For new readers, posts are in order from newest to oldest. To get the full effect, start at the end!
Kari had intended to keep this site updated herself, but as she is not in the land of readily available email, she has had little opportunity to post since she got there. She has requested that we post many of her writings, all of which were handwritten and mailed. The letters take several weeks to get here.
If you write to her, the address is:
Turkmenistan
Balkan Velayat
Balkanabat
Central Post Office
Mail Box #38
Anderson, Karen
Turkmenistan
Send anything you'd like, but understand that things anyone might like (oreos, hershey's kisses, non-copy CD's. . .) probably won't make it past the post office workers! Hope you enjoy the stories!
Apr 15, 2005
Apr 10, 2005
Essay #26 (Woman's Day)
Happy Dog's Day everyone!
Today is March 8th, known to most people as "Woman's Day". Unfortunately, there seems to be at least one out of our 4.5 million people not happy with the idea of celebrating women--other than his mother, that is. Yes, Women's Day in Turkmenistan has been officially moved to March 20th, the Great Man's mother's birthday. To add a touch of insult, he's given March 8th a new title: Day of the Alibi, the national Turkmen dog. Needless to say, the women here still celebrated each other, as opposed to, say, feeding the surviving stray dogs of Turkmenistan. Everywhere I went I was showered with congratulations and knowing smiles. Though we weren't able to wrench the remote control from the men's hands, we found successes in other ways. Less cooking, more good moods. Students gave us candy bars, and even the post office lady was chatty today! I, surprisingly enough, didn't hear a single mention of Dog's Day, and it's a good thing, too. I only learned about today's holiday in the evening, and in my volatile mental state, I think my first congratulator of "Dog's Day" might have gotten a sock in the face.
It also came to my attention that there was a "Man's Day" created, perhaps out of the strong desire for gender equity here in central Asia, but I'm not sure much is done here for Man's Day. I asked my family what we should have done for Man's Day: made dinner--check; ironed their clothes--check; set out tea twice a day--check; pass women over for job advancement based on gender--check; require women to cover their mouths when first married so they can't talk--check; allow men to get prostitutes because they need that and women don't--check . . .
I have a feeling men celebrated Man's Day just fine. Hopefully women can keep March 8th in their hearts and lives even if their mouths may have to commit to March 20th. Happy Dog's Day, wink, wink!
Today is March 8th, known to most people as "Woman's Day". Unfortunately, there seems to be at least one out of our 4.5 million people not happy with the idea of celebrating women--other than his mother, that is. Yes, Women's Day in Turkmenistan has been officially moved to March 20th, the Great Man's mother's birthday. To add a touch of insult, he's given March 8th a new title: Day of the Alibi, the national Turkmen dog. Needless to say, the women here still celebrated each other, as opposed to, say, feeding the surviving stray dogs of Turkmenistan. Everywhere I went I was showered with congratulations and knowing smiles. Though we weren't able to wrench the remote control from the men's hands, we found successes in other ways. Less cooking, more good moods. Students gave us candy bars, and even the post office lady was chatty today! I, surprisingly enough, didn't hear a single mention of Dog's Day, and it's a good thing, too. I only learned about today's holiday in the evening, and in my volatile mental state, I think my first congratulator of "Dog's Day" might have gotten a sock in the face.
It also came to my attention that there was a "Man's Day" created, perhaps out of the strong desire for gender equity here in central Asia, but I'm not sure much is done here for Man's Day. I asked my family what we should have done for Man's Day: made dinner--check; ironed their clothes--check; set out tea twice a day--check; pass women over for job advancement based on gender--check; require women to cover their mouths when first married so they can't talk--check; allow men to get prostitutes because they need that and women don't--check . . .
I have a feeling men celebrated Man's Day just fine. Hopefully women can keep March 8th in their hearts and lives even if their mouths may have to commit to March 20th. Happy Dog's Day, wink, wink!
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