start to shine. On Monday we celebrated our driver Ravshan's birthday at his house. It was a great dinner (in the States we would probably call it a feast). There were, of course, toasts sprinkled throughout the evening. By the end of my stay here, I may actually be able to give a decent one. After dinner and quite a few shots of vodka we were all dancing in the living room. A laptop and some speakers provided the music. Good thing too because the power went out for about an hour in the middle of the festivities.

the feast

Mumin says, "Vodka makes you strong!"

the birthday boy gets down to the music

Furkat mixes it up (in the dark no less)

Mumin, Furkat, Davron and Albina relax after dinner.

But just how angry?

2004-11-28T20:57:00.000-08:00

A friend sent me a link over the weekend to a site called Condi Rice is Angry. The name alone was enough to make me laugh. Then I clicked on the link and the first line on the page read:

"We at Condi Rice Is Angry would like to congratulate our subject on being named the new Secretariat of The Fatherland. To think that Dr. Rice has worked as hard as she has her whole life, just to become a secretary. "

I couldn't hold the laughter in. My colleagues gave me a strange look so I showed them what I was laughing at. I think some of the humor was lost. Nevertheless, it started my Monday morning off on the right track. Check out the site for some wonderful pics of Condi at her finest.

burn baby burn

2004-11-21T06:06:00.000-08:00

The weather here is still very mild. It rained the other day, but the mercury still hovers around 15 C on most days. The coldest I’ve seen in the morning is about 5 C. The trees are still shedding their leaves, which makes it still look like fall. I hear last year all the leaves fell off in about a week. While the colors of the leaves make the city really beautiful when the sun is low in the sky and everything is golden, I must say my eyes and lungs will be relieved when there are no more leaves for people to burn. Every morning people sweep up the leaves into piles (sometimes adding trash to the mix) and set it ablaze.

leaf burning
On my walk to work I will pass about 20 smoldering, smoking mounds. It keeps the streets nice and clean, but it makes the air heavy and suffocating at times. In case you are wondering what Ferghana looks like, here is a picture of the main boulevard.

Ferghana in the fall

Ruza Hayit

2004-11-18T05:14:00.000-08:00

The past month was a month of fasting and prayer for Muslims around the world. This past weekend was the end of Ramadan and was celebrated with a holiday called Ruza Hayit (also known as Eid in other parts of the world). For those who don’t know, Uzbekistan is a predominantly Muslim country. The Ferghana Valley where I live is the most conservative part of the country and many people are very observant. I thought about trying to fast for a day or two, but didn’t realize that liquids were prohibited too. So I quickly dismissed the idea.

Never having lived in a Muslim country, I was curious about Ruza Hayit and how it was celebrated. I asked a few people from my office about it and most said they were going to go spend it with family. They didn’t give me too many details beyond that. While I was eating with some friends from Peace Corps on Saturday night, one of them invited me to come out to his village to spend Hayit with his host family. I was so excited; it sounded like the perfect way to experience the holiday first hand. The plan was to get lunch in Ferghana, head to a bazaar just outside of Ferghana and then off to the village.

Sunday was quite a day. The PCVs got into a deep discussion the night before that lasted into the wee hours of the morning… so they were sleepy. Walking in to town to meet everyone, the smell of food was in the air. It reminded me of the smell of a Thanksgiving feast. I wondered what kind of food awaited me in the village.

As I approached the center of town, I was amazed by how many people I saw on the streets. My sleepy town had come alive. Many people from nearby villages had come into the city to get supplies and celebrate the end of Ramadan.

I met my friends and we started to walk through town to find a place to eat. As we walked through town, I was amazed by people’s behavior. One of my friends is a tall black woman and she gets attention whenever she goes out in public. Black people are a real curiosity to the locals. Usually this means a series of ignorant questions or pointing and whispering. It was appalling how people were acting on this day though. It was ten times worse and the attention was really unwanted. Groups of men following, pointing, talking… it was really uncomfortable. Even when we sat down inside at a café, people were stopping to come in and take a look. She told me that this is why she usually doesn’t like to go out during local holidays. Unfortunately she decided not to come along after lunch, but I don’t blame her.

After lunch Jonathan and I headed off to find a ride to the bazaar. As we walked through the streets there were little explosions about every few seconds. It seemed that every little kid was running around playing with firecrackers, some of which were homemade. From what I was told, this is just the beginning of their firecracker antics. Apparently it gets much worse in the build up to the New Year. Somebody even said they try to put them in people’s pockets as they walk by, but who knows if it is true.

Finding a ride to the bazaar was a little more difficult than expected. We eventually hopped in a taxi. The taxi said it was too late to go the bazaar, but we figured that maybe a few stalls would still be open. The taxi driver was right. It was a ghost town; there wasn’t a soul within sight and there was no evidence that there had ever been a bazaar. We hoped that maybe the bazaar in Margilan would still be open. We still needed to get some gifts to bring for his host family.

