Hey Y'all !

I am posting some information about a STUDY GROUP that is forming
fast! Have you ever heard of Marshall Rosenberg?

There is a preview presentation of this Group taking place on
Monday, January 12th in Dallas (about a mile from Inwood Rd & Cedar
Springs.) I think I am going for sure…but wanted to share the info
with you - in case any of you would like to check it out too.

Looks like a good program for CAREER, RELATIONSHIPS, and SPIRITUAL
LIFE!

The details are below, if you are into it….

         --------------------------------------------
         NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION: A Language of Life
         --------------------------------------------

Can you imagine connecting with the human spirit in each person in
ANY situation?

Can you imagine everyone's needs being met through compassionate
giving?

INTRODUCTION night - Monday, January 12, 2004, 7-8:30 pm
STUDY GROUP - begins Monday, January 26, 2004, 7-9:30 pm

12-week group, cost $150, payment plan and limited scholarships
available.

The workshop will be facilitated by Judith Stuart-Coale.
Source material is Marshall Rosenberg's book,
NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION: A Language of Life

For more information visit

http://ww.clenrichment.org/calendar.htm

www.clenrichment.org

6115 Denton Drive
Dallas, TX 75235
(214) 351-9909
Need a Map

We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.

Happy Hour

Date: Thursday, January 15, 2004
Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM CST (GMT-06:00)

Happy Hour
Trinity Hall Irish Pub
5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, Dallas
Contact: Roger Chapin, 972-234-2190

This was sent to the NTPCA and I thought I would pass it along
to the members who might be interested in assisting Bob in this
project.  If you would like to contact Bob to discuss or meet with
him please contact him directly with a copy to me at
chapinr@....  If there are more than one person who would like to
meet with Bob perhaps we could arrange a joint meeting with him.
Roger Chapin

   Date:    1/20/2004 4:33:11 PM Eastern Standard Time
   From:    Bob Klein <ayzee@...>
   To:    <north_Texas_Peace_Corps@yahoogroups.com>, Roger Chapin
<chapinr@...>

Dear Roger,
    This is a request for your assistance in beginning
the process of establishing the Archival Project
(see below) in the Dallas area. I am planning a visit
to Dallas to meet with any RPCVs who might be
interested in participating in the Project. My proposed
dates are:  Tues 2/3 through Thurs 2/5
    I'd be happy to meet with individuals or a small
group.

Bob Klein (Ghana 1961-1963), Project Organizer

The RPCV Archival Project
    The Project works in cooperation with the Kennedy Library to
afford the greatest number of former Peace Corps Volunteers the
opportunity to include their stories in the National Archives and to
assure that these materials are properly preserved as part of the
public record. The Project organizes the taping of oral history
interviews and the screening for donation of
RPCVs¹ personal papers.
    The RPCV Collection of the Kennedy Library is the repository for
personal materials that relate to the individual and group
experiences of those who served as Peace Corps Volunteers from its
inception in 1961 to the present. It consists of papers, such as
letters, diaries, and journals, illustrative sets of photos, oral
history interviews, and other items of unique archival value. The
Collection is part of the National Archives and Records
Administration.
    The Project is endorsed by the National Peace Corps Association and
functions primarily through its geographic area Affiliates, with the
goal of having the archival activities become part of each Group. The
Project provides orientation and training in the techniques and
procedures needed.

We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.

Annual Meeting

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2004
Time: 4:00PM - 8:00PM CST (GMT-06:00)

NTPCA Annual Meeting
613 Harvest Glen Dr.,Richardson
Contact:Roger Chapin 972-234-2190
Bring a covered dish from your country of service & BYOB

The latest news from Turkmenistan from Sharon Sugarek.

