Ugh -- I have been feeling terrible for the lengthy bout of "radio silence" here on the Vladiblog. And the longer it gets, the more I feel behind, the more stuff there is to report on, and it just snowballs and I feel like I'll never do it all justice. Clearly it would be better to just take the heat off of myself and dash off a few little updates, but that just doesn't appear to be my style, try as I might.
I'm not sure why it's been so hard for me to write any updates in the blog for so long. Partly it's that I've been really busy, which has mainly been a good thing.
I took two research trips in the months of June and July to the other major city in the Russian Far East (yes, there are others aside from ours), Khabarovsk. I've been a big fan of this city since my first visit there with Anya and Dan in fall 2007. It makes a nice escape from Vlad -- green; broad straight avenues to stroll on; clean, well cared for, etc. I went to collect some material in the archives for my history of tick-borne encephalitis in the RFE. My June journey was the first time away from Anya alone, and both of the trips were hard to take in the direct sense of having to leave her, and in having to arrange for Dan and Marina, her nanny, to pick up the slack on things that I normally do for her. But in the end, of course, she barely missed me, if at all (and as Dan's July post shows, they made a great dad-daughter connection without me here, which is really nice to see).
The trips were great from a research perspective. I gathered so much more material than I ever would have been able to in a comparable amount of time in Vlad, given the way the archives here work. And they also amounted to a really positive experience in allowing me to feel a professional confidence that I still find hard to fully grasp here at home, where I'm fulltime juggling being a mom, being the primary (if only by a hair) person responsible for keeping the domestic front running smoothly (which has its own difficulties in Russia), and being a historian. And from a personal point of view it was good to get away, have a little alone time strolling around the town, and enjoy Khabarovsk a couple of more times before we leave.
In general, I feel really good right now about my project -- I feel I've exhausted most of the avenues I was trying to research, gotten as much as I can in a place I'll likely not return to, and I've basically shifted completely to writing and getting two overlapping papers ready to present this fall.
Also, by way of explanations of what's been keeping me busy while I've ignored the blog: it's been summer, of course, so there's been much more opportunity to spend time outdoors (although that doesn't completely hold up as an excuse, since there have also been a number of the typhoons that regularly hit Vlad in summer, so we've been stuck inside on plenty of days while the blog has run dry). And then we took a quick trip to Beijing -- you know, we figured, why not hit it right at the height of the summer heat-humidity-pollution index, and just ahead of the Olympics? (Actually, although the weather was indeed amazingly energy-sapping, it was great. Have to sum it up in some other post, or maybe in the Flickr captions...)
And now here we are back in Vlad, for just 3 short weeks, as we try to wrap this puppy up: get our stuff given away, dumped in the trash, packed up & shipped off, or left on the stoop with some extra food for the next few months (OK, that last one is only likely for 2 of our possessions: the cats), with as few regrets as possible for the way we pursued and for the most part did not find happiness in this town. (I guess that's my way of expressing what else "partly" explains my silence, in addition to being busy: the anxiety level rises as we get closer to departure day, and that has to do not only with the logistics of moving but of course with all that is being left behind and left undone or unaccomplished or insufficiently enjoyed. While overall both Dan and I are glad to be moving on, that doesn't mean there aren't some things we're sorry to leave and people we're sorry we didn't spend more time with while we had the chance. And that bittersweet feeling, and the anxious ways that each of us tries to avoid it, don't make it easy to update the blog.)
As of August 22, it's back to the US for some time with family and friends, until early October, when we fly to Dushanbe. I'll try to practice brief update skills as we leave, but I can't make any promises. In the meantime, the ballot box is open for blog names/concise 'n' snappy URLs for the next incarnation of the Vladiblog...
Showing posts with label Dushanbe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dushanbe. Show all posts
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Balls, Hoops, and Future Plans
We've been back in Vlad for just over a week, and it feels like there is already so much to report that I don't know where to begin.
