Uzbekistan - The Farewell Tour

The Sisters Visit Uzbekistan

June 10 was the last day for me at Tashkent International School. A pretty weepy day. It started out with a crashing headache, and ended with cokes and fries with some of my colleagues. 

June 11 was a happy day, the day my sisters were coming to Uzbekistan.  I had arranged with Vladimir, super taxi-driver, to pick me up at my house, and take me to the airport to wait for my sisters. I stood impatiently at the fence, watching passenger after passenger arrive. And finally, it was my turn to yell, and run towards the building. The sisters had arrived! 

I took Cathy and Dar to a local restaurant, where we ran into some of (former) colleagues, and had a lovely, leisurely lunch. We then got into a taxi and attempted to find Drew & Alicia's new house. The taxi ride was long and scary and tortuous. At one point Dar said, "I'm trying to think of something that might be more frightening than this ride. I think if I was on a wagon being pulled behind a motorcycle on the highway it might be scarier. Maybe." The driver had no idea where he was going, and he was determined to get there VERY quickly.  After a lovely swim in Drew & Alicia's pool, we made our sedate way back to my house, where I forced Darlene to watch an educational movie about the Savitsky Museum in Nukus. Cathy fell asleep. 

Sunday June 12  I woke the girls up bright and early and we grabbed a taxi to Chorzu Market. It's a huge market, where you can buy fabric, fruit, cribs, shoes, pretty much anything but wigs. Seriously, I've looked. Cathy & I bought hats, and Cathy bought buttons. 

And Darlene bought fabric. 

After marketing, we met the amazing Durin (another colleague whom I will miss) for lunch at Bon Cafe, one of the restaurant I frequented so much in Tashkent. Cathy & Dar had a well-deserved nap. I woke them up in the early evening for their next Tashkent adventure, a visit to Holy Assumption Cathedral, one of few Russian Orthodox Churches in Tashkent.  

The Cathedral began as a little church in 1879. Over the years, the parishioners contributed to its expansion. During the early Soviet years, the church was used as a storehouse for arms and munitions. In 1945 it was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church, and has been a place of worship since then. 

We had special permission to climb the bell tower. 

Our guide for the trip to the bell tower was an aspiring priest, who had the responsibility of ringing the bells. Which he did, while we were there. It was loud. 

On The Road Again

BLACKLISTED

On June 9, I was offered a job in Venezuela. On June 10, against the advice of MANY people, I signed a letter of intent and sent it back to Maracaibo. I was so excited at the prospect of speaking Spanish and the opportunity to be back in South America again, that I ignored my misgivings and those of the people around me. I don`t ever want to be the kind of person who allows fear to determine her decisions. 

After a few weeks of travelling through Western Uzbekistan, I returned to Canada and more and more horrible news from Venezuela. When I emailed the school in Venezuela to find out when I could expect my actual contract, I was told that I would be given a contract upon arrival. I emailed both the director of the school and my Search associate with my concerns. They both told me not to worry. I did worry. 

I talked about the situation endlessly with friends and family. I read Spanish news sites. Finally, I decided that I didn`t want to send all of my belongings to Venezuela, nor did I want to bring my cats, in case I had to make a hasty exit. More than that, I didn`t want to live in an expat bubble, while the people in my host country are being shot in line-ups to buy food. 

Before the school had the chance to do any more work on my behalf, or spend the money on a plane ticket, I emailed the director to tell him  I had changed my mind. I heard nothing back from him. A week later, I tried to go on the Search website and discovered I had been ousted. I contacted my associate and after two days, he responded telling me simply that I was out. I contacted the vice-president and was told that I had acted `dishonorably,`and that Search Associates would no longer represent me. End of story for them. 

I have had two interviews with other schools since then. One school even started to check my references, and never bothered to contact me again. I have, understandably, had a few rough days this summer. I have been rejected A LOT. Now I don`t even know if there is some kind of black mark against my name somewhere in cyberspace. I will have to register with other sites, and start the process of bothering people for references again. Yes, I am frustrated.