Back home in Uzbekistan
It has been a long time since I have written in the blog. As I look below, my last entry is one about leaving for Latvia. Why didn’t I write or even comment on some of my experiences? Thinking back and looking back at pictures I took (although there are not many), I know there were many things that I could have written about, but I didn’t. I had the time, I had the quiet, and I had the energy, and I even had the intention of sharing thoughts. I just didn’t want to.
I will try to write about some individual experiences over the next week, because there are pictures and stories to tell. Yet, I won’t promise that. In general though, my visit to Latvia was rather uneventful besides visiting family and friends. I spent most of my time cleaning and preparing my apartment for the next renters moving in. I had to have the washer fixed, the fridge door came off in my hand, and the leaking furnace was replaced with a new one. I packed all of our personal belongings, and left only the furniture needed by the renters. I spent an entire day moving everything to a storage unit not too far from the apartment. I spent some days at the beach both by myself and with friends, and promised myself not to pack my days full with running to meet and visit with others. As a result I have ended the summer relaxed, rested, and ready to begin work. This is the first year in many that I feel happy to return to work and that I have the energy to do so.
Yesterday we arrived back in Tashkent after a flight from hell. The boys and I had woken up at 4am to be at the airport at 5am, only to learn that the flight we were booked onto had never existed in the first place. To make matters worse no one at the airport could help us, because due to the fact that there was no Uzbek Air flight that day, no representatives were at the airport. I then had to go to the agency which is down the street from my Mom’s apartment (she came and picked us up after an hour and a half of trying to get something done). The telephone information service said that the company was open from 9:00 to 6:00. At 9:00 I walked there only to learn from the building guard that it would be lucky if they would open at 9:30. It turns out they opened only at 10:00. I called before going, and learned from the representative that the person in charge of things would only fly in from Uzbekistan at 10:45, and I would have to wait until that individual made a decision.
An hour and a half later I got a call, and we prepared to return to the airport as it seemed we would be able to get a flight out in the evening. We did, but we had to wait for a good while at the airport. We received food vouchers, tickets to Saint Petersburg and Tashkent, and an upgrade to business on the Uzbek Air flight.
In St. Petersburg we got off the flight only to find that we had to transfer to the other terminal, but no one could tell us how to do this, and there were no available representatives. The Uzbek Air representative said to call him if there were any problems, and I decided that it was the right time to begin. He called the Uzbek representatives and they called someone in the airport who picked us and pulled our luggage. We were then placed onto a bus to the other terminal (a good 15 minute drive from the one we were already in!). We were met at the terminal by a guard, and I commenced to take off the luggage. While doing so I managed to over balance with the bag and fell off the bus! Due to this the female guard then called someone else to help us. He took one bag, but I was still responsible for the other two. We schlepped the luggage up two flights of stairs, down another flight, through the security gates and customs going in the opposite direction, and arrived at the Uzbek Air counter to check in our luggage and get our boarding passes. We were escorted by the guards, back through the same maze, just in time to begin boarding.
We were given our business class seats and settled in. The plane was kept on for another hour waiting for a connecting flight. During that time an Uzbek Air representative came and asked us why we were in business if we had only economy tickets. I had to explain the whole story. He wanted us moved, but the air hostess convinced him not to. Thank goodness, as Namejs was already asleep. After that we slept the entire flight and woke up to land in Tashkent.
The passport check experience was hell. We waited an hour in a line of pushing and shoving people who just did not understand the concept of waiting patiently. By the time we got out our luggage was already out, but difficult to find. One was in the middle between the conveyor belts. Another was under five other bags on the floor, and the third was traveling around the conveyor in the places where I was not. We went through customs slowly, but without events.
A smiling Ahat awaited us outside at the airport, and we came out into 35 degree heat. I had never so happy to see our little house with the beautiful garden. Nona and Ahat had bought a tapchan over the summer and our kurpachas decorated it, and the pool was filled with clean, fresh water. Nona welcomed us warmly, we found we had a full fridge, lots of water, and we began the unpacking process.
The boys immediately went into the pool and we had to blow up the pool toys we had brought from Latvia. I made a pot of black tea and sat on the tapchan and watched as the boys happily jumped in and out of the pool for the next few hours. At some point I took a short nap while the boys watched a movie. During that time Nona had managed to begin our laundry – and most of it was already dry. (She makes it look so easy!) Later in the evening we had dinner together on the tapchan with Nona, Medina, and Ahat. Nona had made a delicious plov for the boys (their favorite food). We shared our summers and the three of us reacquainted ourselves with Russian again. Medina then washed all of the dishes and stayed to watch a movie with the boys.
