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So I'm thinking about Ramadan again, I've been invited to Malika's house tomorrow for an iftor, the opening of the mouth after sunset. She wants me to bake apple pie, and I'm also going to try and make chocolate chip cookies....the only problem is that in Uzbekistan neither chocolate chips nor vanilla exist. They do have something they call vanillin, but it is a wierd powder. I'm going to give it a try.

Anyway, at the lab yesterday Malika was mentioning how devout most of her students are, and they are all very good souls. She's right, she has 6 students in her studio and I've met 4 of them - they are all really good folks. And then there was the moment in rehearsal on Thursday when Salohiddin aka asked me if I was hungry at about noon. I said no, I'm fine. And said okay, well we all keep Ramadan, so we don't take lunch. It was funny because an hour later at about 1:15 they took a lunch break and one of the students said that some people in the ensemble who aren't keeping Rosa. So there is certainly the idea that the people in the maqom department are supposed to be good muslims and keep Rosa, even if they don't. I can't help wondering if the same expectation is held in the folk and classical departments.

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So I was all set to do some proper work today, but Mahbuba came over with someone to fix the pipes and I ended up going to visit her and her family because I haven't seen them in quite a few weeks now. I may actually go to Bukhara to see the sites and stay with her extended family, but I'm not sure. Apparently i can get free transport if I go before the end of the month....not sure how that works, i wonder if it has something to do with the cotton harvest. So much seems to have to do with the cotton harvest. Yulduz opa explained to me last night that the reason that the conservatory hasn't been able to pay out all the salaries is because they are waiting for all the cotton to be sold. What a precarious economic situation. Of course the US gov. is supposed to have unprecedentedly large budget deficits this year, so I shouldn't be overly critical. Well maybe I can be critical but also note that such a situation is not that uncommon.