Note: post written on Wednesday, July 15

I must say, a lot has certainly happened in the last few days. To begin, Sunday we visited a local camp for Khorog kids being conducted by ITREC (Ismaili Tariqah Religious Education Committee). There was a 2 hour FOCUS module being presented to the kids, which is why we attended. I must say, it was quite different from what I had expected. Though I knew that the quality of the camp would be at least moderately good, I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by both the conduct at camp (of participants and counselors alike) and the quality of the camp. The camp was for youth in 9th grade and higher (though there did seem to be some kids quite a bit younger than this as well), and apparently is very selective with very high demand. Interestingly, all of the counselors are in college, and had at least a basic understanding of English (with at least a couple studying English).

After watching the sessions being implemented, it was sports time for the participants…and us, apparently. After running a few laps and stretching as a group, the participants split up to play the sports or games they wanted, be it soccer (yes, I call it soccer), basketball, table tennis, volleyball, chess, checkers, and a host of other games/sports. I was absolutely floored by the skill level of these kids in their respective sports. The skill level of the soccer players was incredibly high, and the volleyball players certainly had the fundamentals down. (In fact, I recall someone telling me that a volleyball team from GBAO was the national volleyball champion.) It was quite amazing to see kids actually able to set, bump, and almost spike. The basketball players, quite frankly, weren’t very impressive, but taking into consideration the general expertise and interest in the other sports, I’ll let this slide. I should mention that I’m referring to the skill level of both girls and boys, particularly in volleyball.

And then, night fell and the day took an interesting turn. One problem I have had but have thus far not blogged about has been my living accommodation. Some of the issues I had encountered while living with my hosts were a) no hot water, b) no shower, c) no water at random times throughout the day, and d) very unsanitary conditions in the kitchen (in the sense that there was a tree that had perhaps 40-50 flies on a plant in the kitchen). I was able to cope with these problems, though, as I just chalked it up as part of the experience. There was one, problem, however, that I was having a very difficult time coping with: the flea infestation in my room (which then got into my work clothes as well). This was no small infestation…I had (and still have) at least 75 flea bites all over my body. At first, I thought they were mosquito bites, but soon learned otherwise. Anyways, long story short, this problem was deemed (rightfully so) “unacceptable,” and I was moved into a hotel for a night (Delhi Darbar).

Monday, I moved in with my new host family. Whereas my previous host family lived in a considerably small, cramped apartment (or apartment-esque accommodations) and didn’t speak any English (and consisted of a lady and her grandmother), my new host family lived in a much larger house with some members understanding a little English and one who is quite fluent (having learned English in the Aga Khan Lycee, Khorog). This family is larger too, with three sisters (ages 20, 16, and 11), a brother (age 6), a mother, and a host of relatives and neighbors always coming and going. The house is quite centrally located very close to the local market and park, and as you can imagine, is quite lively with that many people coming and going. (The father, in case you’re curious, works in Moscow, which is quite common for families living in Tajikistan). Thus far, my experience with the family has been great, as we’ve had some pretty good conversations and they have taken me to explore the local park (Chor Bagh) on my time off of work. Though I’m sad to have left my previous accommodations (without having given ample warning, I might add), I’m very excited to see how these new accommodations work out in the long run.