A busy month

October was a busy month at the Embassy. Earlier there was a concert by a popular group that has been performing together in Uzbekistan for something like forty years. Many people were invited and hundreds showed up for the outdoor show on a perfect weather day. I learned that I have a long way to go if I really want Doug to become an Ambassador some day. I need to work on my public face. The first song performed (by a warm-up singer) was New York, New York. It was so schmaltzy and sung to pre-recorded music (a pet peeve of mine). I was glad that I was seated behind the stage while I laughed and reached for my earplugs. Why was I seated behind the stage, you many wonder? Because the Uzbeks (as well as Americans and probably the rest of the world for all I know) have one volume for music and that is ear splitting, skull cracking, teeth rattling LOUD to the point of distortion. There is absolutely no pleasure in listening to it even if it’s good music well performed. Then out came the dancers! I just had to go look. Think of your average upper aged, sheltered, traditional housewife doing an interpretive dance to Dr. Phil and you’ve got a good idea as to what I saw. To be fair I should mention that I am not a dancer for many good reasons and I don’t attend dance shows so my knowledge of dance is very limited. Many people love the traditional Uzbek dance and these young women did it well, I think. It’s just not my thing. I can’t watch it with a straight face yet. I imagined myself as the wife to the Ambassador who some may be looking at to see what I thought of the performance and I tried to put a light smile on my lips. Then I remembered that I’m not the wife of the Ambassador and why torture myself? At least the main group performing had instruments to play. I heard rumors of lip synching, but who knows? So far, outside of Doug’s and my music lessons, we have only heard one performance without an electronic 70’s disco drumbeat thrown in. It’s sad because the traditional music has such appeal.

I’m writing this on Sunday, October 23 (posting it on Thursday November 3 - I'm slow). This morning the Embassy had its second visit by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She was in town from Afghanistan and Tajikistan to meet with President Karimov. She also met with some local civil rights groups at the Embassy and visited a women’s wellness center the opening of which she attended as First Lady. She was late in getting to the Embassy. We had a long wait and I was glad that I brought some homework to do. I was amused at one of the hold ups. She was given a gift in Tajikistan just before departing. She was given a gift of 1,200 pounds of fruits and nuts. On the one hand, how kind and generous of them. On the other hand what in the world did they think she would do with such a gift? If she had been able to take it on the plane with her everyone would have had to eat, I don’t know, 30 or so pounds of fruits and nuts each! She offered to pass it on to the local U.S. Embassy, which apparently offended the gift givers. I don’t know how they got out of that one.

The weeks leading up to such a visit are quite busy at the Embassy. People’s work loads increase greatly. People step in to do extra jobs to prepare for the visit. They attend to the pre-arrival staff of Secretary Clinton, set up a control room where she and her staff will be staying and keep in close touch with Washington and her staff which means people like Doug checking his Blackberry whenever he awakens during the night. I walked into his office one day and he had two phones, an active radio and his Blackberry – three of which were going off while I was there. He was sort of rewarded this visit, however. Last year his boss was out of town and Doug was so busy running not only his section but others that he never even got a glimpse of Secretary Clinton. This year it was requested that he ride in her motorcade. I think all that meant was that he got to glimpse her several times while he ran the motorcade, but at least he got to see her.

That night we had what is called a ‘Wheels Up Party’. After everything is over with at the Embassy and their responsibilities with her visit have come to an end, we celebrate.