January 24, 2004
  Dear friends and family,
  Hope you had a nice holiday season and that the New Year has been
good for you. All is well here and I guess I have been doing a bit of
globetrotting since my last update.
  I went to Thailand for two weeks in December; it was delightful. I
was able to convince our Medical Officer to go with me (It wasn't
hard!). She and I spent ten days on the beaches of Koh Lanta, a
beautiful island in the Andaman Sea. It was quiet, not too crowded and
there wasn't a lot to do. It was a perfect place to just get away
and
relax.  Walked on the beach a lot and did a little snorkeling. Read
lots of books and generally lounged about! We did go and ride on an
elephant. It was an interesting experience! Their gait is rather
lumbering and comfortable but I really had to hang on when we were
going down slopes! It was great fun!
  Then we spent four days in Bangkok, which is a huge, busy city with
lots of traffic and noise. But I enjoyed that as well. It has a
Skytrain that allows you to get around without getting in the
automobile traffic and there are water taxis that go up and down the
river. Between the two we never took regular taxis. Went to the Grand
Palace, which was quite interesting, also saw the Emerald Buddha (very
sacred to Buddhists) and went to another temple that held a huge, gold
reclining Buddha.  The last night of the trip, we went to The Oriental
Hotel to have dinner and see a performance of traditional Thai dances.
It was quite interesting and enjoyable and I highly recommend it if
anyone ever gets to Bangkok. Also I saw three movies, had a couple of
really American good dinners and enjoyed a trip to the grocery store.
  So it was a terrific break.
With 90 Volunteers, we are as busy as ever. But I an enjoying getting
to know the new PCVs who are dedicated and working hard to adjust to
their new surroundings!  Since we require everyone to live with a host
family for six months, they must all become part of their host
families. That can be challenging when the PCVs are not yet fluent in
Turkmen or Russian. But they are doing just fine.  I hope to start
doing some site visits in the next couple of months. Meanwhile we are
planning for Peace Corps Day events on March 1 and starting to think
about the next group to come in September.  With the Federal budget
such as it is, it will be a tight year for Peace Corps and we will be
tightening our belts as mush as we can. However, Peace Corps never has
much fat in their budget so this will hit pretty hard. But I guess
Peace Corps is all about doing more with less—or with nothing-- in
many cases.  I know it will be challenging as we look for ways to do
the things we need to do with less funding. Guess if it were easy they
wouldn't need the staff!
I am starting to think about the end of my tour. I have been here 19
months and I have 11 months left on my contract. It is hard to
believe;it seems like I just got here yesterday. I still have lots of
things left on my list of things to do and see while I'm here in
Turkmenistan. Some are in the country and some are in nearby
countries. For example there are a couple of nature reserves here that
are supposed to be very interesting. Hope to visit them in the spring.
Since they are in restricted areas one never knows about getting
permission to go. But the local tour companies seem to be able to
handle getting permissions.  Plus there are still things I haven't
gotten around to seeing and doing right here in Ashgabat just because
I kept thinking that I have plenty of time!  You all know how that
is.
We have had a bit of excitement in the last couple of weeks here.
Probably the biggest news was that the Turkmen government has lifted
the requirement for Turkmen citizens to obtain an exit visa to leave
the country. As many of you might know, most countries regard
preventing citizens from traveling freely as a huge violation of human
rights.  And there has been a lot of pressure on Turkmenistan to lift
the exit visa requirement. So now Turkmen citizens are freer to travel
outside their country.
With respect to more mundane matters, I recently learned that there is
a new shop in Ashgabat that sells good cheddar cheese and fresh bread
from England.  And today I actually found the shop!  Good cheese is
hard to come by and good sandwich and toast bread is also hard to find
here. The second big piece of food news is that someone here has gone
into business making peanut butter. These will be tremendous news for
the Volunteers. We have a number of vegetarians but there really is
not much available in the way of nutritional vegetable protein here.
So peanut butter will be a great addition to their diets. From
everything I hear so far, it will be affordable for them.
One of the perks of living here is our central location and cheap
airfares! So last weekend two of us went to Dubai in the United Arab
Emirates for the weekend. It is only a 2 ½ hour flight from
Ashgabat
and US citizens do not need a visa. It is a city built in the last
30-35 years so it is very modern, clean and pleasant.  And it has
gorgeous beaches. It is an amazingly diverse place with all kinds of
people from all over the world. We stayed at a hotel in the city
across the street from a nice park, near to shopping and movie
theaters. It was also a short taxi ride to most other places. Dubai
has an interesting history museum inside an old fort and we saw the
remnants of other old structures that predate modern Dubai.
My impression is that before the mid 1960's they did not have
much and
it was a fairly poor country. With the discovery of oil offshore,
things changes a lot. Today they are aiming to become the
entertainment and vacation destination of choice for the region and
the world. They are building lots of expensive hotels, shopping malls
and amusement parks.  We really enjoyed the weekend and are planning
to go back in May if we can. It was just a little too cool to swim
when we were there and we would like to go back to the beach. The
place is impressive because the development seems to be thoughtful,
the city is very clean and very safe and again we enjoyed movies, good
food, and a nice grocery store as well as people who were friendly and
happy to see us.  We did not make it to the Camels races but may try
to go if I make it back there in May.
Some of you may have caught the 60 Minutes segment on Turkmenistan a
few weeks ago. The crew was here last June! But it finally made it
onto US TV this January. If you saw it, you have an idea now of what
it is like here: a challenging environment to say the least. But at
the local level where PCVs are working, the people are happy to have
them.
So that's about it for this update. I am always delighted to hear
from
you about what is happening back home. But I have to admit I am not
going to miss the endless political campaigning that has started in
earnest now. So have a great 2004. And stay in touch.

