International blogger Jon Rosenzweig (photo left) is with the T16 Peace Corps volunteers. He has been in Turkmenistan for just over six months, and his blog has kept us abreast of his cultural observations and adjustments. Jon is a good writer, with a fine eye for detail, adding wit and humor to keep his posts both informative and entertaining.
He recently wrote, "I have now been in Turkmenistan for 6 months. Sometimes I sort of forget, with all the regular day-to-day business. But it is usually when I look up and see the ol’ Green and Red waving proudly in the air, or when I gaze at one of the omnipresent smiling portraits of my dear [President] Gurbanguly [Berdymukhammedov] that I am reminded where I am. Yep, although there are still many things I am not quite used to, or haven’t experienced, I have now discovered ‘regular’ life in Turkmenistan."Life in Turkmenistan is an adventure, as Jon notes frequently.
"I was in a taxi that seemed quite luxurious (despite the intact windshield). Then I realized it
was a 1980s Daewoo. That is what we are dealing with here: Daewoos as a symbol of superior automotive engineering. The rest are old Soviet-era bunkers on wheels, half metal, the rest plastic and plywood held together by duct tape and parquet flooring. You never wear seat belts here, because even if the seat belt would be necessary, the rest of the car would probably break around you."Jon is one of about 4,000 Peace Corps bloggers. I would bet he is one of their best 100 writers. I love this very descriptive passage from him:
"I watched a rooster get slaughtered and butchered. Nowhere near the pomp and circumstance as the cow slaughter – for instance it only took one man, and there was considerably (you might say ‘disappointingly’) less blood."
Jon writes about being different in a different culture on the other side of the world.
"I can go to Daşmoguz, pay a dollar a minute to call the other side of the world, watch MTV, drink Coca-Cola and relax on a “regular ‘ol” Friday afternoon, but this is still a very different place. Or to put it much more accurately and get to the nature of it, I am remarkably different. This is the harder thing to accept: not that this country can be the norm, but what I – and you – are used to might be unknown."
Jon has also got the beginnings of a screenplay based on his travels. "Turkmenistan for 2: a Romantic Comedy" has potential, I'd say. Any wannabe executive producers out there? (If you go with it, I expect my finder's fee.) Keep an eye on Jon Rosenzweig - once he's out of the Peace Corp, he'll be a talent to reckon with.
Catch up with Jon's blog at http://jon-turkmenistan.blogspot.com/
RELATED:
Worldwide Peace Corps Blog Directory - Over 4000 journals and blogs from Peace Corps volunteers around the world.
Peace Corps Writers - A site for returned Peace Corps volunteers to post their stories.
Analysis: Turkmenistan opens up - When Niyazov died in December 2006, his successor, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, was courted by foreign energy companies.
Turkmenistan abolishes calendar of eccentric ex-president
Lonely Planet: Turkmenistan - In a distinctly unusual corner of the world, Turkmenistan makes the neighbouring 'Stans seem straight. Perhaps that's why I like it so much.
News About Turkmenistan (Google) and Images of Turkmenistan (Google)
