tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86178502024-03-13T20:31:42.873+05:00jan in the wildwildness in my heart be not tamed ... dance, dive, soar; live, be lived, be wholly and completely open and unafraid; go forth, act on what inspires you, breathe love and give nothing less than everythingjanicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-41947746776212742842012-11-04T15:12:00.001+05:002015-10-08T05:44:14.966+05:00Buzkashi - An Awe Inspiring Spectacle of Brutality and Tea Sets<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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words <i>buz</i> (goat) and <i>kashi</i> (to pull), is not for the faint
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there are vague similarities to rugby or polo and involves independent riders,
called <i>chovandoz </i>in Tajikistan, fiercely playing tug-of-war with a
headless goat carcass, while on horseback. The objective of the game is to toss
the carcass into the center of the target. In our area, the target is a
remarkably small car tire.</span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lC5qmmltg34/UJY6sVanDTI/AAAAAAAAAkk/DIoHhZlpP_s/s1600/Throwing+it+in+the+target.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lC5qmmltg34/UJY6sVanDTI/AAAAAAAAAkk/DIoHhZlpP_s/s320/Throwing+it+in+the+target.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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without boundaries. Up to a couple hundred horses could be involved in a game;
they stampede at high speeds and change course unpredictably. Because <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">the riders</span> frequently drop the reigns
as they battle for the carcass, the speed and wildly shifting directions of the
game could be likened to an Indy 500 race in which the drivers do not actually
take hold of the steering wheel - a formula for utter mayhem and hazard.
Collisions are inevitable, especially when the play heads directly into the
crowds, or when photographing the game from the center of the playing field as
I often would do. In one game of chicken with a speeding stallion I was unequivocally
the sore loser. I consider that incident one of a multitude of rites-of-passage
that I endured over the years while participating in this wild game.</span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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of rules. The few rules that exist revolve around scoring. Each round of play
is won when the <i>chovandoz</i> throws the goat <i>halol</i> (fair and square)
into the center of the tire, earning the rider a prize. Each successful toss
can be rewarded by any one of a variety of household goods such as tin buckets,
soup bowls, washbasins, or tea sets. I marvel at the brutality and passion of
play for the prize of a tea set. Tajiks do love their tea!</span></div>
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someone in the crowd will offer a more valuable prize, notably increasing the
aggressiveness of the game. One hundred Tajik Somonis (roughly USD$20), a large
carpet, TV set, or parabolic antenna can make a single round continue for over
an hour, creating an enthusiastic frenzy amid both chovandoz and
spectators. The crowd frequently numbers over 500 - all male - and generates a
tremendous uproar with their shouting and cheering!</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The players in <i>buzkashi</i> are remarkably
adept horsemen with virtually unmatched equestrian skills. Leveraging their weight
in the stirrups, the players hang off the side of their horses or dangle over
the necks of these massive mounts, pulling at either end of the carcass while moving
at breakneck speeds. Broken bones, bloody hands, and lacerated faces are not
uncommon.</span><!--EndFragment-->
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">It is precisely the skill of these riders that
captivated, awed, and inspired me to, week after wintry week, risk making my
way to the playing field under extremely hazardous conditions. Depending
on the weather, the trip could take between two to four hours, although only 40
miles away. In our region the game is only played during the winter months,
when there is no agricultural work pending. During one year's agonizingly
bitter winter I endured sub-freezing temperatures, deeply rutted iced roads,
avalanches, and landslides in order to attend and participate every weekend.
And of course, once on the playing field there was always the likelihood of
sustaining injuries in order to observe, photograph, and ride in the game; all
of which I did. I considered it an honor to take so intimate a part in this
ancient and brutal sport alongside these skilled horsemen. In my case, it was a
unique honor because I was the sole female in attendance in this more
religiously and culturally conservative area of Tajikistan.</span><!--EndFragment-->
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<!--StartFragment--><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Although the game of <i>buzkashi</i> is indeed
brutal, and the <i>chovandoz </i>appear barbaric to some, this is in contrast
to the real character and culture of Tajiks. <i>Chovandoz </i>are
unquestionably as kind and generous off the playing field as they are fierce and
aggressive on it. Tajik people are a guest-loving culture and the people of the
Rasht Valley, including the <i>chovandoz</i>, uphold this reputation with a warm
and royal treatment of guests. It is a reflection of their hearty spirit in
this remote region that, in spite of living in harsh conditions and playing extreme
sports, they offer extraordinarily gracious hospitality. They extended their respect
to me - even welcomed me to play their sport, and although my skill was
marginal by comparison, occasionally I would even win a tea set.</span><!--EndFragment-->
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JrFN4LRzft8/UJZjpvpqupI/AAAAAAAAAlU/Wi3R3DXsCXU/s1600/IMG_2271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JrFN4LRzft8/UJZjpvpqupI/AAAAAAAAAlU/Wi3R3DXsCXU/s320/IMG_2271.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">All photos taken by me with the exception of the photos taken of me that were taken by Roger Horton and Mulobek Vazirov.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
I invite you to check out this link to a beautiful movie about the lives of a few of the chovandoz in Tajikistan and the ancient sport in which they participate. Continue to check for dates that the film may play at a theater near you.<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><a href="http://www.oxusfilms.com/buzkashi.html">http://www.oxusfilms.com/buzkashi.html</a></span></div>
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janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com0A372, Gharm, Tajikistan39.0252 70.36562335.868696 65.311912 42.181703999999996 75.419333999999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-9665656896112811292012-10-16T20:24:00.000+05:002012-10-16T20:33:22.794+05:00The beauty of sitting in pain<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #373737; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 300; line-height: 24px;"></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.625em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Sometimes there lies an inexplicable pain deep inside my chest. Like today, truth be told. It usually begins subtly and if I ignore it, it grows into a real sadness and depression that can lead to frustration and anger. I used to keep myself busy in an effort to avoid thinking about it, but it’s like a background hum that does not still or quiet itself. It’s heavy, thick, and, well, painful. At times like these in the past, I might have numbed myself in any number of destructive ways. But these days I’m learning to sit with it. To sit IN it. To allow myself to feel it. To allow the pain to go searing through my veins, to envelope me, to feel the heaviness in my heart. I sit quietly, feel it, face it squarely. When I do that, and when I ask, “what are you here to teach me?” the pain begins to feel separate from me and becomes something I can observe, something I can listen to like a child, or like this is my teacher and I listen as if I am it’s best student.</div>
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<span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span>
<span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I am grateful for this … this new-found ability to sit in my own pain. T</span>he teaching that comes out of the listening allows me to learn my intended lessons much more rapidly. I avoid the repeating patterns of my younger, unconscious, and self-destructive days. And so, out of the pain arises a consciousness and from that consciousness arises gratitude. The pain has morphed. The light of consciousness and willingness to feel, ask, and listen has transmuted the pain into a realization and an action. I know what I must do – I know why this pain came to me and it is calling me to do something … stop playing it small because of fear; start choosing more enabling and positive language; have integrity, not just with others, but with myself – especially with myself. That last one was one of today’s messages. I am not caring for myself in the most loving and nurturing of ways physically. Spiritually, yes. Physically, no. I am grateful to understand this. To learn this. Now it is time for action.</div>
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janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-76609567608933371822012-03-20T20:05:00.000+05:002012-09-17T07:58:46.840+05:00Spring Finally Arrives, (Limping and Screaming)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Spring is limping in, bedraggled, wounded, and resistant. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E8BKe0YAiTM/T2iXQugAA3I/AAAAAAAAAjc/n8FIHEX6Kfc/s1600/_DSC6542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E8BKe0YAiTM/T2iXQugAA3I/AAAAAAAAAjc/n8FIHEX6Kfc/s320/_DSC6542.jpg" width="212" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sQCBMBl_nho/T2iWE-rVwuI/AAAAAAAAAjU/QumKhmCMCQY/s1600/_DSC5062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sQCBMBl_nho/T2iWE-rVwuI/AAAAAAAAAjU/QumKhmCMCQY/s320/_DSC5062.jpg" width="212" /></a>As I sit here with frozen fingers, barely able to type, staring at half-meter icicles hanging from my roof, I ponder exactly how much I can take of this cold before I lose my mind. It's March 20th and yesterday was the snowstorm from hell. On top of the meter-plus snow still lying on the ground came winds blowing at Mach speed, sticking snow to my windows and blowing it through the cracks in the panes. And a fire that refused to light because of the gale, despite our desperate and dogmatic persistence. The smoke we generated left my house looking, from the outside, like it was on fire. But I can fully attest, where there is smoke, there is NOT always fire. This morning I scrubbed all the soot from my blackened face and hands, disappointed that it was not, as I had first thought, some lucky stroke of a winter tan, even though I haven't ventured out for days.<br />
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The lack of electricity has only exacerbated the drama and feels deeply like the insult added to injury - the bashing of the wound that never heals. {Please stand by while I throw some coal dust on the fire that is cooperating today}. <br />
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This week our forecast is "massive avalanches". Speaking of dramatic! Those are two words one never hopes to witness in action, but the reality is, it's entirely imaginable, possible, and probable. Sticking close to home - as cold as home is - is infinitely more attractive.<br />
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That said, it is the spring equinox, which is celebrated as <i>Navruz</i> in Tajikistan - literally meaning New Day, or the New Year according to the Persian calendar. Major festivities are held in each county - or <i>Jamoat -</i> drawing out the multitudes sporting their new spring fashions and magnificent traditional clothing. This year we hope to be soaking up the rays of a cooperative sun and will be looking for promises of a quickly arriving planting season. At this time last year, potatoes had already been planted in many areas. This year we'll be lucky to get our potatoes in by May. It has been a helluva winter!<br />
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janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com1Tajikistan38.861034 71.27609335.696924999999993 66.22238200000001 42.025143 76.329804tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-83087708798193314172012-03-02T22:38:00.000+05:002012-07-26T15:02:13.586+05:00Expedition with the Herdsmen and Women of Tajikistan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A View into the Life of <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Semi-nomadic Herdsman of TAJIKISTAN<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Project executed
by</span></i><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black;">Janice Setser </span></b><b><span style="color: black;">with the assistance of guides, translators, </span></b><b><span style="color: black;">horses and </span></b><b><span style="color: black;">a driver</span></b></div>
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<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Timeframe<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: black;">45 days total: 20
days in spring / 20 days in summer + 5 days of preparation<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Location
specifics<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Tajikistan<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span><span style="color: black;">Spring migration from Khatlon to Rasht Valley (RRS region
of Gharm – see map below)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span><span style="color: black;">Summer shepherding in Gharm and Jirgatol Districts of the
Rasht Valley of RRS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Definitions<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Podabon<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Molbon<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Dahmarda<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Galabon</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Ailoq/Jailoo<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Those who watch after cows<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Those who watch after sheep and
goats<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Can refer to anyone watching out for
cows, sheep or goats<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Those who watch over herds of horses<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Pasture in Tajik and Uzbek / Kyrgyz
respectively</span><span style="color: red;"> </span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p> </div>
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<b><span style="color: white;">Project Description<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<em><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Semi-nomadic pasture people of Tajikistan:</span></b></em><em><span style="font-family: Cambria;">
<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Cambria;">This is a journey of many steps. To be precise,
the first portion alone will be nearly 416,460 steps – or 350 kilometers (208
miles), starting in the dry southern region of this little-explored territory of
Central Asia, known as Tajikistan, and walking to higher, greener pastures in
the northeast of the country, the Rasht Valley. In what is tellingly called the
Region of Republican Subordination (RRS), live hundreds of podabon, molbon, and
galabon, with their enormous flocks and herds, for between three to five
months, depending on the elevation, weather, and food available to the
livestock. Fixed territories are
assigned by the Governors of each district in the Valley, and these herders - both
men and women, depending on which ethnic group they are from - endure the
elements and sometimes battle wild animals such as bears and wolves, among other
hardships not yet identified. Their lives are austere, the elements harsh and
unforgiving, and there is no rest. Little
is understood about their journeys, about their lives for that period of
shepherding, the impact of their absence on their households, nor what it is
they do for the rest of the year. <o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Cambria;">This expedition will touch upon the shepherd’s
lives away from the pastures and while herding; on their struggles in and out
of the pastures, their daily schedule, their impressions of the changes in
landscape, nature, and the climate, the politics of herding and obtaining land,
ownership issues, compensation, and for how long they have been herding. It will also look at land management issues and
consider herding as a livelihood in general.
