Tonight I walked home through a tunnel of blue light and then, later, a canopy of white light. I was wrong about the other park. The blue lights are not squares as in my park, which I now know is names “Grand Park” (aptly named), rather they are single stands for what are basically street lights: a tall Y were the base is very long and the arms of the Y are shorter. On each, there is a more-or-less typical oblong light bulb shining over the pathways on one side, and over the garden beds on the other. The entire Y, however, itself is what lights up in blue, so you are soothed by the blue light all along your journey through the park.
The park was built to honor two famous poets, Jomi and Navoi, and, in addition to a huge statue of them together, there are various life size metal sculptures of people and children looking at books. These are seated on some of the park benches, a woman and a girl, and man and a boy. The sculpture are themselves beautiful, what they depict is inspiring. There are also standing statures and maybe some are of the poets again, or not. The woman have the muslim scarves that they wear hear tucked around their heads, the men sport the traditional hats, and in some cases long robe that many Muslim men wear. The detail in metal is amazing. I don’t know if there are statues like this throughout the park or just at the one entrance were there were several together. Obviously I will have to spend more time in this park on my way to and from work as well as the .
My new place of work is a short 20” walk from my apartment, up a slight incline in the AM and a much welcome descent in the evening. Some of the classes go until 7 PM, which was why I was able to walk home surrounded by the lights that I love so very much. This morning, I walked briskly to work, a morning “constitutional” of sorts, but tonight, of course, I strolled just like everyone else seems to do most of the time.
The work, like the apartment, looks like it is going to be fabulous and “right up my alley” so-to-speak. It is difficult not to think about what could have been and wasn’t for the previous two years, now that I know that what I thought was possible is, indeed, possible. And I am very sorry that the Fellow program did not send me here, because I am quite sure already that I would have extended for a second year and with a Fulbright, this is not possible.
I observed two classes today using a textbook series entitled “English File”.. a graduated curriculum with lots of great activities although, of course, students keep their books open throughout the class, reading many exercises aloud when they could be doing the same thing on their own. So I do have something to contribute here but the level of sophistication and expertise on the part of the teachers is much much higher than in my other two assignments and I will have to stay on my toes to find things to help these teachers who are already quite good, become even better.
The air is cool tonight, I am shivering slightly with my front window open as I like to have it. NOW I could use the cardigan sweater that I lost. Last year, I brought two, but only used one so this year I decided just to bring the one. I guess you just never know what is going to happen, either by your own fault or someone else’s. I often buy two of everything or, in this case, I brought two cardigans, I guess my personal “rule of two” isn’t so crazy afe
Fall is probably on its way and I will have to close the window which means, of course, that I won’t be able to hear the fountain as I sit on my couch and create stories to tell you about my life here. Eventually, there may not be much for me to talk about – you will have heard it all and, for me, presumably some of the novelty will have worn off — but, for now, where everything is still new, I already have a list of things to blog about when I have the time.
I never knew what a park could be, we just don’t have them like these and it is very sad to me to think of all the people who will never see such exquisite artistry in landscaping unless they should happen to stumble across Tajikistan as I have. And to think that, two years ago, I didn’t think I was interested in coming to Central Asia. Shame on me!!
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED 