Horezm

[merchimerch]

R and I are home safe from Horezm. The trip was beyond intense in both good and bad ways.

The brief rundown:
-met a doctor on the plane and became friends - this came in handy when I got a stomach infection on day 2
-R went to a Horezm wedding
-Saw Malika opa's daughter play, saw baby bakshis, taped some interesting performers, ran into the Uzbek version of showbiz parents
-got to brave stomach infection with outdoor sqatter/holein ground toilets
-found out the $.30 Russian version of American $5 antibiotics works just as well
-got a lot more comparative material between reconstructed and "traditional" music
-Toured Khiva - a really neat well preserved city
-R climbed to the top of a minaret in Khiva
-Stayed with 2 different folks and got 2 very different versions of Horezm hospitality (both good)
-Met lots of lovely kids....did not help with the baby fever
-got my first dose of feline lovins in months
-got to come home to Tashkent and have it feel like the epitome of civilization

Haven't had a chance to read anyone's pages, will do that and write a more thorough update when I wake up.