It will include as well a look at the issues that are pertinent and
relevant to them that may be undefined prior to setting out. <o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Cambria;">This expedition is intended to raise awareness
about this vast unknown sub-culture of Tajikistan. Presentations of the journey
and discoveries made will be made after the trip, and a book containing photos
and the stories of the Uzbek, Tajik, and Kyrgyz herders throughout the Rasht
Valley will be published as a cultural and historical memoir. <o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<b><span style="color: white;">Background<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Uzbeks<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Each spring thousands of
sheep and goats travel 250 to 300 miles by foot, under the careful watch of
semi-nomadic herders. These
predominantly Uzbek shepherds are moving from the south of Tajikistan, where
pastures are sparse and finished early, to the high mountainous regions of the
Rasht Valley where they spend four to five months away from their homes to
pasture and care for the animals. They
live in simple tents and on scarce resources.
The majority of the livestock under their care largely belongs to
others, and, in at least some of the cases, they are government owned. The herdsmen are assigned territories
throughout the Rasht Valley each year.
How those territories are defined and assigned and paid for remains to
be determined. During the spring, a car trip to the capital city of Dushanbe can
be prolonged by an hour or more if one encounters eight or nine such mol-trains
(herds) on the narrow, two-lane road that is on one side, mountainous and on
the other, dangerous cliffs that give way to the red river, sometimes hundreds
of meters below.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Tajiks<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In Rasht District, a
collection – usually of four men from each village - will set up tents or other
makeshift types of lodging in their allocated territories and will care for the
cows, or goats, and sheep of their village. The shepherds take turns, working
two-by-two, anywhere from five to ten days on, followed by five to ten days
off. The length of time will depend on
the distance from their village. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In addition, these
shepherds are often the responsible person in their household for harvesting
hay in the late summer months, which puts an additionally heavy burden of labor
on them, in particular when the harvest falls during Ramazan – the Muslim
period of fasting. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Kyrgyz<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WyxvoLCZFYA/T1EE_9kX8yI/AAAAAAAAAjM/i2pWbgmor0M/s1600/_DSC1717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WyxvoLCZFYA/T1EE_9kX8yI/AAAAAAAAAjM/i2pWbgmor0M/s320/_DSC1717.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
primary inhabitant of the </i>jailoo<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> in
the Jirgatol district of Tajikistan is the woman. While young men and boys may accompany them
as the shepherds, walking the sheep and goats out to pastures daily, it is the
women who are the mainstays of the pastureland and care for the bovine members
of their herds, milking and processing up to 80 liters of milk daily (18
gallons). The primary lodging in this
area is the yurt – a rounded (although some are rectangular) felt tent-like
structure that is highly decorated on the inside and contains a small stove for
heating and cooking. In areas where
avalanches are not a threat, more permanent structures have been built – single-room
mud huts. In Jirgatol, there are road
systems to most of the jailoos, in contrast to many of the pastures in the
Gharm region, which are only accessible by horse, foot, or donkey.</i></div>
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<td style="background: #999999; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-background-themetint: 102; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 480.3pt;" valign="top" width="480"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -40.8pt; mso-yfti-cnfc: 5;">
<b><span style="color: white;">About the author<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Janice Setser has lived
in Tajikistan for a total of seven years.
She spent two years living and working in five different districts of Khatlon,
and the other five living in Garm and working in three districts of the Rasht
Valley. The contrast in her experiences
has fascinated her, and while the Rasht Valley is well known to be more
conservative and religious, it is here that she has found an unusual freedom, a
home, and a belonging. After four years of managing large health and
agriculture projects and acting as head of base for a large non-governmental
organization, she ventured to remain in the remote valley, pursuing some of the
other opportunities that called to her passions. Among the many things attracting her attention
is a focus on development of youth, business, tourism, the honey sector, and
her own spiritual growth and personal development, including studying photography and
writing. The cultures and landscapes of
Tajikistan provide a rich weave in which to practice and work. It is her wish to honorably give a voice to
the voiceless.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Addendum: Be looking for an opportunity to fund this project on www.indiegogo.com soon. More information will be available here shortly.</i></span></div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com1Rasht, Tajikistan39.2157449 70.526493438.8220804 69.8947794 39.6094094 71.158207400000009tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-79585657205045792642012-02-29T21:44:00.000+05:002012-08-05T16:39:30.333+05:00Frost Sculptures<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ncSvbOOF91o/T05HSXV30wI/AAAAAAAAAic/63s52jiN3tU/s1600/_DSC3328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ncSvbOOF91o/T05HSXV30wI/AAAAAAAAAic/63s52jiN3tU/s320/_DSC3328.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pFX3A0GHMtc/T05Hs38XOAI/AAAAAAAAAik/VLktBxwRiv8/s1600/_DSC3317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pFX3A0GHMtc/T05Hs38XOAI/AAAAAAAAAik/VLktBxwRiv8/s320/_DSC3317.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WdJIyBfNPEk/T05PqsgelXI/AAAAAAAAAis/KyE9INI1oA8/s1600/_DSC3321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WdJIyBfNPEk/T05PqsgelXI/AAAAAAAAAis/KyE9INI1oA8/s1600/_DSC3321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Extreme sub-zero temperatures can result in ice-sculpturesque scenes in nature. I never cease to be moved by the ability of nature to reinvent herself, not only at the transition of the seasons, but uniquely so within each one. On this day, the intense white and blue was striking, refreshing, breathtaking.</span></a></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SH90VOivE_Q/T05Q1G-LDUI/AAAAAAAAAi0/JUlARE_8eJs/s1600/_DSC3331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SH90VOivE_Q/T05Q1G-LDUI/AAAAAAAAAi0/JUlARE_8eJs/s320/_DSC3331.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com1A372, Gharm, Tajikistan39.0252 70.36562338.2358025 69.1021955 39.8145975 71.6290505tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-17576317656956411712012-01-20T15:28:00.000+05:002012-07-26T17:41:56.572+05:00Compassion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c1ufJbYda_U/Txk9gufIasI/AAAAAAAAAiM/9ETtVumio44/s1600/IMG_3034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c1ufJbYda_U/Txk9gufIasI/AAAAAAAAAiM/9ETtVumio44/s320/IMG_3034.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Compassion is the spark </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> igniting the flame</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> that sheds a light</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> on the darkest night</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> of the unsuspecting heart</span></div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-73349594427559279322011-11-10T11:41:00.000+05:002017-08-03T07:07:11.101+05:00The Magical Quietness of Coloring<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<!--StartFragment-->
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; mso-themecolor: text1;">The celebration of
Eid al Fatr is the holy celebration that breaks the month-long fast of Ramazan
(in some places called Ramadan) found in Islam. For at least two days, the
women of every household are running around preparing the feast to be laid out
on the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dastarkhon</i>, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a tablecloth which is set out on the floor, for
the steady stream of guests that will stop by briefly to have a cup of tea and say
prayers for the family. Among the dishes set out are boiled meats, homemade
pastries and cakes, fresh yogurt from the family cow, seasonal fruits, a
variety of flat breads, halva - a dish made from flour, oil, and sugar, and
candies –individually wrapped chocolates bought from the local shops. A bowl of
broth soup is brought fresh for each guest. It is a big feast and a great
social affair in which everyone is out, dressed in their Eid best. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each year I also follow the tradition,
accompanied by a few local friends and colleagues from work that make sure I don’t
commit any cultural faux pas during this ritual. I am grateful to be included
in the celebration, and the families warmly welcome my participation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; mso-themecolor: text1;">For the celebration
in Garm, we spent three days making the rounds. There is a special emphasis to
call on homes in which a member of the family has died during the year, but not
all homes visited have suffered such a loss. As is customary we eat a bowl of
soup in each home, sample the sweets and pastries, say our prayers, and then
move on to the next house. I spent two days visiting the homes of 14
other friends and families further away. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the third day, I finally visited the home
of my neighbor, who also happens to be a former colleague of mine, Aminjon.
