Over this past three day weekend (Happy 4th!), I have noticed two predominant types of posts on my Facebook newsfeed: those of my friends in the United States barbecuing and enjoying fireworks while decked out in red, white, and blue, and those of my Foreign Service colleagues taking the opportunity granted by an extra day off to travel to nearby countries.
My own major weekend activites were local: volunteering at two fourth of July-related embassy functions, rearranging things in my home office, listening to global events podcasts, getting organized to adopt a desert tortoise, working in my front yard, resting, performing mandatory radio checks with the Marines, and taking a small jaunt across the city for a nail appointment.
I scrolled through other people’s vacation photos with great interest: Bangkok, Paris, Dubai, Baku. Pyramids, malls, city lights, the ocean. Shots of delicious-looking food, people on boats, at sporting events and parties. A little travel bug bit at me and started to gnaw. Wait, isn’t this whole tour “travel”?
Meanwhile, on my long weekend journeys, I encountered the following, which tasted surprisingly like an Uzbek version of Macedonia’s Газоза:
And this:
And this welcome sign:
But that’s pretty much it. And frankly, right now, that’s probably enough.
I will definitely try to visit some major sites around Uzbekistan this summer, including the nearby mountains and farther out cities of Samarkand and Bukhara. Things are getting ready to change, especially in terms of my mobility and functionality, as my vehicle and sea freight must only be a few weeks away by now.
However, international travel will likely wait until after my husband joins me here in September and I get my feet a little more on solid ground. It’s still only been <7 weeks that I’ve been here and I’m happy to keep settling in and nesting for a while. But the urge to whip out my passport is barely subdued at this point.
And speaking of nesting, I’m awaiting online orders of more bedding and appropriate linens for my formal dining room. Then yesterday as I was sitting on the couch in my home office reading – quite by chance – I glimpsed this backyard scene through the window:
Make yourself at home, and stay a while.
Collecting Postcards 