Sharon
sharonsugarek@...

Thanks for those who have responded to Bob Klein and  his archival
project visit next week (see the message of Jan 22). Bob sent an
additional message which reads: "Do you know anyone who might offer
me accommodations? This Project is an interesting, but bare-bones,
operation. I'm a non-smoking 74 year old who can tell endless stories
and legends about the first group of PCVs to go overseas in 1961
(Ghana I).
If there is anyone interested helping Bob out please contact him at
ayzee@.... Also, if there are others who wish to meet with Bob on
the Archive project please be sure to contact him before he comes to
coordinate his meetings.

We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.

Annual Meeting

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2004
Time: 4:00PM - 8:00PM CST (GMT-06:00)

NTPCA Annual Meeting
613 Harvest Glen Dr.,Richardson
Contact:Roger Chapin 972-234-2190
Bring a covered dish from your country of service & BYOB

For those of you who expressed interest in the oral history/archival
project of the Peace Corps experience, Bob Klein will arrive in
Dallas on Tuesday and stay through Thursday to meet and discuss the
project. We will meet in the coffee shop area of Borders Book store
located on the corner of Lovers Lane and Greenville, immediately east
of Hwy. 75. Bob will be there both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. If
that does not work out for you please contact Bob directly at
ayzee@... or call him at 520-977-2120 to make other
arrangements.  Hope to see you there.
Roger Chapin

Sorry, I forgot to mention the time is at 7:00p.m.

For those of you who expressed interest in the oral history/archival
project of the Peace Corps experience, Bob Klein will arrive in
Dallas on Tuesday and stay through Thursday to meet and discuss the
project. We will meet in the coffee shop area of Borders Book store
located on the corner of Lovers Lane and Greenville, immediately east
of Hwy. 75. Bob will be there both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. If
that does not work out for you please contact Bob directly at
ayzee@... or call him at 520-977-2120 to make other
arrangements.  Hope to see you there.
Roger Chapin

Attached is the Spring 2004 Newsletter.  If you have
any questions, comments, suggestions, please send them
to Garrett Sauvé at gcsauve@....

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online.
http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

The second in a nationwide series of NPCA/PC career fairs will take
place in Austin, TX on March 25 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.  NPCA is
collaborating with the University of Texas Coalition for Careers in
the Non-Profit Sector and the RGK Center for Philanthropy and
Community Service for this event.

The career fair is open to the public and RPCVs are encouraged to
attend. More information is available at
http://www.rpcv.org/career_fairs

We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.

Happy Hour

Date: Thursday, February 19, 2004
Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM CST (GMT-06:00)

The Old Monk
2847 N. Henderson Ave
Dallas
Contact: Roger Chapin
972-234-2190

We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.

Happy Hour

Date: Thursday, February 19, 2004
Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM CST (GMT-06:00)

The Old Monk
2847 N. Henderson Ave
Dallas
Contact: Roger Chapin
972-234-2190

We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.

Steering Committee

Date: Monday, March 1, 2004
Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM CST (GMT-06:00)

Two Rows Brewery
5500 Greenville Ave
Dallas
Contact: Roger Chapin
972-234-2190

Event: Grand Opening of a Recruitment Office at the University of
North Texas
When:  Peace Corps Day: Monday, March 1, Noon to 3 p.m.
Where: Reception (Dress is casual and open to the public)
Chilton Hall, Room 274, located on Chestnut @ Avenue C
UNT Campus, Denton, TX 76203
Meet UNT Peace Corps Recruiter Ms. Betiel Hailemichael.
Come hear a Panel Discussion featuring RPCVs
View Peace Corps' latest film featuring current Volunteers.
The new office will be located in Chilton Hall, Room 238R.
Office Phone: 940.891.6716 Office Email: peacecorps@...
Ms. Hailemichael will host an evening hour-long "Coffee Talks" with
UNT and Texas Woman's University students throughout the spring. She
invites NTPCA members who want to share their Volunteer experience to
participate. This is a great way to give back. If you are interested,
please call or email her.