I <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>saved his as the last in the
house-visiting ritual that comprises these holy days. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-top: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm; padding: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6fhppbn0FWw/TrwAXwLTPlI/AAAAAAAAAhw/6JyeuhoYNTs/s1600/Snowy+Limb+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6fhppbn0FWw/TrwAXwLTPlI/AAAAAAAAAhw/6JyeuhoYNTs/s320/Snowy+Limb+2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; mso-themecolor: text1;">After the few days of snow and rain, the earth was soaked and slippery
with mud. It was cold outside, but the coal stove in their dim room burned
so hot that sometimes the door had to be opened to let in a fresh cool breeze. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; mso-themecolor: text1;">After the government started enforcing the use of energy-saving light
bulbs, families were forced to use the only type of bulb available in the
market - spiral, fluorescent bulbs that glowed obnoxiously white and struggled
to cast their light into the smallest of rooms. In Aminjon’s house the bulb
hung from a dirty electrical wire about three feet from the ceiling, looking
somewhat like a small, coiled snake. Despite the bulb, the barren room was dark,
but the short rays were unable to hide the discoloration along the bottom third
of the walls. Many years of floor-dwelling guests and children had worn away
the light blue paint and bits of the mud bricks peaked through. The small round
iron stove burned along one wall, with a bright orange ring glowing in the
center from the heat of the coal. It is said that some of the best coal
in the world comes from this region, and the hot glowing ring was proof. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; mso-themecolor: text1;">There were six young children in the room, a woman who was mother to
only three of them, and the grandmother who sat on her bed with her back to all
of us. She was reciting prayers and slowly separating prayer beads, one by
one, with her crippled and severely arthritic hands. She prayed the whole time
I was there breaking from her prayers only once in a while, mostly in response
to the children’s bouts of loud or unruly behavior. In this home, as in
most others in the region, elders are central to the family, and thus
Grandmother was placed along the wall close to the center of the room, and she was
the first person visitors saw <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>upon
entering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Two families totaling 13 people surrounded her, including her two sons,
their wives, and their nine children, aged three to 16.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is a lot of people at any given time,
but in the winter, when only one stove is lit during the day to provide warmth,
it becomes a veritable sardine can crammed with highly energized children and very
little room to expend their energy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Aminjon works as a guard in the office I previously managed and his
brother is a local <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mullah</i>, which is
similar to a priest in Catholicism. He is responsible for giving the five
prayers a day at the main mosque in town - his only job, which is a volunteer
position. That places the burden on Aminjon to be the sole breadwinner of the
whole family. He makes around $275 per month. This scarcity of
income is reflected in the remains of two former toys that could be found in
the house – the wheels to one toy car, and the top to another, both of which
were entertaining the three year old, Aisha, the youngest girl. Clearly,
they were hand-me-downs, already used up and virtually destroyed by her older
siblings. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nonetheless, Aisha was deeply
engaged with them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; mso-themecolor: text1;">The room also had an old TV in one corner, the single bed where grandmother
sat, and a pile of stuffed and aging cotton mattresses, called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kurpachas,</i> that were stacked against the
far wall. Although old, these <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kurpachas</i>
brought the room to life with their wild floral and abstract prints displaying a
bold array of the brightest colors imaginable, just short of neon. Every
household in Tajikistan has a similar stash of these pliable mattresses,
usually covered by another colorful and sometimes hand crafted piece of
material. That stash is the supply to draw from in the event of company, when they’ll
be laid out on the floor around the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dastarkhon</i>.
