Central Asia Oct. 7, 2008

Hi everyone, we had a looonnng but uneventful trip from Tulsa to Chicago to Frankfort to B-town to G-town. We left Saturday morning and arrived in B-town Sunday night, getting into the hotel around midnight. Sleep? No. We had a good night's sleep and then did some walking Monday morning into the old part of the city, where the rug sellers are. We walked along the seawall, and had a wonderful lunch on the 16th floor of our hotel, overlooking the city and the sea. They served fresh tomatos and cucumbers, plus coriander (cilantro) and dill and onions...call all of that salad. Then we had a dish served in a flat dish over a coal, of chicken, eggplant, potatoes and onion that was delicious. After that, into cars for the hair-raising trip to G-town. Oh my. Not for the faint of heart. Nor was the potty on the stop we made...frightening. Who knew a two lane road could really have 3 lanes? Evidently our driver knew. We made the trip in about 6 hours. We followed for about 2 hours of the trip, then headed further west into the high desert area. G-town is in the more northwest area of the country. We saw people along the road selling fresh pomegranets, apples and fish. We arrived in G-town around 7:30 and had tea and supper, and a lovely visit with our hosts Neil and Lucy. We got to bed around 11ish. Today (Tuesday) we were late risers, but ready to go by 9:30. We visited the baby orphanage, and held babies, played with toddlers, and did some cleaning of toys in one room. Right now they have 11 babies and several toddlers. Not all are orphans...just can't live at home right now. Precious children all. Then we visited long-time friend Sevinche at her home and had cake and tea. She is a delight, and enjoyed hearing about the people she has met over the years. Tonight we are having supper, prepared by Sevinche...and it looks wonderful. The men worked on the toddler gate for the orphanage today, then took a little tour of the town. They also sat in on an English class. I'm still feeling a bit jet-lagged...or a lot...so some of these sentences may not make sense. I can see pomegranets having heavy on the tree outside the window right now. The temperature is perfect, and the humidity is low. The sun is beginning to get low, but the temp is still warm. It was chilly in the room last night but we had thick comforters and slept very well. All is well, and we will bring home stories! We send lots of love--Cindy Read