We spent more time than we would have liked on our vacation, and the first week back, poring over the decision of what to do next: stay in Vlad a third year; return to DC; or do another overseas tour. We were forced to mull this over while in South Africa because the State Department shot the starting gun on the administrative process by which Dan is eligible to apply for any overseas posts, and the window for applying and agreeing to take one of the positions that were posted was only 2 weeks long. The positions on offer didn't include a lot that we were interested in, and given our (especially my) mood lately, it seemed like a no-brainer that we would return to the US. But Dushanbe, Tajikistan, was there, and before we came to Vlad we had both had interest in Central Asia, and particularly this position, not to mention the couple of years training in Persian that I did and had hoped someday to make good on. So, after a surprisingly tortured week of considering it, getting in touch with people there, going back and forth and back and forth as to what was the smartest and best thing for us to do, we decided to sign up for another 2 year tour, this time at the US Embassy in Dushanbe. Unfortunately, since the country is showing up on the front pages and my Google news alerts for the extreme (and atypical) cold temperatures and the related impending humanitarian crisis it may endure, that decision is a little hard to swallow right at this time, but we are confident that the place and the community will be an interesting and good change from Vlad, and that the lessons we've learned on this tour will allow us to approach the next in a way that will also improve our lives in Tajikistan.
Meanwhile, the break in South Africa and the intense discussion we've been having about what to do and what we want, even despite the stresses that came along with each of those, has had the effect somehow of jolting me into more activity and a better attitude here at home.
Although I haven't yet made it to a class, I'm closer to making yoga a part of my life again, since I've at least starting researching when classes are offered at the handful of places near us. I gave notice at my job at the Consulate on Monday and of course have promptly begun actually getting done some of the tasks I had been trying to get motivated to do, but hadn't yet. Both Dan and I have been out more socially (maybe it took a little going out separately in S. Africa to confirm for us that this was OK and even necessary: to trade off leaving one of us at home, when we can't get a babysitter), including two outings for me this past weekend spending time with friends and just hanging out and having people to talk to. And, partly inspired by Anya's big leaps in development, I finally called and took her to a Montessori development center/preschool, which we both loved and which we plan to keep attending once a week, for a 1.5 hour "class" each Thursday morning.
Tonight's outing for me, since Dan is scheduled to do a poker night with the guys this Friday, was to take the Consulate season tickets to the local "Spartak-Primorye" basketball club's game against "Ural-Great." Again, this is something we have been meaning to do, as the tickets rotate around among the few interested employees at our post, but somehow we have not gotten around to it. Tonight I went with our neighbor and Dan stayed home with Anya, and I think it's safe to say that I'm hooked! It was surprisingly fun to watch the team, cheer along with the locals, sit through the gyrations of the dancers, admire Spartak's mascot, Lyosha the Tiger, scan the public and observe Russian hoops fan behavior (many of them do wear team colors -- I was mildly pleased we'd both coincidentally worn red sweaters), and try to figure out how the Americans on the 2 teams felt about playing out here in a small arena in Vladivostok. And it was of course all the more enjoyable since Spartak pulled out a win in the end, inching back from about 8 or 9 points down from about 4 minutes remaining in the second quarter to finally put themselves over the edge with a couple of foul shots with 20 seconds left on the clock.
What we're eating:
a lot of spicy Thai instant noodle soups, since we got about $50 worth from ThaiGrocer
more homemade sourdough bread (Anya loves it)
What we're listening to:
Feist, The Reminder (it -- especially tracks 2 and 9 -- can't help but lift your mood)
What we're saying:
Manina = Marina (our nanny)
kusay, kutay = kushai, or eat! in Russian
yakki = yucky (often in reference to a diaper change)
zaika = rabbit in Russian (referring, of course, to rabbit-bear, her favorite stuffed animal, who is "beah"/bear in English)
pat = pants
hatch = hat
aissee = icy (a very appropriate observation much of the time)
uppitti = upstairs (or downstairs, for that matter)
hail = hair
bop = bread
koo-kee = cookie, but really means almost anything starchy
appo = apple, but really can mean any fruit, also interchangable with "peah" for pear
pokka = poka, or "bye" in Russian (now said with very good pronunciation when someone is leaving, and accompanied with a wave)
kah = car, or any little car-like toy that has wheels
zeppa = zipper, still a favorite
mekk = milk
Oh, and another rather big recent achievement: Anya recently learned to use a straw and now can drink (with supervision) out of an open glass by slurping up through a "trubochka." Luckily in Russia cafes and restaurants give straws out even to adults without asking, so this now it's pretty easy to give the kid a drink while out!
