Turk-man-a-stan

Sunday, June 03, 2007

wah wah ha

dear all-

It's been awhile since my last update and I have been up to so much. In the past month I have read 8 books, had worms, and lost my mind. It's been a fun ride...
I guess I will start at the beginning. So this month I had a lot of fun at the airport. I HAD to get my ticket to London so that i could go on vacation. this presented several problems...see turkmenistan is not a why country so the following events should not be followed with a question of why? rather just wah wah ha. which is the turkmen "word" for poor you. literally wah for me. twice then ha.

so international tickets anywhere on turkmen air are about 120 dollars. i know. i can go to London, China, Turkey, Russia, Germany, and other fun places round trip for about 120 dollars. it's pretty amazing. i love the subsidies in this country when they work for me. i do not however like lines in this country or groups of more than 5 people anywhere in the world. i truly believe when you get 5 people gathered in one place it will be stupid. time and time again this phenomenon has proved true....

so I arrive to the airport with Umit, more on him later, but he has come to help me yell in russian while i push my way through crowds of crazy exsoviet turkmen all trying to go to turkey. the reason why the exsoviet description is important is because i truly believe that before this country was "russified" they knew about lines. these people are too passive to have come up with the idea that lines do not exist and anytime you are waiting all anarchy should and will insue. i blame it on the russians. i heard it happens in all those other places. lines are your friend! the soviets had it wrong!!!

so as i arrive i sign up on the "list". which is run by just a random person on the list. and changes day to day. so i tell them my name and where i am trying to buy tickets for and instead of writing down my name, which after laughing at (my name means either sofa, bottom of the foot or crazy in love, i love the turkmen language) they couldn't decide how to spell, so they wrote me down as london. so for the next 3 days i was known as london by over 100 different turkmen and russian people at the airport.

the first day there was 2 lists. one for turkey and one for everywhere else. and i was on the everywhere else as number 21 but was told they only got to 3 or 5 people a day on that list. so i was like shit....

but by the next morning the turkmen "civilian" had combined the two list and i was now number 36 on a list of over 200 people. and in order to keep things straight they recall the names when the airport is closing and cross off anybody who hasn't come. so if you cant make it at closing time you are shit out of luck. don't ask why it's just the damn system.

so after 3 days of hanging out at the airport chatting people up and playing nice...it was my turn. now during my 3 day stay i had seen 1 lady faint, the police had to come 3 times to break up fights, got hit on, got proposed to, got yelled at in Russian and turkmen. but i made it! i was at the counter. i was ordering my hand written ticket in turkmen. and kicking ass. when all of a sudden this Korean bitch enters my life....

yes- not many people know charjew/turkmenabat (same place) has a korean population. they were misplaced here by stalin...so they make me salads, speak russian and usually leave me alone. but no this 4 ft 5 woman descided it was her turn and was going to bring the smack down. and so i had to kick her. she wouldnt stop pushing me and i was surrounded by people. i dont hate korean turkmen but this woman was messing with a 3 day adventure in buying international tickets in turkmenistan. she had to be put in her place.

but i got it. 2 minutes later the international desk closed. taught her!

so i am on my way to the america...i am trying to figure out what to pack, what i will eat, when i will go up to central texas, and what i want to do (shop!). i will be in south texas on the 9th. after spending the night in jfk airport!!! but i am coming. i have mixed feelings about this whole trip. i am missing an important event by about a month, and still want to go to turkey, thailand/cambodia/laos, and do the trans Siberian. but that comes later...

we spend the majority of our time here talking about the america. so i will be "in a better place" as if i am dead. home means many things now that i am an expat. but i am going to see the people that really matter in my life and that is a lesson to me in what family means. family means spending 2 days on a plane, 3 days in a "line" and going to a place that you aren't ready for yet. america is not where my mind is anymore. i secretly could do this expat thing for the rest of my life and that scares the shit out of me.
but i look forward to seeing as many of you as i can. i will bring you all rad turkmen handcrafts. and eat you out of house and home. buy me drinks and i will love you forever

other than that. school is out. i am having a lot of clubs. including a soccer and Frisbee club. i lost 11 pounds to worms. ate hand made peanut butter icecream. learned how to knit. and puked in a taxi. i also had to say goodbye to a good friend who went to a "better place" for medical reasons. went on a date. i am looking forward to the next group of volunteers to come.

see you in a month.
davonne

posted by D-Von @ 8:53 PM 1 comments

Friday, May 04, 2007

party in my pants see you in 2 months bolyar!!!!

