In the last month I
spent a good deal of time celebrating Halloween. I celebrated it in Khujand, in QurganTeppa, and of course,
in Dushanbe. I indulged in every
Halloween habit I could successfully imitate. Tajik students ate up the games…particularly donut on a
string. Javid and I choreographed
a fantastically amateur salsa piece to a gruesome cover of Sweet Dreams by
Marilyn Manson. I went to
the freakiest costume party of my life at a club called Snap. There, I saw a little Tajik girl
dressed up in a pregnancy suit with the fetus ripping out of her stomach while
listening to a Tajik hard rock/metal band. Gulp.
I also get a roundabout
look into the culture of the armed service. And here is the point at which my steel ex-patriot coat starts to chip and erode. I believe Henry James
wrote a novel called The American with a very sympathetic lens toward the foreigner
in a foreign land. I’ll have to
start that book soon and maybe better undersand my fellow Americans…
A very
sweet Marine gave me a ticket to the US Marine Ball. I have never had such a candid look into military
culture. Most of the Marines in
Tajikistan are early in their career and have never been exposed to another
culture. They live in a very cushy
dormitory style complex, they have a personal chef, and 90 different games for
PlayStation. They stay truly
American, and spend unbelievable amounts of time together. At the Ball, they participated in the
ceremonial cutting of the Marine’s birthday cake dressed in their “blues” or
heavily embellished felt uniforms.
We watched a video heralding the merits of Marines and listened to a
sentimental 70 year old marine who vouched the Marines were the toughest and
bravest of all the American servicemen and women. In fact, nothing about the ceremony, the rhetoric, or the
ceremony surprised me. It was
exactly what I imagined the armed service was like – protected and a little
cultish, lots of booze and back patting.
But I let myself take part and acted like a good date. I took pictures and laughed at Marine
jokes. I crossed my ankles and
lied that I completely understood the United States mission to Tajikistan. It was interesting to find out why each
of these men decided to join the Marine Corps. I can’t say I agree with their life decisions or with using
arms and threatening warfare, but even the Marines acted because they really
believe in their country and out of passion.
