We went swimming last night. Rani and I went swimming on Sunday, but Kir didn’t come because he couldn’t find swim trunks. He wanted to, though, so we went yesterday after work. We went to a hotel in Berzengi. Berzengi is the area full of luxury hotels built by the government. They call them luxury hotels, but they’re about as well appointed as your average Holiday Inn – room service, outdoor swimming pools and air conditioning.

Anyhow, at one of them you can pay three bucks to use the snazzy kidney shaped pool, and that’s where we go. They have towels and lounge chairs and poolside dining. We swam and lounged and then had dinner and watched the sun set over the city. It was funny weather for swimming. Even in the cool of the evening it must have been a hundred degrees, and since Berzengi is out in the desert, there was a wind blowing. A hot wind – it felt like breath on your skin, but when you were in the pool and wet, the wind felt cool. We’d get out of the pool, thoroughly cold and soaking, sit on the chairs and shiver in the wind. In a couple of minutes, as we dried off, the wind would begin to feel warm again and shortly after that it was time for another swim.

It was very calming. The three of us were left almost impossibly mellow, staring at the pool lit up in the dark and the lights of the city in the distance. Rani said she wished all her friends who admired her bravery in coming to Turkmenistan could see her, drinking soda by the glowing turquoise pool.

Speaking of decadence, I have now mostly recovered from the consumer trauma of the $75 foundation purchase, in part because every time I wear it I think about how good my skin looks how a powder foundation is perfectly suited to this climate, and how wearing makeup gives me an extra bit of authority, something I need badly in this culture that equates age and a Y chromosome with wisdom and authority. (I am indeed a sellout)

Damn, it’s hot lately. You walk out the door and it just hits you in the face, the same feeling I get when I open the over door to check on a baking cake. I have given up wearing jewelry because it heats up uncomfortably in the sun, and I am glad the puppy’s collar has no metal parts. I worried at first about it being too hot for the dog, since she spends her days outside in our yard, but she seems to be doing fine. She does have plenty of shade and water, and our housekeeper visits once a day to take her for a walk. The dog is actually very acclimatized to the hot weather – she doesn’t like to be in rooms that have the air conditioning on, and when she sleeps with us she burrows right under the covers for warmth. I wish I could develop the same skill.

Kir and I went to the dentist today. Nothing much to report. The doctor from his office went with us, which was entirely unnecessary, since Kir was there to translate for me if I need it. I think they’re used to expats that need a lot of hand-holding. The office was out at the end of the earth – near the Berzengi hotels but even farther out in the desert. It was in the “International Medical Center” which is extremely clean and shiny looking, and nearly deserted. Kir suspects it of coming from some kind of Bavarian build yourself a modern hospital kit (all the equipment appeared to be German). We each had an exam and a cleaning. Total bill for the both of us was $30. I had two twenties, but the cashier had no change. The long-suffering driver agreed with her that he would go back tomorrow and pick up our change. We have no receipt of any kind that they owe us the money, but I am quite sure the money will be there. Turkmenistan has its problems, but petty thievery is not among them.

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USAID is one of many donors for the project I work for. The views expressed herein are the author’s own views and do not necessarily reflect those of the author’s employer or especially those of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. And I mean it. I probably give the US government heart attacks.