We all slept well (until 10am) and woke up to a cool morning – only 30 degrees. I opened all the windows in the house to air it out. We had a simple breakfast and the boys dressed again to go swimming. Right now as I write I am sitting on the tapchan with a view of them swimming. All in all, it is nice to be home.
I will try to write about some individual experiences over the next week, because there are pictures and stories to tell. Yet, I won’t promise that. In general though, my visit to Latvia was rather uneventful besides visiting family and friends. I spent most of my time cleaning and preparing my apartment for the next renters moving in. I had to have the washer fixed, the fridge door came off in my hand, and the leaking furnace was replaced with a new one. I packed all of our personal belongings, and left only the furniture needed by the renters. I spent an entire day moving everything to a storage unit not too far from the apartment. I spent some days at the beach both by myself and with friends, and promised myself not to pack my days full with running to meet and visit with others. As a result I have ended the summer relaxed, rested, and ready to begin work. This is the first year in many that I feel happy to return to work and that I have the energy to do so.
Yesterday we arrived back in Tashkent after a flight from hell. The boys and I had woken up at 4am to be at the airport at 5am, only to learn that the flight we were booked onto had never existed in the first place. To make matters worse no one at the airport could help us, because due to the fact that there was no Uzbek Air flight that day, no representatives were at the airport. I then had to go to the agency which is down the street from my Mom’s apartment (she came and picked us up after an hour and a half of trying to get something done). The telephone information service said that the company was open from 9:00 to 6:00. At 9:00 I walked there only to learn from the building guard that it would be lucky if they would open at 9:30. It turns out they opened only at 10:00. I called before going, and learned from the representative that the person in charge of things would only fly in from Uzbekistan at 10:45, and I would have to wait until that individual made a decision.
An hour and a half later I got a call, and we prepared to return to the airport as it seemed we would be able to get a flight out in the evening. We did, but we had to wait for a good while at the airport. We received food vouchers, tickets to Saint Petersburg and Tashkent, and an upgrade to business on the Uzbek Air flight.
In St. Petersburg we got off the flight only to find that we had to transfer to the other terminal, but no one could tell us how to do this, and there were no available representatives. The Uzbek Air representative said to call him if there were any problems, and I decided that it was the right time to begin. He called the Uzbek representatives and they called someone in the airport who picked us and pulled our luggage. We were then placed onto a bus to the other terminal (a good 15 minute drive from the one we were already in!). We were met at the terminal by a guard, and I commenced to take off the luggage. While doing so I managed to over balance with the bag and fell off the bus! Due to this the female guard then called someone else to help us. He took one bag, but I was still responsible for the other two. We schlepped the luggage up two flights of stairs, down another flight, through the security gates and customs going in the opposite direction, and arrived at the Uzbek Air counter to check in our luggage and get our boarding passes. We were escorted by the guards, back through the same maze, just in time to begin boarding.
We were given our business class seats and settled in. The plane was kept on for another hour waiting for a connecting flight. During that time an Uzbek Air representative came and asked us why we were in business if we had only economy tickets. I had to explain the whole story. He wanted us moved, but the air hostess convinced him not to. Thank goodness, as Namejs was already asleep. After that we slept the entire flight and woke up to land in Tashkent.
The passport check experience was hell. We waited an hour in a line of pushing and shoving people who just did not understand the concept of waiting patiently. By the time we got out our luggage was already out, but difficult to find. One was in the middle between the conveyor belts. Another was under five other bags on the floor, and the third was traveling around the conveyor in the places where I was not. We went through customs slowly, but without events.
A smiling Ahat awaited us outside at the airport, and we came out into 35 degree heat. I had never so happy to see our little house with the beautiful garden. Nona and Ahat had bought a tapchan over the summer and our kurpachas decorated it, and the pool was filled with clean, fresh water. Nona welcomed us warmly, we found we had a full fridge, lots of water, and we began the unpacking process.
The boys immediately went into the pool and we had to blow up the pool toys we had brought from Latvia. I made a pot of black tea and sat on the tapchan and watched as the boys happily jumped in and out of the pool for the next few hours. At some point I took a short nap while the boys watched a movie. During that time Nona had managed to begin our laundry – and most of it was already dry. (She makes it look so easy!) Later in the evening we had dinner together on the tapchan with Nona, Medina, and Ahat. Nona had made a delicious plov for the boys (their favorite food). We shared our summers and the three of us reacquainted ourselves with Russian again. Medina then washed all of the dishes and stayed to watch a movie with the boys.
We all slept well (until 10am) and woke up to a cool morning – only 30 degrees. I opened all the windows in the house to air it out. We had a simple breakfast and the boys dressed again to go swimming. Right now as I write I am sitting on the tapchan with a view of them swimming. All in all, it is nice to be home.
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