Other than these few essentials, the empty space took up more room. This sparseness
of belongings and yet fullness of family is characteristic of every household
in this remote mountain valley.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; mso-themecolor: text1;">I sat quietly on the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dastarkhon,</i> drinking
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>green tea and contemplating which pastry
I would try to eat on top of the hundreds it felt like I’d already eaten that
day. The only reason I even considered eating another thing was because the
women, in a fashion typical to this region, cannot accept an idle guest around
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dastarkhon</i>; one must constantly
be eating and drinking tea. Stuffed as I was, I continued to snack and found
myself content to take in this typical family scene. I felt privileged to be
part of it. The experience starkly contrasted my small family gatherings in the
US; there are no grandchildren, and my mother <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">– our elder</i> – lives alone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; mso-themecolor: text1;">A couple of the boys were seated on a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kurpacha</i> at the end of their grandmother’s bed, watching a program
on the TV, even though they were unable to understand the Russian language
being used. The oldest daughter was coming and going bringing other treats from
the outdoor kitchen, and the younger children were crawling all over each other
restlessly. Like busy little ants, they ran in and out of the house, opening
and closing the door, sometimes fighting, sometimes laughing. Their grandmother
would occasionally shout to them to be still and quiet, but to no avail. Cabin
fever had settled in and they were not to be stilled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Suddenly, I remembered that I had purchased coloring books and colored
pencils on my last visit to the capital. I had been waiting for just such an
occasion - winter and a collection of children - and here they were. I
excused myself, ran home and ruffled through my plastic bin full of art
supplies, found the collection of books and pencils and ran back, thrilled that
I had something to give to the kids. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; mso-themecolor: text1;">When I arrived bearing my handful of coloring books, the children
gathered around me with curiosity. They watched intently while I selected a
book and then gave it away to one of them. Each child was waiting to see exactly
who would be receiving a book – as if only some would be lucky enough. The
collection of blank looks made it obvious that they didn’t expect to each
receive one. But as they realized they would each get their very own book, blank
looks shifted to wild excitement. They grabbed and held on to their new prized
possessions tightly so they couldn’t be taken away. One by one they found a
spot on the floor and, sharing the colored pencils, began coloring intently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NvqYMLRlKJE/Trv0WCZjygI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/M3Rt3ZEGH8M/s1600/Red+Paper+Poppies+2" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NvqYMLRlKJE/Trv0WCZjygI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/M3Rt3ZEGH8M/s320/Red+Paper+Poppies+2" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; mso-themecolor: text1;">For the next hour quietness filled the room as the children slowly
studied their books, carefully choosing the first illustration they would
color. The oldest, a girl of 14, helped the younger boys and Aisha, who I noticed
was the only one to combine colors, creating multi-colored balloons. The
grandmother paused her prayers, turned to me and said, “You couldn’t have
brought those over earlier?” with a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice. I
laughed, although I knew she meant it. Her relief at the quiet was palpable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bjLmkWb0bZE/TrwDuZb4jGI/AAAAAAAAAh4/lHGggGfuI7c/s1600/Red+Paper+Poppies+in+Pencil" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bjLmkWb0bZE/TrwDuZb4jGI/AAAAAAAAAh4/lHGggGfuI7c/s1600/Red+Paper+Poppies+in+Pencil" width="400" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria"; mso-themecolor: text1;">After awhile, I got up to leave. I was full, and ready to sleep. Now
that the children were ensconced in coloring, and their mother and the oldest
child were equally engaged in watching them, there was not a whole lot left for
me to do. As I got up to leave, grandmother was still praying, and the children
barely noticed me. Their mother prompted them to say goodbye and without
looking up, they all yelled, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Khair</i>
Janees”. I left feeling content at the richness of my visit – so
simple, yet deeply connected and meaningful. Walking home, I made a mental
note to remember to get more coloring books, and to visit my closest neighbors
more often. They were, after all, like second family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--></span><br />
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<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6fhppbn0FWw/TrwAXwLTPlI/AAAAAAAAAhw/6JyeuhoYNTs/s1600/Snowy+Limb+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br /></div>
janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com1A372, Tajikistan39.2157449 70.526493437.6412914 67.99963790000001 40.790198399999994 73.0533489tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-30632030778119363952011-11-08T23:16:00.000+05:002012-03-02T19:46:18.473+05:00Guilt, the Joy Killer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As I was walking from my living room into my
bedroom to retire for the evening, I shut off the lights and uttered the words,
"thank you" from a genuine place of deep gratitude for this day;
for life; for being alive. I was grateful to have been able to spend most
of the day with people: my neighbors down the hill; the boys
that came to my house for English class; the neighbors and their kids right next door (with whom
I took up coloring using the colored pencils and coloring books that I gifted
them); and Qadrubullo, the caretaker of the land. As far as accomplishing
anything towards my bigger goals, i.e., towards the business, towards some form
of financial freedom, towards marking anything off the long list of things to
do - I failed spectacularly. But there are days when who you sit with -
including the children - is far more important than another task crossed off
the list. </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Or is it?</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When the feeling occurred, it emanated from a
true place of joy, but as I wrote the above, guilt crept in and I started
questioning whether I was simply justifying not having accomplished anything?
Am I singing the "life is too short" song to try to exonerate
myself? And where is this coming from? When I was employed, I never
achieved the work/life balance. Ever. I came closer to it in the winter
when I would spend the weekends at buzkashi matches. But the rest of the
week and the rest of the year, outside of winter, was spent laboring in the harsh,
driving madness of work. </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So ...</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Am I wasting time and just making excuses?
Or am I, in the longer term, accomplishing the
work/life balance? Or am I now in the struggle to accomplish the
life/work balance? You see, it isn't that today was the ONLY day that I
have spent with people. Today just happened to be a day when I truly felt
the joy of it and gratitude for it.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8617850" name="_GoBack"></a> And when I was finally able to feel
the joy of that, as soon as I wrote it down, I started feeling guilty. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">
What is wrong with this picture? Have I been conditioned so effectively to an eight-hour workday (more like 11-14), where achieving or accomplishing is of more import than just enjoying a day being alive and being with people? I’m not sure I like that. </span><br />
<div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Guilt is a joy-killer. A true, pathological, serial, joy killer.</span></div>
</div>
</div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-91401923300168511362011-11-06T07:52:00.001+05:002017-08-03T07:10:52.378+05:00Shifting Tunes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Melancholy is a tune in a minor key</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The notes in the minor keys vaporize inside my chest</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Through the vapor the mountains crescendo</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Can I scale them</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And sing a song of triumph</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m_67KEG7ytU/TrX2SaDNjLI/AAAAAAAAAg4/eoUlTmwG51M/s1600/IMG_3111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m_67KEG7ytU/TrX2SaDNjLI/AAAAAAAAAg4/eoUlTmwG51M/s640/IMG_3111.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In a major key?</span><br />
