Here I am in beautiful downtown Dushanbe. It's a sleepy town, much less busy than any of the other central asian capitals. it feels more asian somehow. It's much poorer than the others - a GDP per capita of under $260. I am in a TDY apartment this time instead of a hotel, and I am already all whiny about not being able to call Kir of my office. I have become that international consultant that everyone hates.

I like dushanbe, though. There is a good feeling about it, somehow. What else to say? The flight was uneventful, even though it was a yak-40 (old soviet plave, so small that it only holds 20 people and stacks your luggage in a rack in back) going over a pretty serious mountain range. I slept most of the way, which was nothing short of miraculous since the seats are tiny and there was for some reason a box of copy paper sitting in what should have been my legroom. I had to pay overweight luggage, since you're only allowed 35 pounds of luggage on those little planes.

I bought a rug yesterday. Kyrgyz felt rug. Very pretty, but it smells strongly of goat and it may have moths. when i get back to ashagabat i'm going to have it sit in the sun and also insecticide it.

I am sharing my TDY aprtment with a Kyrgyz woman who came with us. She's an economist. She seems to think that Markus and I are having an affair. Which is somewhat awkward. I am choosing to ignore the whole situation. With luck, she'll clue in when I sleep in my very own bed tonight. Since I am sharing a bedroom with the woman, she'll notice.

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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.