The streets of Margilan were still crowded with shoppers. We were able to get plenty of gifts for everyone. Margilan is supposed to be an old city with some history behind it, but exploring that will have to wait for another day. After shopping we headed to the Marshrutka staging area. We piled in and were off to the village.

people shopping in Margilon on Hayit

Oqbo’yra is village of about 6,000 people. We exited the Marshrutka and started walking down a dusty street with houses on both sides. The street was lined with grape vines that had already been prepared for winter. In summer, they would provide much needed relief from the hot summer sun.

the streets of oqbo'yra

The whole village knew Jonathan and would come up and say hello. The people were very friendly. We walked for about ten minutes before arriving at his host family’s house. It had a courtyard in the middle that was surrounded by rooms, a typical home for this part of the world. I was introduced to the extended family that was over for the holiday. I owe Jonathan a big thanks for being my translator throughout the adventure. No opportunity to practice my Russian when everyone speaks Uzbek.

We went to see the village and met a neighbor who invited us into his home for food. The man’s father had passed away in the past year and following tradition, he invited all who came by in for food. We sat down with the men and had a feast lain out before us. We were offered all kinds of fresh fruit, fresh bread, soups, tea and candy. After eating I was introduced to his family. They were so happy to have a guest from so far away. We thanked them for the food and headed back to the host family’s home.

the neighbors in Oqbo'yra

The family insisted that I stay the night and said I would have trouble getting a ride back to town because of the holiday. I had nothing else to do on Monday so I said sure. Jonathan and I then headed off to see the playground that he had built with his family for the village. As we walked down the street, all the children came out and started following along behind us. Just like the pied piper. The playground had a slide and some swings.

Oqbo'yra playground
One kid decided to try the slide headfirst and face planted into the ground. Ouch. She got right back up without a peep. The groundskeeper had taken down the swings for the winter. He had been doing it every night so people wouldn’t steal them, but it sounded like he just got lazy and made winter an excuse to just leave them down. It was getting dark, so we headed back home. On the walk back, we asked some of the kids about the henna on their hands. I’ve seen henna designs plenty of times before, but this is different. The trend here is to just soak your hands in henna. No pattern, no designs… just dye the whole hand. So we asked them why they did. They thought about it for a second, but no one knew. They weren’t really sure why they did it.

see what I mean? no designs!

Back at the house, we went into the, well, I guess it would be called a dining room, to have some more food. Of course they sat me next to the one girl who wasn’t married yet. Then they started to tease her about it. Everyone was having a good laugh.

Ruza Hayit dinner in Oqbo'yra

Eventually, we left with the other men and went to another room to eat some more. After eating, we sat around watching TV and playing with a kitten. The family then decided to watch home videos so we excused ourselves and went to try to walk off some of the food. When we came back, we caught the tail end of the video, which was actually pretty entertaining. By the end of the tape the people at the party were pretty drunk and doing some funny stuff. After the video, it was time for bed.

The next morning we grabbed a quick snack, thanked the family for their hospitality and we were on our way. As we walk down the dusty street, everyone says the traditional greetings to us. We made one quick stop at the village clinic so Jonathan could take care of some work related stuff. I was introduced to the nurses and was again complemented on my looks. One even offered to give me private Uzbek lessons. It was early on a Monday morning, but there were already quite a few people waiting to be treated for various illnesses. Everyone was waiting for the head of the clinic to return from a regional meeting. Apparently the way things always go down is that someone at the top gets yelled at or has a bad and then takes it out on their subordinates. This then gets passed on down through the ranks. I heard a few quick horror stories about nurses crying and passing out from the tongue-lashings they received. While I waited in the hallway I looked over the various signs telling about how to prevent basic health problems common in this part of the world. Jonathan finished up his talks with the director and we headed to the main road to find a marshrutka back to town.

From here on the story isn’t too interesting… well, maybe one bit of humor. On the marshrutka back the girls behind me started talking about me and said I looked like Michael Shumacher. Since I’ve been in Central Asia, I’ve heard Chandler, Brandon and Justin, but this was a first. It was a good weekend with some good people… I can’t complain.

Want to come visit?

2004-11-09T03:07:00.000-08:00

Ever want to come visit? Ever wonder what it is like in my part of the world? Check out the latest happenings in my part of Uzbekistan by reading this article (courtesy of the BBC): Tensions high in Uzbek bazaars.

Locals won't really talk much about it. Some won't even acknowledge it. There have been some other interesting stories I've heard lately too. I'll write about those later though. Basically you can get idea by reading about U.S. Citizens Being Warned of Uzbekistan Danger.

So who's coming to visit?

Amerika

2004-11-08T23:13:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, new Kylie video is on TV. What a distraction… Ok, it’s over. Now one of the three versions of Dragostea Din Tei is on. Won’t this song please go away? Thank god for VIVA’s club rotation. Every Saturday at midnight I get a little taste of the club life I miss so much.