Greetings from the Southwest Regional Recruitment Office!



Next week Peace Corps turns 43!  To celebrate, the Southwest Regional
Recruitment Office is having a reception on Friday, March 5, 2:30 to 4
p.m, in its downtown Dallas Office Building. Former Volunteers, Peace
Corps Nominees about to depart and Peace Corps Recruiters will be on
hand to celebrate four decades of humanitarian service and
cross-cultural exchange.  Join us for refreshments and snacks and
informal roundtable discussion about Peace Corps service.  The public
is invited. Bring a friend!



Friday, March 5, 2:30 to 4 p.m.
Federal Annex Building*
207 S. Houston St., Mezzanine Room

(Houston @ Commerce) Parking is available two blocks south at Houston
@ Reunion for $3)
Dallas, TX 75202

*Must have proper ID to enter federal facility. (Leave any objects you
wouldn't take on a plane at home).

To attend, reserve a seat at RSVP@... "Peace Corps Party"

Jesus Garcia
Public Affairs Specialist
U.S. Peace Corps
207 S. Houston St. Room 527
Dallas, TX 75202

We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.

Steering Committee

Date: Monday, March 1, 2004
Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM CST (GMT-06:00)

Two Rows Brewery
5500 Greenville Ave
Dallas
Contact: Roger Chapin
972-234-2190

We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.

Happy Hour

Date: Thursday, March 18, 2004
Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM CST (GMT-06:00)

Flying Saucer
14999 Montfort Rd
Addison
Contact: Roger Chapin
972-234-2190

Save the Date: Thursday, March 25, 2004

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers are invited to two exciting events in
Austin, Texas!

Nonprofit and Public Sector Career Fair

10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Texas Union Ballroom * UT Austin Campus
* Meet employers who are looking for entry- and mid-level candidates.
* Participate in interviewing and résumé workshops.
* Hear from a panel of experts who have been successful in the
nonprofit sector.

Peace Corps Reception
5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Texas State Capitol
* Peace Corps officials will recognize the University of Texas as the
#2 recruitment school for Volunteers.
* Meet National Peace Corps Association officials and RPCVs from
Texas and neighboring states.
* Meet Peace Corps applicants who have been nominated and are
preparing to depart for service later this year.
PLEASE RSVP with Toby Schaeffer at the National Peace Corps
Association: toby@... or 202-293-7728 ext. 24.
Details regarding both events will updated on
www.rpcv.org/career_fairs

Thank you,

Jesus Garcia
Public Affairs Specialist
U.S. Peace Corps
207 S. Houston St. Room 527
Dallas, TX 75202
Phone: 214.253.5418
Fax: 214.253.5401
jgarcia2@...

Do you have a chronic illness or disability related to your Peace Corps
service?  Are you dealing with OWCP to obtain medical benefits or
disability payments?  If so, the following group may be of interest to
you:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/owcp

A group of RPCVs with OWCP claims are banding together in an attempt to
get better service from OWCP, PC Medical Office, etc.

Please feel free to join us!

The latest report from Sharon Sugarek reporting from Turkmenistan.

Dear friends and family,
We are having the last of winter here in Ashgabat this week. However,
we had at least two days in March where the temperature reached 90 or
higher. That had me worried since it would indicate a very long hot
summer. So we are grateful for the rain and cool temperatures. The
fruit trees have already blossomed and the trees are leafing out so we
don't expect any more freezing weather. It has been a dry winter—not
much rain. So I am wondering if that will have an impact on water
availability this coming summer. Last winter was very rainy and water
did not seem to be a particular problem in most parts of the country.
But this year may be a different story. We'll see.

