Disco Dreams?

Well, it's been an interesting couple of weeks. My Canadian-Iranian friend came to Khujand for work, and I was really lucky to spend time with her. Her co-workers asked if we were old friends, since we acted like it, but my friend said that we had only met a couple times before but anyone who knows me will feel like they have been friends with me their whole lives. (awwww) Anyway, we went out to dinner with her co-workers from Aga Khan and had great Russian and Persian conversations. They insisted that I don't speak English. It was in those moments of struggling for vocabulary words that my languages really improves. I'm speaking Russian every day and Tajiki when I am in the villages, and I think my languages are really improving. It's those moments when you are riding in a van filled with sacks of onions and crammed full with Tajik villagers that you really have opportunities to share dialogue and experiences with the local people (and improve your language). After an incredible dinner at Visol with her co-workers (not the cafe Visol, but the actual really nice restaurant Visol..you know, for all you Khujandi peeps out there), we all went to a club. Now, I am not a club person. I am so awkward when I dance, but maybe...just maybe I will be more relaxed when it's a crowded place (and people can't focus on my awky dance moves). HOWEVER, we drove out to this disco club in the middle of nowhere. I mean, there were fields surrounding this club. But, the director insisted that we go to this particular club because it was brand new and the latest hot spot in Sughd District. We arrived at this club, and it was closed. Inside I was so relieved that I wouldn't have to torture people with my awful dance moves. Yet, I rejoiced too quickly. I forgot that this was, indeed, Tajikistan. The director paid off one of the workers at the club, and he opened to club just for us. So just imagine this brand new disco club complex in the middle of fields in Tajikistan, and there are only five of us there. We are in this huge, empty room, with a DJ. We are a couple of middle aged professionals and two young girls dancing to a mixture of Persian and hip-hop music, with the director sitting and watching us. The lights from the lone disco ball circled the room, as I had to keep dancing, could not hide my moves in a crowd of people (at all), but in the end, I had a lot of fun. It was definitely a bizarre experience that words can't really explain, but it was "sooo Tajikistan" (a phrase I hear often among the expats here) and that is really something I enjoy.