We've now been here for 7 months - can you believe that? There have been some days that have gone by at a snail's pace (like our first two days living in the village - I remember thinking, "this month is going to feel like a year") but on the whole the last year or so has really zoomed by. Tomorrow will be Emmett's first birthday and I distinctly remember what we were doing the night before his birthday as if it was last month (we walked around Mt Tabor with the Readys and then went out to Lebanese food at YaHala). I remember asking Mother Mary (the nun in charge of bed control at Providence - remarkable lady) if she could honestly tell me that time seemed to slow down at some phase of life. She said, "if I were to be really honest, it only goes faster." I'm only in my early 30s and I'm already sensing the truth of that statement. All that to say that we're pretty well adjusted to the day-to-day aspects of life here in Tajikistan and have started to feel the desire to get out and explore a bit. Two weekends ago we, along w/ Jenny and Myles (since Troy is in the states) went up to Dushanbe (the capital city and truly "city-ish" too) for the weekend. We stayed in a guest house (well, apartment) that ended up being way nicer than we ever imagined it would be. There were beds, a kitchen, a real western-style bathroom, tables/chairs, sofas, a TV and the best thing of all was running water! I never imagined what a treat it would be to be able to predictably turn on the cold water knob of the faucet and have cold water come out and turn on the hot water knob and have hot water come out - Amazing. I was even taking a shower one evening when the electricity went out and the shower stayed on and the water stayed hot - I'm still mystified by that one. One of the highlights of being there was that our friends, Zack & Mary and their little girls, Hannah Renee and Nadiah (the same Hannah Renee that helped our Hannah color her wall) were also in town and we got to spend some wonderful time together. Rees & Zack watched all the kids Sat morning (they took them to the zoo, which sounds like a sad place to be an animal, but the kids liked it) while Jenny, Mary and I went out to coffee (yes, a real coffee place with lattes and cinnamon rolls and everything!). We got to talk and catch up and encourage each other for two whole, uninterrupted hours. It's amazing what good that does the heart of a woman. When we got back to the house all the kids were jumping on the beds and having a great time together. Jenny and I got to go shopping together while they were all taking naps. We even found a kids toy store that had toys, puzzles, games, craft supplies that were the kinds of things we'd enjoy giving our kids in the states. That was super encouraging as everything where we live is more reminiscent of those vending machines with the grabbers - China's lowest quality stuff I'm pretty sure. Rees and I got to have a date night while Jenny watched the kids which was such a gift. It's always nice to remember how much you like each other :) We went to a Middle Eastern restaurant and then out to cappuccinos (yes! real cappuccinos!) and then we got to walk all the way home, even stopping in the big city park. I think the highlight for the kids (minus Emmett b/c he was too small) was the SFC down the street (Southern Fried Chicken which oddly comes out of England). They have an indoor play area with a slide, trampoline and ball pit (you know, those colorful, plastic balls kids can jump in). You pay for your kids to play there (the equivalent of $2 or so for an hour) which keeps it from getting crowded. They even got to eat chicken nuggets and jojo fries (so did I and it's amazing how good fast food tastes when you haven't eaten it or anything like it for 7 months). We even had a few good rain storms, which for us Pacific NWesterners was heavenly. All in all, we came back refreshed and really encouraged that we could do something like that a couple times a year or so. It was so nice to have some familiar comforts, not have any knocks on the door (don't get me wrong, we welcome the knocks, it's just nice to have a break), see our kids having such a great time and not having to fend off all the neighbor kids who want to pick them up all the time, and just get to connect with each other and our friends.
If that wasn't enough, the following weekend we got to go up to the mountains for 5 days. Rees is director of the English Club that operates under the NGO we are working with and he and the other teachers took 13 students from the 2yr US embassy sponsored program up to a camp for a 5 day "English Intensive" where they did all kinds of activities in English, both classroom studies and sports/games. For most of the girls, it was the first time they were allowed to do athletic activities and it was so fun to see their confidence grow in such a short period of time. We also took them on a hike and for many of them it was their first time ever doing anything like that. Even 2 of the 3 moms (chaperones) went. Hannah had a fantastic time. The reality is she'd probably have a fantastic time wherever the Wilbur family with their 5 kids were and Emmett is pretty much happy anywhere, so with the exception of a little tummy trouble, it was another wonderful weekend. We're looking forward to the next place we get to explore.
