Alphabet Excitement

Well the library project was risen from the dead the second Akgul left to get married. I took a big leap, and went against what the locals told me. They want their stacks the way they are. The stacks that usually lie down, some with only a few pieces in each stack and some with over one hundred (and half of them belong to a different composer than labled). I finally was able to stand up straght and put in order! It took about an hour to free the top row and get some of the smallest stacks moved up. I'd suggested this idea many many times before but it never really stuck, except with Natasha who didn't get why anyone would NOT want books in order- how stupid!

I called in the director to take a look at my work thus far. There were still a few larger stacks I didn't include (Cherni, Chaikowsky, Mozart. . . ) but a good deal of movement was done. Well, she came in and decided that this was just fantastic. "It all looks just so pretty!" I explained to her where I had gotten each stack and why I thought the alphabetical system was better. She started looking around at what was left in stacks and suddenly got a great idea!

She says, "Well look, there are some other ones here that could also go in the alphabet. We could put ALL of the composers standing up in one big row and it would be so pretty! (Ta-da!) Look, this is Chaikovsky. That's 'Ch'. And wait, here is Ziling! That's 'Z'! Now Z in the alphabet is after, let's see. . . a,b,v,g,d,e,zh,z! It should go--over here after the d's!"

She literally went through every pile I'd left out and told me how it, too, could be part of the alphabetical system. After months of begging them to put things in order so we can find them. . . after weeks of working with Akgul knowing that if the book didn't fit into an already labled stack, she just put it on the bottom of the closest pile to where she was standing. . . finally they figured out how great the alphabet is!

Now that's Peace Corps. We're supposed to work together with the locals so that the final product is what they want too. Forget that! Just do whatever you want when they're not looking! They'll adopt the brilliance as their own!

Where are your parents?

So get this, a 24-year-old friend of mine wanted to go to Turkey on vacation this month. She bought her ticket. She packed her things, and got on the plane. A couple of men came up to her and told her to get off the plane. They took 15 young girls off and asked where they were going and why. She said she was going to visit friends. They said they didn't believe her. They asked her where her parents are. Why aren't they traveling with you? This girl works as a waitress in a restaurant in the capitol and though lives with her parents, she doesn't depend on them, say, to accompany her on a vacation as if she were 12 years old. The took all those 15 single women and told them to go home. They were not allowed to leave. Where were their husbands? Without husbands they were assumed to be prostitutes. Of course we don't want to give people in other places the impression that starving poor girls from Turkmenistan may prostitue themselves. Where were their parents? Where was her freedom to legally purchase and plane ticket and leave the country. . .
There are prostitues everywhere here. Everywhere. The cost an average of 2-4$. People in poor places need money. Uneducated men "have their own needs". This girl, however, has a job, has money, and wanted to take a vacation. Solve the problems in your own bars and discos before worrying about the girl on vacation. We're so scared that we don't have total control of all our people--that we need to keep them right here where we can see them.

Secret password-"Palov"

Nina and I left a restaurant about 11:00 and headed out to catch a taxi. We walked along talking and laughing for a few blocks and ahead of us was an officer that had just stuck his arm out and caught a cab. We took his lead and stuck our arm out, but got a whistle from a guard telling us to move on. We were right in front of some very official buildings. We went a few steps foreward and caught one anyway. Well I started right away complaining about how that officer JUST got a cab in the same place and how lucky she was that I kept my mouth shut instead of saying something rude! Just then the driver turned down the music. . .

We stared straight ahead for about two minutes trying to think of something to say--we both figured out the driver must be a KNB informant. Finally I turned to her and said "So, we have palov at home to reheat right?" and she replies "Yeah. . . you know, it's really interesting how they make Ayzerbaijan Palov." "Oh really, how's that?" "They cook all the meat and vegetables seperately and then steam the rice in a different dish. . .

She literally described palov for about 10 minutes in the cab while I expressed my interest. Now every time we have a sketchy cab driver, we talk about palov. I can't wait for someone to check my file at the big office and see 28 reports of intense discussion of traditional rice dishes.