We spent more time than we would have liked on our vacation, and the first week back, poring over the decision of what to do next: stay in Vlad a third year; return to DC; or do another overseas tour. We were forced to mull this over while in South Africa because the State Department shot the starting gun on the administrative process by which Dan is eligible to apply for any overseas posts, and the window for applying and agreeing to take one of the positions that were posted was only 2 weeks long. The positions on offer didn't include a lot that we were interested in, and given our (especially my) mood lately, it seemed like a no-brainer that we would return to the US. But Dushanbe, Tajikistan, was there, and before we came to Vlad we had both had interest in Central Asia, and particularly this position, not to mention the couple of years training in Persian that I did and had hoped someday to make good on. So, after a surprisingly tortured week of considering it, getting in touch with people there, going back and forth and back and forth as to what was the smartest and best thing for us to do, we decided to sign up for another 2 year tour, this time at the US Embassy in Dushanbe. Unfortunately, since the country is showing up on the front pages and my Google news alerts for the extreme (and atypical) cold temperatures and the related impending humanitarian crisis it may endure, that decision is a little hard to swallow right at this time, but we are confident that the place and the community will be an interesting and good change from Vlad, and that the lessons we've learned on this tour will allow us to approach the next in a way that will also improve our lives in Tajikistan.
Meanwhile, the break in South Africa and the intense discussion we've been having about what to do and what we want, even despite the stresses that came along with each of those, has had the effect somehow of jolting me into more activity and a better attitude here at home.
Although I haven't yet made it to a class, I'm closer to making yoga a part of my life again, since I've at least starting researching when classes are offered at the handful of places near us. I gave notice at my job at the Consulate on Monday and of course have promptly begun actually getting done some of the tasks I had been trying to get motivated to do, but hadn't yet. Both Dan and I have been out more socially (maybe it took a little going out separately in S. Africa to confirm for us that this was OK and even necessary: to trade off leaving one of us at home, when we can't get a babysitter), including two outings for me this past weekend spending time with friends and just hanging out and having people to talk to. And, partly inspired by Anya's big leaps in development, I finally called and took her to a Montessori development center/preschool, which we both loved and which we plan to keep attending once a week, for a 1.5 hour "class" each Thursday morning.
Tonight's outing for me, since Dan is scheduled to do a poker night with the guys this Friday, was to take the Consulate season tickets to the local "Spartak-Primorye" basketball club's game against "Ural-Great." Again, this is something we have been meaning to do, as the tickets rotate around among the few interested employees at our post, but somehow we have not gotten around to it. Tonight I went with our neighbor and Dan stayed home with Anya, and I think it's safe to say that I'm hooked! It was surprisingly fun to watch the team, cheer along with the locals, sit through the gyrations of the dancers, admire Spartak's mascot, Lyosha the Tiger, scan the public and observe Russian hoops fan behavior (many of them do wear team colors -- I was mildly pleased we'd both coincidentally worn red sweaters), and try to figure out how the Americans on the 2 teams felt about playing out here in a small arena in Vladivostok. And it was of course all the more enjoyable since Spartak pulled out a win in the end, inching back from about 8 or 9 points down from about 4 minutes remaining in the second quarter to finally put themselves over the edge with a couple of foul shots with 20 seconds left on the clock.
What we're eating:
a lot of spicy Thai instant noodle soups, since we got about $50 worth from ThaiGrocer
more homemade sourdough bread (Anya loves it)
What we're listening to:
Feist, The Reminder (it -- especially tracks 2 and 9 -- can't help but lift your mood)
What we're saying:
Manina = Marina (our nanny)
kusay, kutay = kushai, or eat! in Russian
yakki = yucky (often in reference to a diaper change)
zaika = rabbit in Russian (referring, of course, to rabbit-bear, her favorite stuffed animal, who is "beah"/bear in English)
pat = pants
hatch = hat
aissee = icy (a very appropriate observation much of the time)
uppitti = upstairs (or downstairs, for that matter)
hail = hair
bop = bread
koo-kee = cookie, but really means almost anything starchy
appo = apple, but really can mean any fruit, also interchangable with "peah" for pear
pokka = poka, or "bye" in Russian (now said with very good pronunciation when someone is leaving, and accompanied with a wave)
kah = car, or any little car-like toy that has wheels
zeppa = zipper, still a favorite
mekk = milk
Oh, and another rather big recent achievement: Anya recently learned to use a straw and now can drink (with supervision) out of an open glass by slurping up through a "trubochka." Luckily in Russia cafes and restaurants give straws out even to adults without asking, so this now it's pretty easy to give the kid a drink while out!
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