Friday, January 14, 2011
My trip to Tajikistan began
when I dropped Coco off at the dog sitter’s. I then proceeded to Denver where Merry and I had reservations for two nights as part of the International Shrine Horse Patrol meetings and also the National Western Livestock Show. Unfortunately, the opportunity to go to Tajikistan as part of a USAID project funded through ACDI-VOCA and subcontracted to IFDC, the organizationt that I worked for in Kosovo in 2003-2004 and in Tajikistan/Kyrgyzstan in 2005 came about and I had to forego the meeting and rodeo.
On Friday night, I went to the airport about 9 p.m. in order to pick up Merry at 11 p.m. While there, I wanted to weigh my luggage to make sure I was not over weight, which I was by 9 lbs. But they waived the fee because I was flying Business Class. So at 11 p.m., I went back to the counter and checked in my luggage and obtained by boarding pass, so I could sleep in about 30-min longer. Either way it was a short night.
Saturday, January 15th
Merry and I headed back to the airport at 4:15 a.m. for my 6 a.m. flight to Atlanta. When I arrived in Atlanta, I met up with John Algood from IFDC. Thanks to John, I was upgraded to Business Class from Atlanta to JFK in New York and then from JFK to Instanbul. I was great having a chance to get updated on the people and programs of IFDC, since my medical evacuation for Tajikistan in 2005. The flights were uneventful, but long, and the food in Business Class was great.
Sunday, January 16th
We arrived in Istanbul about 9:30 a.m. for our 9 hour layover before flying onto Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Sure will be nice to get there. If my calculations are correct, it will be 31 hours from the time the plane left Denver, until in lands in Dushanbe - taking in the layover in Atlanta, New York and Istanbul. Since we are flying Business Class, we were able to visit one of the hospitality clubs at the airport. Boy is that nice, the chairs were comfortable, the atmosphere very relaxing and they had all kinds of snacks/food and drinks you could enjoy during your time there. I particularly enjoyed their Mushroom Soup and various types of cheese. Our flight on Turkish Airlines was not as comfortable. John and I were separated on this leg of the flight. Luckily I was given an exit row, which provided for extra leg space. I was sitting with a young guy from Sweden who comes to Tajikistan about six times per year as a consultant for 2-3 weeks. The other young guy travels all over consulting with the Embassy. This is his first time here, so he was really picking our brains about what to expect. I do not remember alcohol being the issue it was in other parts of the Former Soviet Union, however, the Swedish gentlemen was saying it was. So will see for myself when I get here.
Monday, January 17th
We arrived in Dushanbe around 3:30 a.m. – boy was there confusion at the airport, trying to get through Immigration. Unfortunately, I think we picked the line with a new employee, because he had to keep calling his superior over. Finally, he was sent away and the other guy just took over. Once we got through that process, it was off to find my luggage, and luckily it was here in one piece. We were then greeted by the IFDC Team Leader and a Driver. I had heard his name and seen it in reports, but it did not sink in. I had hired him in 2005 before I was Medically Evacuated. What a small world we live in. The reunion was very special, although both John and I were ready to get to the hotel for a few hours’ sleep before starting our time here. We decided to forego breakfast, since it was 6:00 a.m. when we finally got to the hotel, and go directly to the room for a little sleep. At 11 a.m. we were again greeted by the Team Leader and the Driver and taken to a restaurant for lunch. This time was spent getting an update on the project and some staffing challenges that are taking place with the project. From there, we headed to the joint ACDI-VOCA and IFDC office to meet the team. Our first stop was meeting with Will Bullock, the Chief of Party for the ACDI-VOCA project, for about an hour. We then had a joint staff meeting with the two teams. They linked their satellite office in the North up to the meeting using Skype. Didn’t work so well, but was nice to have a visual to go with the sound. Following the meeting at the office, we went to dinner with the team leader. Although the music was a little loud, interfering with our ability to totally understand what was being said, we did enjoy the evening. It was now time to crash back at the hotel. But before that could happen, I tried unsuccessfully to get hooked up to the Internet via the computer in my hotel room. Will have to wait until tomorrow to contact Merry from the office and then find out if the hotel has Wireless.
Tuesday, January 18th
I woke up about 3:30 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep. So wondered around the room, after staring at the ceiling for an hour, and decided to hang up my cloths. Before I knew it, it was time to head downstairs for breakfast. They provide a very nice breakfast in the morning with a variety of food items for you to choose from. Since I elected to start the second round of shots for my diet this morning, will be taking daily shots for the next 40+ days, I only enjoyed some fruit and tea. But I could have had a variety of breads, cold pancakes, cheese, eggs, sausage, and yogurt from the buffet table. We then headed to the office, where we had scheduled a daylong staff meeting to see where the project is with regards to the various deliverables for this Quarter: Demonstration Plots (Lemons, Tomatoes, Onions, Water Melon, Apricots and Beef Cattle Feeding), the Voucher Program (Seeds, Fertilizer, Pesticides and Black Plastic), Trade Fair, and Training Programs. Earlier in the morning, I was approached by Will, asking for my help in pulling together information from the team as to how we see IFDC and Mercy Corps working together on a Trade Fair in the southern part of Tajikistan the Winter. This proved to be a very interesting discussion. It looks as though USAID wants this to happen and for IFDC to be a part of making it happens. Tomorrow, I will have to see about arranging a meeting with the COP for Mercy Corps and his staff in the very near future. This would involve travelling about four hours to the south, near the Afghanistan border for the meeting. I feel we had a very good discussion today on the various deliverables for the project, we will continue that discussion tomorrow. We had a nice lunch at a cafeteria next door to the office – it is only open for lunch – nice selection of food – wish I could try most of it, but not good for the diet I am on. Dinner was at a traditional Tajik restaurant. Nice music and traditional dancing – they had one young lady dancing to the music and some of the men; I think two sheets to the wind, would get up and dance with her. Nice evening, but again the music was too loud to carry on a conversation, especially when communicating with someone who has just learned to speak English in the last three years. I could not believe how well I held up today. But once back in the hotel, I was a sleep before I knew it. I was Skipping with Merry and she actually told me to go to sleep as I was falling asleep anyways. Another day tomorrow. Oh by the way, I couldn’t believe what kind words were shared with John about me from six years ago when I started the IFDC project in the Northern part of the country. I guess I had touched lives in a positive way at that time. Sounds like they are going to try and arrange for a party with the crew I had hired back then – that would be nice. Unfortunately, they were pretty much left in the dark when I did not return to work on Monday, after flying to Dushanbe to meet with the Embassy Doctor and then being flown to the Vienna Medical Center and the home. So would be nice to see them again.
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