I finished reading Kafka’s Amerika last weekend. Finishing a book is a major accomplishment for me. My attention span is about half a book. My bookshelf used to be filled with books with bookmarks at various points. It is fitting that I finished this book, though, as Kafka never finished it himself. There is a huge gap between the second to last and last chapters and the last chapter just ends abruptly. People speculate about why Kafka ends Amerika the way he does. Some say he had learned what he could from his main character, some say the novel couldn’t continue once the struggle was over. Whatever the reason, it is perfect for my reading style since I actually finished. I will have to be sure to get a copy of The Castle and The Trial since he never finished writing them either.

The book is the story of a young German immigrant named Karl Rossman who is sent to America after a sexual misadventure with a servant. America, the land of the free, is anything but for Karl. He is constantly trying to escape one situation or another. Often he is faced with choices and for some reason makes things harder on himself. Kafka seemed to see his hero as a slave to others; this is evident by the somewhat shocking name Karl says others refer to him as in the last chapter.

It is interesting to read a story of life in America told by someone who had never been. Kafka used books, maps, interviews with returning immigrants and his imagination to create the America described in the novel. Anyone who has been to New York will notice a few descriptions that are a little off. To the modern reader though, a lot of the errors may just be written off as things that have changed since the book was written in 1912.

Toward the end of the book we see a European’s perspective on American democracy; a particularly relevant section given the recent presidential election. Campaigning in America is basically made to look akin to a mob scene. Living overseas during the election, it has been interesting to hear how the rest of the world viewed the election. There was a collective hope that Kerry would win, even though most admitted little would probably change if he did. When Bush was re-elected, it was almost shock. The headlines on the papers ranged from “Oops, they did it again!” to “God help us!” with a picture of Bush in cowboy garb pointing two revolvers at readers.

In the foreword written by E.L. Doctorow in 1996, he talks of how Kafka’s Amerika is historical transplant. He then goes on to pose the question, “And if the police did not ask people on the street for their identity papers in 1913, can we say that they won’t be more likely to do so in 2013?” The sad thing is that we can now answer this question with a definite yes.

Well, anyway, I'm tired.

Settling in...

2004-10-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have arrived in Ferghana (it can be spelled about ten different ways). Actually, I arrived on Oct. 8, but who's paying attention to details. It's a small town of a little over 200,000 people. It is nice here in comparison to Bishkek. The roads are paved, the sidewalks are tiled, the streets are lined with trees and flowers and the buildings are painted in somewhat bright colors. People here are friendly and I don't fear for my life when I walk down the street at night. My two months of Russian aren't all that valuable here, as most speak Uzbek. Makes conversation a bit difficult. People are still friendly just the same. There are very few expats living here; a few peace corps people (and half of them are leaving or left) and 3 or 4 others that work for NGOs. It's taking a little bit of time to adjust to living in such a small town. Things here are quiet and since it is Ramadan, even more so.

I like the house I picked, but it is a lot of room for one person. Hopefully people will come visit and take up some space. Judging by what other volunteers got, I've got it pretty good. I'm so happy not to be on central heat. Not only that, but I have climate control for every room that works by remote control. Come to think of it, I'm spoiled with convenience for this part of the world. Microwave, washing maching, 2 phone lines, satellite with 400+ channels and lighting with battery backup (for those times the power goes out - about once a day). Let me not forget the sauna... excellent for relaxing or drying clothes. One last thing that most Americans would find amusing, a bidet. If the food doesn't agree with you and all you have is sandpaper (that people claim is t.p.) to use, then you will understand why this is almost a necessity.

It is kind of interesting being a minority for the first time in my life. Half the time people just think I'm Russian. If I wanted to, I could probably pull it off since their Russian is about as good as mine. Most of the time I tell them where I'm from and I get one of two responses: 1) "Oh, the governator Schwarzenegger" or 2) "Oh, sin city, casinos and mafia." The second response confused me for a second the first time I heard it, then I realized they thought I said Las Vegas and not Los Angeles. Now I just say Hollywood (or Gollyvood as it's pronounced in this part of the world). I stand out a bit, but it really depends on how I dressed or if I'm talking. It isn't like I'm the first ghostly white person they've seen. On the other hand, black people are still somewhat of a mystery/attraction to locals. Some want to take pictures my black friends, while others just point and whisper.

I'm still undecided about using this site for blogging, but I figure I can always copy things over later. If I don't start writing now, I'll never get around to it. If they ever fix the download issues here, I'll have get a copy of Moveable Type or something running on my own site. I've got a lot of random observations, now if only I could remember them...

Up and running...

2004-08-30T03:31:00.000-07:00

So I've been here for 2 1/2 weeks now and I am finally getting around to getting this up and running. It's too bad I wasn't able to get things set up before I left, but you can only do so much in a week. I may eventually get around to switching this over to my own servers when I get a chance, but that will require something faster than the 28.8 dial up I am currently using.