My Crib

My Room...empty suitcases and full cabinet :)

Directly opposite the cabinet is my bed :)

The front door -- this is what you see from my bedroom door.

Doorway to the kitchen.

The kitchen!

The other side of the kitchen!

The living room.

More living room -- excuse the clutter we had guests staying with us!!



Self explanatory.

The shower complete with Tajik/Russian toilettries.

The water hearter. My favourite appliance in the bathroom.

Independence Day Long Wknd @ Iskander Kul (Alexander Lake)

**Pics are not in any particular order. Check out the video of the waterfall :)**

Heidi (intern), Holly(intern), and I

Sitting on a rock above the waterfall

This is a tree before the waterfall where past visitors have tied pieces of cloth to signify their intent to return.

The beautiful view from our camp site.

More view :)

The crew - just chillin' (Right to left: Heidi, Farid, Roma, Holly)

Riverside walk to the waterfall.

There is a very intense waterfall below us. The view was amazing. We were only a few feet away from the action.

On the way to Iskander Kul, driving through the mountains.

The cooks for the weekend. I believe the main course is a delish veggie soup.

There we go.

Holly diligently tending after the firewood.

Farid aka Head Chef.

Welcome to the "Roof of the World"

This is a bus shelter at the highest point on our journey to Khorog. The bus shelter is no longer in use, it just a remnant of the Soviet era. But, it's also cool because it tells you how high up we were. 3252.8 metres above sea level -- yikes!!

I tried to catch the sun going down, but the mist was a little thick.

View from the guesthouse that we stayed at in Darwaz on the way to Khorog.

Notice the bridge. On the left in Tj and on the right is Afghanistan with the Panj river marking an international border.

View of Khorog from Botanical Gardens. Check out the shadow of the cloud.

Again, look at how huge this shadow is! So high up -- really just blows my mind!

Erin, taking a rest on our hike to the top of the gardens.

Flowers!! Reminded me of my Mom because she loves gardening :)

Had to get the typical tourist shot. That's the town of Khorog on the bottom right of the pic.

At the Serena hotel for a bite to eat after a long day of touring the city. Those mountains are in Afghanistan.

Our First Trip to the Field

The road to the town of Obi Garm (which means "hot water"). There are many hot springs here...who woulda' thought, huh? P.S. this is probably the nicest, newest, bump-free road in all of TJ.

We encountered some road blocks along the way.

Water irrigation tank (found at the top of the hill) used to grow crops on a dry sloped hill.

Drip irrigation in action. Notice the pipe that carries water to the base of the plants.

A cool bug with purple wings just chillin' out on a daisy at the MSDSP

guest house garden.

Local girls playing with dolls and a doll house.

Fresh safflower picked from crops being grown in Faizobod.

Nadim being silly.

At a fish breeding pond. There were lots of enthusiastic fish jumping around in the water, but the 2 second delay on my camera didn't allow me to catch them in action!!

Villagers working together to dig room for a pipeline that will carry water to the village. A first for this village.

I found a friend. His name is donkeeyyyyyyyy!

Bee keeping

This bee keeper uses a manual spinny thing (for lack of a better term) to get the honey off of the honey comb.

View from the guesthouse in Obi Garm where we spent the night.

Grabbing a bite to eat at a roadside choi khona (tea house) that MSDSP helped establish (a small business that is operated by a single mother of 15 dependents)

Nadim and Holly walking to another project site.

This photo was taken in Rasht, which is a more conservative part of Tj. Hence the headscarf.

The villagers invited us in for "tea", which actually means a large feast accompanied with tea, fruit, bread, yogourt, fruit drinks, cookies, and chocolate.

The main course...mmm.