The big excitement at my house this week came when Lulu, my miniature
schnauzer, decided to try to eat one of the toads that seem to pop up
this time of year. And the one she chose was a nice fat one! Needless
to say that was not a good thing. I've been told that toads, when
grabbed by another critter, pee in the critter's mouth. Well I don't
know if it is true, but after their encounter, which took place while
I was in the house, Lulu started foaming at the mouth. This went on
for quite some time even though I put her in the bathtub and rinsed
her mouth out numerous times.  Then in the middle of the night she
threw up all over the bed—lovely!  However, she did survive the
encounter and I hope she has learned her lesson about toads—but
somehow I doubt it! ( I think the otad survived too but haven't seen
it lately.)

I don't know how many of you are familiar with the many education
programs the US government sponsors overseas for talented young
people. Most of these programs are administered by US AID and, as you
can imagine, many students who are taught by or work with Peace Corps
Volunteers, apply for these programs. They are wonderful programs that
serve the participant and the US well. And in some cases, these are
the only programs that locals have access to for higher education that
meets global standards.  Right now applications are coming due for the
American University in Kyrgyz Republic. This is an excellent
opportunity for students here to get a full four-year college
education from a globally recognized university, something that they
cannot do here. Other is also a wonderful program to bring high school
students to the US for one year of school. It is a terrific program
and I have been so impressed with the skills and talents of the young
people from Turkmenistan who have participated in that program as
well. It gives them such a broad perspective and exposure to other
ideas and new ways of doing things.

Today we have about 80 Peace Corps Volunteers working here in various
schools and clinics. I am hoping to get out and visit some of them
soon. Somehow it is always hard to get away from the office. But it is
rewarding to go out and participate with Volunters in their various
activities. I visited PCVs in the Balkan region in February and
celebrated my birthday with them and many of their colleagues. I also
got to attend two teacher-training conferences, several teachers' and
students' English conversation clubs and a meal or two with PCVs and
their host families.  These PCVs deserve a lot of credit for their
creativity and their persistence in a challenging environment!  What
impressive people they are! Over the next few months I hope to get to
other parts of the country and participate with Volunteers in camps,
clubs and classes with them. I can't believe that I have only 8 months
left here! And it will pass quickly.

I am scheduled to go to Bishkek (Kyrgyz republic) next month to meet
with our new Regional Director and the other Country Directors from my
region. It is always very useful to spend time with other CDs. I learn
a lot from them and am able to share what I have learned as well. I've
been to Bishkek before and it is a nice place—small like Ashgabat but
it has a real department store and a real grocery store. (I guess we
have one grocery store but the selection is pretty limited and it
carries no American products!)

I was fortunate enough to be able to meet my friend Kathy Carson and
her sister-in-law Nancy in Italy this month for a few days. Kathy's
niece is in the Air Force stationed in Northern Italy so we took
advantage of the opportunity to visit with her and see some of Italy.
It was a whirlwind tour but we saw a lot. We managed to see a bit of
Milan, Venice, Florence, with a side trip to Pisa, and Rome.  Venice
was very interesting and we enjoyed our time there. I would like
another day to see the glass factories etc.

Florence is lovely and definitely we could have spent more time there.
It is serene and beautiful. The trip to Pisa by train and back was
wonderful. And yes, the tower really does lean! Pictures cannot do it
justice! I'm glad we went!

Rome was very busy and bustling. But we enjoyed out time there. We
spent a day doing an overview tour (2 hours) and then wandered off to
see the ancient Rome sites! Wow. The second day we spent focused on
the Vatican. After standing in line for about an hour, we got into the
Vatican Museum and saw many Vatican treasures, culminating in the
Sistine Chapel.  Then we toured St Peter's Cathedral, which is quite
awesome and holds the Pieta by Michelangelo.  Italy is so full of
treasures and history! We really enjoyed the small taste of Italy we
got on this trip. It is an expensive place but well worth seeing.  We
found people to be very nice and helpful.    We figured out the trains
with the help of a kind ticket agent or two and Kathy's niece and we
also managed to use the subways in Milan and Rome after a false start
as well.

That's about all the news I have today. I hope this finds spring
coming to your neighborhood. And I look forward to hearing from you.

Sharon

The latest from Sharon Sugarek in Turkmenistan. Sharon goes shopping.

April 4, 2004
For many months, every time I have thought about something I wanted to
do or see here, I`ve always thought, "It's okay. I have plenty of
time."  Well, it turns out that there are many things to do and
see and time is running out. So I am making a concerted effort to do
some of the things I keep saying I want to do.

