Getting the hang of things

First off, sorry for the initial link issues.

Things are going well: Classes began yesterday with some language aptitude tests and today we had our first actual lectures. My Persian class is going well--very well-- and Tajiki is too. It's a good feeling to get back in the classroom and jog my memory. Getting back into the classroom is a huge puzzle piece for in settling in to my new surroundings. It is undeniable that this experience will be an exceedingly great challenge. Probably the most outstanding obstacles are the food, water, and language. The food is great: I just need to get used eating oily and very rich foods regularly (regularly means 3 times a day). Dessert comes with every meal, instead of just dinner. I'm sure I'll tell more about Tajiki cuisine in a future post. Bottled water is the only option as the tap is treated only enough to make it appear safe.

My academic schedule obviously demands of me great attention and focus, but living in a household in which the only language spoken is Tajiki has proven a greater intellectual challenge than any normal classroom experience. As I previously mentioned, Tajiki is a dialect of Persian but is packed with Russian words and pronounced in a very Russian manner. This has definitely complicated my attempts to learn the language One the whole my homestay experience is at the same time both awesome and mentally challenging. I'm slowly making my way through my Tajiki dictionary with the help of my host-sister in an effort to supplement my Tajiki classes and facilitate at-home communication. Among the words I've learned so far are: ant ("murcha"), to negotiate ("savdo kardan"), and jar ("banka")--p.s. Tajiki is spelled in Cyrillic, the same characters as Russian.

The other bare neccessities of sleep, reading, fun are progressing. Adjusting to the time change is getting better. Now the only thing waking me up are malaria-pill induced dreams and the family of swallows nested in the adjacent room. Fortunately I am able to read more print books now since I've [consciously] left my computer in the US. I have internet access thanks to my classmates and the abundance of cheap internet cafes. I am currently reading The Accidental Empire by Gershom Gorenberg--an in-depth examination of the formational years of Israel's settlement movement.

That's it for now. Take care.