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janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-8090645104666812522011-10-30T22:16:00.000+05:002012-03-02T19:47:31.769+05:00Seven-Story Mountain, by Railroad Earth<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here I offer lyrics to one of my all-time favorite and deeply appreciated songs by Railroad Earth, called Seven Story Mountain. 17 minutes and 17 seconds of wonderful bluegrass, fiddles, drumming, and crescendos, with poignant and timely lyrics, given my current wintry introspection: </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">... to see a light, but fail in strength to follow ... got to find a light and fill my heart again. Yes. Yes. A resounding YES!</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pmwaiQTHTEI/Tq2EQidpa8I/AAAAAAAAAgw/scwRySryqKM/s1600/Sunset+at+the+Vaksh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pmwaiQTHTEI/Tq2EQidpa8I/AAAAAAAAAgw/scwRySryqKM/s1600/Sunset+at+the+Vaksh.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oh Lord to see a light, but fail in strength to follow</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sometimes it's hard to let it go</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oh Lord, to fail in heart and each day grow more hollow</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sometimes I just don't want to know</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But the road that led me here</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Is begun to disappear</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sometimes I wonder where I am</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oh Lord, to hear a voice but let it fade and wallow</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sometimes its hard to let it go</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oh Lord to find the words but keep them in and swallow</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One day the top is gonna blow</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But the road that left me here</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Is begun to disappear</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sometimes I wonder who I am</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oh Lord to stumble blind for years without knowin'</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sunrise has burned my eyes again</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oh Lord to crumble quiet watching from the silence</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sunrise has burned my eyes again</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's a seven-story mountain</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's a long, long life we live</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Got to find a light and fill my heart again</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's a seven-story mountain</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's a long, long life ahead</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Got to find a voice and fill my throat again</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My version is on the album Railroad Earth Live Sampler. There is also a nice audio version here:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAsGbdqdYk0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAsGbdqdYk0</a></div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-45278749387983217472011-10-28T09:59:00.000+05:002017-08-02T07:19:54.010+05:00Leaping off the Great Edge<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EkA1fxfEiDs/WX-iE6SBF6I/AAAAAAAAA5Y/knBtVuFfhoILcc9pGIMJEcewI8VsY1v1gCLcBGAs/s1600/DSC_2291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1063" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EkA1fxfEiDs/WX-iE6SBF6I/AAAAAAAAA5Y/knBtVuFfhoILcc9pGIMJEcewI8VsY1v1gCLcBGAs/s640/DSC_2291.jpg" width="640" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Leaping off the Great Edge, where will I find myself? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Where will I lose myself? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like the caged bird, I must die to be set free. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dying to myself is a welcome proposition. But what will follow? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Who will be The One to Come After? And from where will she come? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I pray she be stronger, fearless, more disciplined, more deeply compassionate, an expanded visionary. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It already IS. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">She already is. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But where? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Where is She? </span></div>
janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-79934819023797307532011-09-29T21:59:00.001+05:002012-03-02T19:49:33.973+05:00Solitary, but not Alone<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sitting on the Roof of the World, thinking to myself that it's a damn fine view. I did not grow up in the mountains so I can't put my finger on why they magnetized me so, but sometimes all I can think about is being up in them; walking, riding, sitting, and gazing at the magnificence and perfection. Seriously, it borders on obsession. That might not be such a bad thing.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This extended journey provided stupendous weather as we traveled through the high pasture lands in the eastern region of Tajikistan. The pasture lands - called <i>ailoq </i>in Tajik and<i> jailu </i>in Kyrgyz - are nestled up in the mountains anywhere from 2,500 to 4000 meters (8,200 to 13,000 feet). In this district it is the women that are the primary occupants, mostly living in yurts and caring for the livestock of their village. A young man will take the flocks of sheep and goats during the day to graze, but the cows and their calves are driven away from the homestead in separate directions, only to return in the evening on their own. That is the advantage of bovines - the mothers and their young will return to each other in the evenings, whereas the pesky goats will lead the sheep over hill and dale and never return, if they had their way.<i> </i></span><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></i><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On this particular day Quvatbek and I enjoyed a leisurely walk, past all of the yurts and up to the 4,600 meter-high peaks (> 15,000 feet). Tajikistan lays geographical claim to one half of those peaks, while Kyrgyzstan claims the other half. I wanted to walk up to this (seemingly theoretical) borderline and put my toe over it, claiming proudly (if not tongue-in-cheek) that I walked to Kyrgyzstan. Granted, I did make the climb (or most of it), but it was not treacherous and exhausting (like last year's three-day trek over snow-ladden mountains); however a <i>gala,</i> or herd of horses with one jealous stallion prevented our final claim to fame by protecting his mares aggressively. Our young stallion would have been no match for him, so while Quvatbek and his horse kept their distance, I took up a place on a rock closer to the herd, sitting very still with my camera taking photos and videos of them. True to their nature, they slowly and curiously came in close, interested in me and the camera, and then, curiosity satisfied, meandered off to continue grazing. I felt so blessed to be surrounded by these semi-wild, spirited creatures in this wondrously and palpably spiritual landscape. To be here by yourself is not to be alone. If you look, listen, and hear - not with your tactile senses, but with your heart, you surely understand that you are not alone.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d9jvBiBQ4LA/TnLnNCfgYxI/AAAAAAAAAgc/jJGxZmitWJY/s1600/_DSC1270.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652834693496726290" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d9jvBiBQ4LA/TnLnNCfgYxI/AAAAAAAAAgc/jJGxZmitWJY/s320/_DSC1270.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 186px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Life above 3000 meters, or nearly 11,000 feet can be harsh, driving, spiteful even, but in this setting, the beauty can overtake you and bring you to tears at the feel of the closeness of God. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">One lone yurt sits at the base of a 7-year old avalanche of glacial ice. Yakub and his wife weather the elements, the bears, and the wolves and watch over their village's cattle for the summer months. Not many reach this remote place and when we showed up bearing rice, carrots, and onions, they lit up, beaming with excitement at the prospect of something more diverse than bread and the endless supply of dairy products they consume. "If only all guests were like this" they said, laughing. My hats off to them ... or, as they say in Tajik, my hands up. Ofarin!</span></div>