I may never make to the Camel Market in Peshwar (India) but today I
went to the Camel Market at Tolkuchka! As many of you know, Tolkuchka
is the big, big market in the desert, just outside of Ashgabat. (If
you look up Turkmenistan in the book, "1000 Places to See Before
You Die" you will find Tolkuchka described there.) The main market
day is Sunday although the market is also open on Thursday and
Saturdays too.
  But Sunday is the day to buy livestock and automobiles! So this
morning I got up at 6 am and picked up Enesh, who works for Peace
Corps as a receptionist, and is my friend and shopping buddy for
Tolkuchka! (Enesh and I have been talking about going to the camel
market for at least six months. She has never been either, although
she has lived all her life in Turkmenistan.) Ruth Wheeler, our Admin
Officer, also joined us on this adventure. Enesh and I have made many
a trip out to the desert in search of treasures at the market. But
this morning we were on a mission.

So off we went in search of the Tolkuchka livestock market. Luckily as
we were driving towards Tolkuchka amid all the buses, cars and trucks,
we landed behind a truck bearing two adult camels and two baby camels.
Enesh suggested that we follow the truck since surely it was going to
the market and we were not really sure exactly which road to turn off
on to get to it. Great suggestion as he led us directly into the
livestock market although I'm sure the fellow driving the truck
wondered why some women in a big green Jeep and a Land Cruiser were
following him to the back of the camel market. We obviously did not
have any animals to sell. (I'll explain about why we were in two
cars
later.)  After carefully selecting parking places where we thought we
would not be blocked in, we set off to walk through the livestock
market. Ruth remarked that it reminded her a bit of the state fair
back home and it did. Certainly smelled similar!

First we encountered the sheep and goats in rather nice pens. Since it
is lambing season there were lots of baby sheep and goats. For those
of you who have never been around baby goats and sheep, they are
absolutely adorable. I am particularly fond of the solid black lambs
and kids and really wanted to take home a cute little solid black
Persian lamb with me. Ruth took a great picture of me holding the cute
little thing who was only 210,000 manat which is about  $10. Of course
they do grow up and then what would I do with him?

After shooting a few photos in the area we spied the camels and made
our way to that section of the market.  What an experience. Since it
is baby season for camels, there were lots of momma camels with babies
for sale at the market.  Turns out camels are pretty big creatures,
even the babies! I had never been quite that close before—at
least not
without something between me and the camel, like a car!  There were
probably about 50 or more adult camels for sale and most had babies
with them. So here were all these people standing around holding one
or two camels, looking to find a buyer. We found out you can buy a
mother camel and baby for around 9 million manats which is around
$425. And while we were there we saw several deals being struck.
Happily there were a number of Turkmen women in the market so we were
not the only women there. And although everyone stared at us, they
were very nice to us, allowing us to take pictures and answering our
questions. We happened to be able to watch one Turkmen women buying a
camel! She was so happy with her purchase!  Meanwhile it turns out
both Ruth and I had spent time on farms growing up and were fairly
comfortable in this market, but Enesh had never been around much big
livestock and was somewhat nervous as we dragged her around to look at
all the animals. But she was a good sport and asked questions for us
and only made us move a couple of times when she thought the camels
were getting too close!  (We did encounter a couple of camels who did
not want to be there and were making it known to their owner.) Turns
out the camels market was rather noisy because camels like to talk to
each other! I would guess that with so many babies, that would make
the noisy level go up too. We probably spent at least 30-45 minutes
just watching the camels and taking photos of the whole process going
on in the market.



After that we wandered over to another section of the livestock market
where we encountered lots and lots of trucks full of sheep and goats.
  Guess these were the slots for people with fewer animals to sell than
those in the pens. Walking over to that section we encountered a man
who had some interesting wooden bowls he was selling. These bowls are
apparently an indigenous craft, but I have no idea what kind of wood
he uses. Ruth and I each bought a bowl from him. He told us we have to
oil the bowls every day to seal them. So we'll see how that goes.
He
told us to come back next week when he will have the carved and
decorated wooden soupspoons. While we were talking with him this
fellow comes up and says hello to us. Turns out it is Ali, the Vet who
treats Lulu, my dog, and Serk—formerly my cat and now Ruth's
cat.
Seems he works at Tolkuchka on Sundays checking the animals as they
come into the market to be sure they are healthy. He also owns a horse
farm or something like that outside of town. He has invited us to come
out and ride when the weather gets nice. The Ahal-Tekke Horses are an
indigenous breed and are quite famous in the region. They are
beautiful horses. Something to look forward to! He has also invited us
to go to the horse races here too. So next month when they start we
are going to take him up on his offer. He said he will take back where
the horses are to meet the owners and see the inside of the racetrack.
Should be very interesting. No official betting here, but I hear
wagers are made on the side.

