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Happy Birthday, Turkmenistan!
So October 27 and 28th are days off for Turkmenistan's Independence Day holiday, so we get a 3 day work week this week. Yay!!! Now, this one is a big deal as it's their 20th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union.
This is how they celebrate:
- immaculate gardening. The elephant and airplane topiaries are in tip top shape thanks to gardeners working until 11pm at night or later.
- colorful ribbons tied from buildings to the ground and on light poles. I really like this, it's simple but striking.
- openings of EVERYTHING. Seriously, they have had new buildings and streets opening for the last 10 days. Just last Wednesday I had to leave the office at 4pm lest the opening of the ice hockey rink across the street (and attendant road closures) kept me stranded at the office until 9pm. There were lines in the streets hours in advance, no food in the cafeteria upstairs because they couldn't get the trucks in, etc. Chaos. Well, not exactly. The local newspaper has a schedule of all the openings and which ministry is in charge. Ice hockey rink day was a big one: there was also a new avenue and children's world (I think it's a museum *** play center type of complex) opening the same day.
- Practice makes perfect. For the parade there will be missiles, military fly overs, parachuting, etc. So for the past 10 days since we returned from the honeymoon we have seen students (who miss school for about a month) carrying flags around town and practicing their performance in the parade grounds, people parachuting out of airplanes with Turkmen flag parachutes, lots of helicopter and jet flyovers, etc. The other day I was stuck in the car for 23 minutes at one light waiting for all the various army vehicles carrying ammunition to pass by.
I wish we could see this parade, but of course people aren't just allowed to watch. We were actually told to get out of town, but it's just not feasible considering that we're barely unpacking from our last trip and our dog is still traumatized.
Instead we are stocking up like it's the apocalypse. Since we may not be able to get anywhere for 2-4 days with all the road closures we feel that it's best to stock up on groceries. I mean, on a good day the grocery store carries random stuff that disappears from one day to the next for months.
So hopefully I'll get lots of reading, cooking and TV watching done in the next few days! And make it back to the gym! Happy Birthday, Turkmenistan!
Re: Happy Birthday, Turkmenistan!
BFP Apr 2012, EDD Dec 19 2012 * twin h/b at 6wk, 9wk scan * Baby A lost at 12wks, Baby B was my rainbow born at 36wks
Heh. Meanwhile I'm praying we make it to London. This is cool and interesting, but I feel so isolated from the world. Facebook, Youtube, BBC News and all blogspot and wordpress sites are banned, so I have to use our VPN at work to see them at super slow speeds. Skype isn't feasible outside of the office because internet speeds aren't fast enough elsewhere, either. So I feel like I'm living under a rock and that sucks.
Also (and I know I'm being a whiner here) I want to be somewhere that sells broccoli, avocados, sweet potatoes, mangoes, etc. There is so little choice for food, entertainment, etc. here and although it doesn't affect me on a daily basis, after a few weeks it starts to chafe. I guess it's cabin fever but within the city.
However, I will say that on a clear day it's beautiful. All the new buildings with their pretty domes, blue skies and snow-topped mountains....I'm not sure I've ever lived in a place that was so pretty since I was in So. Cal.
Wow, they take their birthday party seriously!
So who gets to watch the parade? Is it just shown on television with nobody watching along the route?
Cecilia arrived 12 October 2012
Lots of important foreigners are invited. Plus, lots of students are there doing what they've been practicing for all month. But as far as I know, everyone else can watch it on TV or on the big jumbo screens around the city.
My 30 year old coworker has never seen the parade; she participated once as a student. Apparently some stuff is done in a stadium later on at night separate from the big parade.
We're considering trying to crash the fancy new parade ground and see if we can get through. Let's see how frisky we are feeling tomorrow morning.