</div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com0Tajikistan38.861034 71.27609335.696924999999993 66.22238200000001 42.025143 76.329804tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-40986136590533521242011-08-20T15:34:00.002+05:002012-03-02T19:50:39.510+05:00Caught Between Worlds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1uNHktpb4kY/Tk-QrWyn-OI/AAAAAAAAAgU/gm4oPBkvf2w/s1600/DSC_6100.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642887932645210338" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1uNHktpb4kY/Tk-QrWyn-OI/AAAAAAAAAgU/gm4oPBkvf2w/s320/DSC_6100.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 206px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have a theory that I was a fish in a past life and that I'll be a bird in a future life. I sometimes feel an awkwardness in my body, like I'm caught in between the two other worlds and contained by a life on land. </span> <br />
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</div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-91684071878374846352011-07-07T22:13:00.010+05:002012-03-02T19:51:05.426+05:00Acting on inspiration<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nzS2Et75y5k/ThXrZ7LLFFI/AAAAAAAAAgE/4HYXAyVkeY8/s1600/_DSC9722.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626662140083115090" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nzS2Et75y5k/ThXrZ7LLFFI/AAAAAAAAAgE/4HYXAyVkeY8/s320/_DSC9722.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 213px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nzS2Et75y5k/ThXrZ7LLFFI/AAAAAAAAAgE/4HYXAyVkeY8/s1600/_DSC9722.JPG"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I found a picture of me with a total look of contentment. I feel such a deep gratitude at the gift of being able to live where I do. If I could bottle my joy and share it, I would.</span></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">It's the strangest thing, though, how I struggle to actually get things done. In a guest-loving culture, one eventually has to play host. Repeatedly. I have to admit, I'm not nearly as good at being a host as I am at being a guest. Partially because I don't have my team of adept men and women in the background daily facilitating and implementing the 'open house' policies and procedures of every household in this valley and beyond. Its impressive. Impeccable. Admirable.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">So I'm not sure how it is that one without a job can end up being so busy that nothing is accomplished in the end. Mysterious. Perplexing. Ironic. I think the lack of a forced schedule plays into this dilemma. I find when I am under pressure I actually accomplish much more, although I also forget a lot more too. And speaking of forgetting ... wait, what was I going to say? That's my daily quote now. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">On and on the idiosyncrasies bloom when one is free and open. I welcome them. Its like getting to know a whole new me. The lack of boundaries makes my spirit and energies and thoughts fly beyond the usual limits ... soaring sometimes in distinct patterns and at other times staccato; bravado; or just plain out of sight. There's an accompanying expansion, if one is not too careful ... and not too careful is exactly what we're after. Too careful might carry a hint of fear and these are the days to bury fear six feet under or further. These are the days for plowing straight through anything that happens to appear on this path; not thoughtlessly or carelessly, but also without even a nano-second of hesitation. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">My mantra for this epoch: I will not hesitate to act out of inspiration. Have you ever had one of those fleeting moments where your heart is so profoundly moved by something that you absolutely see clearly what act you need to accomplish? Those times that you fail to act on them, or, let's keep this personal, those times that I fail to act on those inspired moments I always feel a twinge of regret. As much about the failure to act, or rather at the second-guessing that stopped my actions, which is what is really going on and, if I stop and think about it, both are the result of fear. Thus, bury the SOB fear as close to the burning, churning core of the earth as possible, stand up straight and ACT. ON. WHATEVER. INSPIRES. YOU. NOW!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Hey! Who stole my soap box? Show's over. 'Night, 'night.</span></div>
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</div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-79599701794698264782011-07-05T22:11:00.005+05:002012-03-02T19:51:48.893+05:00Sweet moon. My moon.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q8SAe4tz18w/ThNNEq61QAI/AAAAAAAAAf8/tDeUSGS5nmg/s1600/MyMoon.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625925102151745538" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q8SAe4tz18w/ThNNEq61QAI/AAAAAAAAAf8/tDeUSGS5nmg/s640/MyMoon.jpg" style="float: left; height: 320px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px; width: 257px;" width="514" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Saw the moon last night again. First time in awhile. I breathed a deep sigh of relief, combined with familiarity, gratitude and a comforting calm. </b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Oh the moon. Sweet moon. My moon. </b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Life is good when she comes around grinning at me once a month ... those months, at least, that I am fortunate enough to glimpse her. Those months that she has not become so shy that she covers herself with a cloak of clouds. She was waiting for me last night as I walked out of a world of a different kind and into the connective light and smile of her warmth and grace. My heart soared up to meet her suggestive light and deep feeling of love. </b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Thank you escaped my lips in a breathy expression. Thank you a thousand times. It is good to be reunited with you.</b></span></div>
</div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-54775512811300793402011-06-24T22:24:00.006+05:002012-03-02T19:52:35.466+05:00Home Sweet Home<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--T3V_Wi3wKw/TgTImbWHgwI/AAAAAAAAAfs/46uF8xd-jZM/s1600/DSC_2384.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621838797366330114" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--T3V_Wi3wKw/TgTImbWHgwI/AAAAAAAAAfs/46uF8xd-jZM/s400/DSC_2384.jpg" style="float: left; height: 213px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px; width: 320px;" width="400" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">just realized recently that I had not even posted a photo of our beautiful Rasht Valley. I love this place to the core of my being. Don't know if I can even explain it articulately or poetically, or any other way, but it is now in my marrow. The picture on the top is the town I live in, Gharm, and the one on the bottom is looking up the valley towards Kyrgyzstan.</span></div>
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</div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com1A372, Tajikistan39.2157449 70.526493438.4284459 69.2630659 40.003043899999994 71.789920900000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-34571616199313064352011-06-17T17:17:00.003+05:002012-03-02T19:53:32.511+05:00Bee-ware<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>I finally had my first meeting with 10 honey producers to discuss the merits of starting a honey cooperative. This will be my first foray into this world of business and I may just end up stumbling blindly through each process until and unless a number of angel helpers step in to guide my way. I am excited beyond measure or words. I think the potential for our success is enormous. Rasht Valley honey is, beyond a doubt in my mind, some of the BEST HONEY IN THE WORLD. And, according to a honey report I read today, "Demand continues to outweigh supply for honey in the world market. Prices remain very strong for all the available honey." Bee-ware world, here we come.</b></span><br />