oh boy
i am coming home in july for a sweet 14 day break
actually probably only 10 days
4 days spent on a plane
eww
but yay
i love a.c., cooking classes, teaching poetry class, hitting on people in turkmen and having them give me their number in russian, cursing in russian, pirate themed birthday parties with RUM from the thailand, having worms and losing 7 pounds in 3 days (thank you rupert and dick- all my worms were male), crime and punishment, the american corner, having a life list that i am accomplishing,

i hate taxi drivers who hit on me nonstop, not knowing russian in this city, how expensive lemons are right now,
not getting to ride on the ferris wheel, and not getting to camp out in the desert
but i am well
worms are gone
i am counting down till i get to set foot in the america again
and yes i am coming back to tstan
i've gots to
i just am hurting for the nice summer death heat
it gets up to 45 degrees
right now its a nice cool 40

posted by D-Von @ 4:30 PM 1 comments

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

bolyar

uhh

i can't log onto gmail right now

damn

i hate internet in exsoviet countries that are still untouched by globalalization

i also hate spelling globalization

is that right?

fuck i dont care

it's almost my birthday.

i have been here 6 months

i miss the shit out of people but not really things anymore

i had a bacteria inside me

i no longer do

but it made my farts smell like wicked rotten eggs

i got offered a dowry of 10,000 dollars by a one armed man i thought about going for it i am so broke. haha. yah they pay for their brides here. but i think i am worth 20,000 so i am holding out

my email address is vonbunny@gmail.com

my mail address

Davonne head

Peace Corps/ Turkmeistan

Lebap Welayat Turkmenabat-22

Central Post Office Mail box #46

Turkmenabat, 746100

TURKMENISTAN

I get bored and love mail

so make it happen

other than that

i think i am sticking it out until next august

then i might work in russia or the ex soviet union for 4 months and still come back in december if i get the job

so wish my russian learning good luck

that language is a bitch

i love you

just wanted to give you guys a brief update

d

posted by D-Von @ 4:28 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

my christmas blew but there is slightly good news

am taking a 12 hour train tonight to my new site in south eastern turkmenistan (we call it afganistan- hello opium trade)
you can still email me
and i have 2 addresses now (2 is better than one)
the one in Ashgabat (the capital)
and this new one

Davonne Head, PCV
Peace Corps / Turkmenistan
Lebap Velayat
Turkmenabat -22
Central Post Office
Mail Box # 46
Turkmenabat, 746100
TURKMENISTAN

hit me up
don't be scared
international mail is fun

posted by D-Von @ 4:27 PM 0 comments

Thursday, December 21, 2006

oh whoa is me

the future like always is unknown

Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan Leader, Dies

Published: December 21, 2006

Turkmen President-for-life Saparmurat Niyazov has died, Turkmenistan state-controlled television said on Thursday confirming an earlier report from a government source.

"Turkmenbashi (Head of the Turkmen) the Great has died," said a news presenter on Turkmen state-controlled television.

He said the 66-year-old leader had died of a sudden cardiac arrest. The TV ran still images of a national flag in a black-bordered frame.

Niyazov, 66, had been in power in his reclusive Central Asian state -- the second largest natural gas producer in the former Soviet Union -- since 1985 before independence from Moscow.

He tolerated no dissent and enjoyed a flourishing personality cult with thousands of portraits and statues to him throughout the country.

His name has been given to a sea port, farms, military units and even to a meteorite.

A Reuters correspondent in the Turkmen capital said the situation was calm but workers were seen removing New Year decorations from fir trees in the streets.

i'll keep yall updated

posted by D-Von @ 4:26 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Ashgabat

the internet is strange

i miss everything and nothing

i am super busy

turkmen is coming easy

extreme situations lead to close friends quickly

i live in a house with 6 siblings, 1 bull, 2 goats, 2 cows, 10 ducks, 1 dog, and a cat named Bakera

I love the turkmen people

i love life

love

davonne

posted by D-Von @ 4:24 PM 0 comments

Monday, September 11, 2006

understanding Turkmen

Water is a Turkmen's life, a horse is his wings, and a carpet is his soul.
- Turkmen Proverb

posted by D-Von @ 10:43 PM 0 comments

About Me

Name: D-Von
Home: Halach, Turkmenistan
About Me: THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEB SITE ARE MINE PERSONALLY AND DO NOT REFLECT ANY POSITION OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR THE PEACE CORPS. I am a 22 year old dreamer who still believes that human beings can be saved from themselves. I am interested in different cultures, history, and making a difference.
See my complete profile