My host-family welcomed a great majority of my classmates into their home for a dinner of fresh salads (tomato-cucumber, mushroom, eggplant, and countless others), warm bread, osh, cookies, and the largest and best birthday cake I've ever had (made by hand by my home-stay sister). They were so kind as to welcome us into their home and deal with the mayhem that comes with 25 students. Somehow they still managed to cook too much food, a living testament of Tajiki hospitality and sincerity. They also gave a very nice shirt as an additional present. I also received a traditional Tajik hat, a kif holder, and a stone tree from my teachers. Afterward we headed out to the cool and humid outdoor lounges of downtown Dushanbe where we watched some World Cup soccer and had some drinks.
The following day started with a trip to TALCO (Tajik Aluminum Comapny). TALCO is responsible for up to 60% of Tajikistan's foreign income, according to some. Checking out its wikipedia page it apparently eats up 40% of the countries electricity, and is responsible for a great number of blackouts. Nonetheless it is a crucial part of the country's economy and is housed at an enormous facility. After a few hours of touring--seeing smoldering aluminum reaching temperatures of 6000 degrees and the structure's museum--we checked out some rice farms and flax seed oil factories, soon followed by a lazy ride back into Dushanbe.
For the 4th of July we went to the US Embassy for BBQ and "fireworks." It was nice to be surrounded by English again, toss around the football, and have some decent hamburgers. The fireworks were a nice try but were a far cry from those off of the Statue of Liberty or National Mall. Monday was a day off from class so my classmates and I went our awesome Persian teacher's house to cook a lot of Iranian food. It was the right cap to an extended weekend.
Take care.
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