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</div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com2A372, Tajikistan39.2157449 70.526493437.6412914 67.99963790000001 40.790198399999994 73.0533489tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-91913282184824735592011-04-08T08:12:00.004+05:002012-03-02T19:54:22.284+05:00The Golden Light<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CaMiqmYZqyE/TZ59s7lW-SI/AAAAAAAAAGU/Kupt-wuIXqM/s1600/_DSC7680.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593045998102837538" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CaMiqmYZqyE/TZ59s7lW-SI/AAAAAAAAAGU/Kupt-wuIXqM/s320/_DSC7680.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 213px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sometimes life feels like this picture - a dark ominous cloud hanging over head, following us around like a little ship on the wide expansive sea. But, there's this golden lining here - the light. We have to reach for the light and keep reaching, stretching out of the darkness. Focus on the light. Focus. On. The. Light.</span></div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com1Santa Barbara, CA, USA34.4208305 -119.698190134.368437 -119.7771541 34.473224 -119.6192261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-60010469929779158002011-03-25T05:16:00.003+05:002012-03-02T19:59:05.197+05:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xGQzAqgiri8/TYvf0c-SbVI/AAAAAAAAAGM/oEITEBh9SdU/s1600/IMG_2068.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587805854906871122" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xGQzAqgiri8/TYvf0c-SbVI/AAAAAAAAAGM/oEITEBh9SdU/s320/IMG_2068.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have a tendency towards purple or hues thereof. Speaking with my Spanish colleague Emma one lazy day, we were discussing this bold visual blast. Emma states, "I don't like the color purple" in her sweet but sassy Spanish-accented English. I look at her and state emphatically, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6600cc;"><b>"Emma, purple ain't a color, it's an attitude!" </b></span></span></div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-67650818513934310252011-03-23T13:24:00.005+05:002012-03-02T20:01:29.042+05:00Fire on the Mountain<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6cheSkDOsmE/TYmu8rq3t9I/AAAAAAAAAGE/EowW5VC-VAk/s1600/DSC_3912.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587189170267731922" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6cheSkDOsmE/TYmu8rq3t9I/AAAAAAAAAGE/EowW5VC-VAk/s320/DSC_3912.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 213px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On top of the mountain with my horse, Fire. Sun is shining gloriously. Spent the night under the gazillions of stars. Fasting from sunup til sundown. No food. No water. Drinking in the sunshine and eating up the views communing with God in nature.</span></div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com2Rasht, Tajikistan39.2157449 70.526493438.8220804 69.8947794 39.6094094 71.158207400000009tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-65418215190086294612011-02-18T08:37:00.005+05:002012-03-02T20:10:04.257+05:00Tapestries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--yWz5wo69YE/TV3sOG9BarI/AAAAAAAAAF8/Hl1Y0KeEHIw/s1600/IMG_0580.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574871640883423922" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--yWz5wo69YE/TV3sOG9BarI/AAAAAAAAAF8/Hl1Y0KeEHIw/s320/IMG_0580.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 320px;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All the myriad paths we take add to the tapestried map of our lives; the multi-colored, multi-textured, multi-layered and patterned weaves of cultures, languages, ideas, people, emotions, beliefs, humors, loves gained, loves lost, hearts broken, bad decisions, good intentions, wild adventures, and on and on and on. In the end, if I were to die tomorrow, I'd say it's been a good ride - a wild ride and not one without radical ebbs and flows and ups and downs and vicious circles and tender memories. I'd like to share it all some day. Perhaps I'll start soon.</span></div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-61185158061988954962009-10-25T16:02:00.018+05:002012-03-02T17:07:10.994+05:00Little Girls of Garm<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Although they live in an insecure environment, their lives remain fairly predictable - at 17 they will be married and will move into the households of their husbands and become the worker bees for their in-laws. There may be two or three </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">keling </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">(daughters-in-law)</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> in one household to split chores. That would certainly be my preference. I would not make a good </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">keling</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> by their definition, unless I was only allowed to work the garden.</span></span></span></div>
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</div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-40256155134176232092008-12-31T23:40:00.005+05:002012-03-02T17:37:23.305+05:00Peggy pup<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SnYonGFkoT0/SVvAXQSZ11I/AAAAAAAAADs/TSJ8ZrFimYE/s1600-h/Tajikistan+003.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286030093391091538" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SnYonGFkoT0/SVvAXQSZ11I/AAAAAAAAADs/TSJ8ZrFimYE/s320/Tajikistan+003.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #783f04;"><br />I couldn't resist, since I mentioned Peggy in the post below, to add a photo of her. She is one of many names: Peggy-jon, which means Peggy Dear; Peggy-cha, which means Little Peggy; Peggy-Sue, which is the title of a song by Buddy Holly; Peggy-O, which is another song by the Grateful Dead; or Gurg-cha or Gurgita, which is the diminutive of little wolf in either Tajik or Tajik-Spanish. Speaking of songs, I actually have one for her - it's not bad as little ditties go. She is definitely a joy - a typically happy, loving, attention craving, mischievous, smart-as-a-whip dog ... a fabulous companion.</span></div>janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8617850.post-41471441163217488832008-12-31T19:25:00.014+05:002012-11-05T10:56:43.942+05:00bursting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My head is abuzz and my belly full with the New Year festivities' hosting requirements and the mass quantities of </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06; font-size: small;">shurbo</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06; font-size: small;">plaf</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> I managed to stuff in my face today. So much for the quiet, sober, pensive ringing in of the new year. Although I can claim sober, quiet and pensive I'm not. I even had a phone call by one of the "big men" in Garm that threatened to turn off my water if I don't come to his house ... of course this was spoken with an entirely thick tongue and hazy speech, and I'm not sure if tomorrow he'll remember his threat, which, I understand perfectly, contains an undercurrent of respect, albeit a bit odd in its expression. I laughed and told him that I went nearly three months without water not long ago - I got used to it. He didn't really think that was funny.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Firecrackers are one of the components of the New Year celebration here in Tajikistan and I, like most dogs, only feel like hiding under the house as a result. In fact, thinking of my Peggy pup, I bet that's what she's doing now. Although being under this house also means being curled up next to a warm coal-burning stove. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So as for thoughts for this coming year, I expect it to be pivotal in no uncertain terms. It will be one of leaving significant things behind, including Tajikistan, and one of embracing vast unknowns ... of intentional challenge and growth, opening of my heart to things (and people) that it has long been closed too (this has already started), and navigation through uncharted territories of unlearning and re-learning - or re-membering myself through time and ancestors and dreams and songs and words ... of delving to the depths of my buried cellular and heart memory. I can't wait for the full-scale version to blow wide open ... I truly cannot wait. Last night I sat and spoke with the angels that I felt in my presence and poured out my gratitude for the blossoming that I feel rapidly welling up from deep within me. It's so hard to imagine that at 44 years I can feel the beginnings of a "rupturous" or rapturous blossoming and bursting of beauty from within, but there it is. 44 years is, after all, but a blink in the eyes of time. </span></span></div>
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janicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09732205010623610876noreply@blogger.com0