One of our writing assignments in class today was to choose a star and write a paragraph describing them using the vocabulary we learned. Here is my paragraph so you can get an idea of what Turkmen looks like.
Tarkan Türk aýdymҫy. Öylenmedyk. Ol otuz alty ýașynda. Gowja. Ol syratly we saryýagyz. Ol orta boýly. Oň gozy ýașyl. Men oň gozlerin de ereýän. Oň gür, uzyn, gara saҫ bar. Ol sypaýy, akylly, we eli aҫyk. Ol gowy tans etya. Men oňa dușușerin.
This translates as “Tarkan is a Turkish singer. He’s not married. He’s 36 (I guessed on that). He’s cute. He’s well-built and has a fair complexion. He’s medium height. He has green eyes. I could get lost in his eyes (I had to ask for help with that one). He has thick, long, black hair. He’s eloquent, smart and generous. He’s a good dancer. I’m going to date him.”
I chose Tarkan because people know him here. As I was asking Läle, my LCF, for help on the assignment, she knew who I was talking about without my naming him. She said all the girls like Tarkan. And she and I talked about him a little after class. We share the same favorite Tarkan song, “Hüp.” But he’s never come to Turkmenistan to perform a concert. Maybe I can see him in Turkey on a vacation, though Läle says tickets to see him are expensive. Oh, apparently J-Lo is coming to T-stan next year. Britney Spears and Shakira have both performed here. The T-stan President pays them to come and they perform free concerts for Turkmen, but you have to have an invitation to see them, and you have to have connections to get an invite. Anyway, because Turkmen and Turkish are similar, Turkmen can understand Turkish music and TV. I’m going to have Läle translate a couple Tarkan songs and tell me what words are the same in Turkmen.
Dental Hygiene
My host sister is gorgeous. Until she smiles. She has three gold teeth at the front of her mouth. Many Turkmen have gold teeth. When one takes into consideration all the candy they eat, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. I do see toothpaste in their bathroom, though. I suspect that at one point gold teeth were in vogue, maybe. Can’t really explain it otherwise.
While on the subject of familial oddities, my host brother has six toes on his left foot. His name is Altybay. Alty is six in Turkmen. Bay is a term used in the Doshoguz region (where my fam is from) at the end of names. My LCF didn’t really explain what it means. Just some kind of honorable suffix, I guess. My family always just calls him Alty, though.
Köw-Ata
Today we all went to an underground lake. It was pretty cool. It’s in a very deep cave. You follow tons of steep stairs down and it’s dimly lit. The water is warm mineral water and it was fun to swim to the back of the cave and hang out with most of the group on a couple large rocks that stick out there. We also were fed lunch by Peace Corps, which is always a treat because you know it’s safe and there will be salads (not garden salads, but at least there are vegetables). Then, when I got home, my sister took me to a toy. Toy is T-men for party and while there are different toys, usually when people talk about them, they mean a wedding. (Although one Anew PCT has already been to a circumcision toy. They circumcise at age eight here. I suspect this explains the driving styles of many T-men.) At the toy, I had more good food and was albe to avoid eating bread. That meant I went the whole day without eating bread! (Because I ate a cookie for breakfast that day) Dear diary, after a month, I was finally able to go a day without eating bread.
I like the food here. There are only one or two dishes I’ve encountered that I wouldn’t ever want to eat again. But the nutritional value of the meals here is awful. Everything is cooked in about a quart of oil. Vegetables are peeled, if served at all. I miss vegetables and complete, healthfully prepared meals. For example, last night’s dinner was fried eggs, served in a pool of oil and homemade potato chips, glistening with oil. Read that sentence again. Potato chips for dinner. Not a snack.
Ultimate
My favorite thing to do here in Anew during training is to play ultimate Frisbee with the other PCT’s. I know it’s not getting out into the Tmen community per se, although sometimes kids play with us. But it is so good for my mood. I get really sweaty and dirty and beat up and it’s the best feeling in the world. Today we played just PCT’s three on three, no kids, which is great because then we can play harder. But a few kids watched and so did a couple adults. It was good, I think, for them to see a) Americans playing an American game and b) a girl playing with the boys, just as well as the boys. Plus I feel like it’s just as important to build relationships with the Americans here so when I get to permanent site, I have a few people I can call or text when I need to talk to someone who understands my struggles. It’s sometimes a difficult balance to strike: deciding how much time to spend with Tmen and how much to spend with Americans.
Mexican Night Part Deux
Last night (Nov. 1) both Anew groups went to Ashgabat to Läle’s apartment to teach her how to make Mexican food. The other Anew LCF and a third LCF were there as well. This time we made chicken fajitas. We were able to get lavash in Ashgabat to use as tortillas. It was so fun to cook together and see the Turkmen experience Mexican food for the first time. Läle liked it and said she will make it for her parents. After dinner, we helped clean up and then we played spoons and mafia. I have bruises from spoons. It got a little violent as is usual with that game.