Brad’s Blog

After flying into Istanbul (a liberal Muslim democracy) and seeing mosques roughly every 10 feet, I expected to find them all over the place in Tajikistan. After all, 98% of the people in this country are Muslims. Well yesterday, after only 8 weeks in the city, Victor and I finally stumbled across a mosque, minaret [...]

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A car bomb went off this morning in front of the offices of the Tajikistan Ministry of Emergency Measures. Although media reports have one person killed, reliable local reports indicate up to four people died in the explosion, which set several other vehicles on fire. This afternoon, there is also a report of a fire [...]

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For those of you who are emerging from caves deep in the Pamir Mountains with a dead laptop battery and no satellite phone, today was election day in Iraq. Watching the coverage via satellite, I have the utmost respect for the Iraqi electorate. In spite of the challenges, they came out in great numbers to [...]

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So here’s a fun personality test that you ought to try. It’s quick too, being only 20 questions. 20 Questions to a Better Personality And since you’re bound to start asking, here’s what it said about me. And since I’ve been so forthcoming, I expect you to email me your result. Wackiness: 40/100 Rationality: 50/100 [...]

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I went and got a hair cut today. The guy didn’t speak English, and I didn’t speak Tajik or Russian. Fortunately, when you walk into a hair cutting place looking shaggy, they figure you want a hair cut. This place is across the street from my apartment, right close to my pink grocery store. Several [...]

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So yesterday we went on a trip through the mountains to what is supposedly the highest (by altitude) hydroelectric dam in the world, called Nurek. I will post more photos as time allows, but here is a panorama shot I made with several shots and a bit of electronic glue. Small version (1 MB) http://www.farquhar.ca/images/panorama-sm.jpg [...]

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Not great. Except for the bread. And the Chinese restaurant.

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