Turkmenistan's Flag

Text of a mass email from 20 September 2008

We've finally arrived in Ashgabat. Joe had a rough first week because of our delayed arrival but fortunately he didn't have to jump immediately into visa interviews because he didn't have all his computer passwords first thing Tuesday morning. I've been having trouble sleeping through the night. Ruth Anne is doing fine but I've actually been waking her from afternoon naps after about four hours.

The toddlers – Ruth Anne, Gaby (24 months), Sierra and Nadia (both 15 months) – all play together on the playground 9-10:30 each morning with their nannies. I got RA out there two mornings this week. We met her nanny Mehri yesterday afternoon. She is very nice. She speaks and understands English well but will speak Russian with Ruth Anne. The mommies take these same children on outings Thursday afternoon. I didn't fly this week but hopefully next week.

Sierra lives two doors down from us. Her family was last posted to Sierra Leone. Her mom Kelly has been giving me tips about riding the bus and finding fresh milk to pasteurize at home. They're also using cloth diapers. In other words, their attitude towards living in country seems to be similar to ours. I'm very, very happy.

Unfortunately, Nadia lives off-compound, though the apartments are very close. Her parents Johnathan and Yulia are our sponsors. They had us over on Wednesday night for a terrific tahini and spinach soup, eggplant pasta, brownies and deenya melon.

Our expectation that we'd at least be able to find the food stuffs available in Tajikistan has been fulfilled. The same things are in fact more readily available with the exception of eggs (Turkmenbashi had all the chickens killed a few years ago during a bird flu scare and they're rebuilding the flock) and Georgian wine (which isn't coming through Russia or Iran for reasons I think will be clear). The weather is pleasant the 100F+ weather seems to have passed for this year.

I'm surprised to report that none of us has been sick yet. This is probably because Joe has only eaten in a restaurant once and our only salad exposure was fastidiously prepared by Yulia. We did tour the clinic on the compound and it is very nice. A Turkmen doctor and an American nurse are available at all hours. The regional State Department doctor who visits quarterly has a specialty in pediatrics.

I've only riden through downtown twice – once by night and once by day. My impressions of the city have been shaped somewhat the descriptions I've read over the past few years. The most recent encapsulation I heard was “It's a cross between Las Vegas and North Korea.” Illuminated fountains and presidential portraits aside, I was struck by the extremely large Turkmen flag (supposedly the biggest in the world) and the girls' school uniforms, which are a green and trimmed with same decorations that run down the side of the flag. (Yes, this is an invitation to google the flag of Turkmenistan, right now).