After chatting for a few minutes, Ali went back to the gate and we
wandered through the row of sheep and goat trucks, spotting one truck
that had about 8 little black and white baby goats, along with about
two dozen older goats. They were very cute and I thought Enesh might
take one home—except she lives in apartment so it wouldn't
work out! .
We learned that an adult sheep cost about $20 more or less. But we
didn't buy any. Then it was on to the cattle. Lots of cattle,
everyone
just standing around holding them—including a number of Turkmen
women!
  But as we wandered through, I saw several nice year-old cows but did
not ask how much they cost. I have to admit that after the camel
market, the cattle section was rather anticlimactic! We also learned
that sometimes there are horses at the market, but not this week.

So off we went to retrieve our cars to go to the main market which is
maybe a half mile or so away. And of course when we get back to our
cars we find that they have become the back row and we are blocked in!
But there is a small boy sitting in one of the cars so we send him to
find his father to move the car. The father comes and a conversation
ensues between him and Enesh in Turkmen. The man is teasing her
(maybe), saying that since we are only women he does not have to move
the car. Enesh tells him that we are foreigners and visitors and he
should be nice to us. He says okay and moves the car and we all say
"thank you" and wave goodbye. What an interesting exchange.



Now you might be wondering why three women need two big cars to go to
the market. But there is a very simple reason. We had two missions
today—not just one. Our second mission was to buy top jon
cushions for
our top jons. You might recall that a top jon is a wooden platform
with sides that is placed outside usually in the shade. This is the
place where everyone sits, and often where they eat and sleep when it
is hot outside.  Usually you put a rug down on the surface and then
place flat cushions to lie on and round pillows for your back if you
are sitting against the side—or for your head if you are lying
down.
We figured that because we needed so many cushions, they would not all
fit on one car—and we were correct. The lady we bought from was so
happy. We made her day. She made a really good sale. Now when it gets
warm, we are ready!

The rest of the market was fun too. We had several other things on our
shopping list—cheesecloth, unbleached muslin, fabric for a
housedress
(everyone here changes out of their good work clothes when they get
home), fabric for curtains for the Volunteer sick room, a door mat for
the outside door, etc. So we wandered all around the market. It was
lovely to see the fresh green onions, mint, spinach and cabbage.
Spring is coming. I met a very nice lady selling prayer rugs and
learned that you are not supposed to bargain when you buy prayer rugs,
at least not here. She had some lovely ones and one came home with me!
  The market was bustling and we really enjoyed our day out there. I
have some nice photos as well and some day will get them somewhere
were others can see them.

So I hope you had a lovely day, too.

Sharon

We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.

Happy Hour

Date: Thursday, April 15, 2004
Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM CDT (GMT-05:00)

Two Rows Brewery
5500 Greenville Ave
Dallas
Contact: Roger Chapin
972-234-2190

It's time to get out our summer newsletter. If you have any articles
or announcements for the summer newsletter please submit them by April
30th at the very latest. Please send your articles to
gcsauve@....

For those interested in FREE tickets to the Hyena's Comedy Night Club
in Ft. Worth Garrett Sauve has some tickets.  Read on: I have 20 free
tickets to Hyena's Comedy Night Club in Fort Worth for this upcoming
Friday, April 23rd at 8:30 pm  to see Chas Elstner  If anyone would
like to go, I can be reached at (817) 903-3859 or at
gcsauve@...., and I will give out additional information
about where we need to meet and at what time.  Hyena's Comedy Night
Club is located at 605 Houston Street in downtown Fort Worth.  We
will need to meet at about 7:45 to get in.  There is a two drink
minimum and for those who do not wish to drink, nonalcholic drinks
are available.

We would like to remind you of this upcoming event.

Steering Committee

Date: Monday, May 3, 2004
Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM CDT (GMT-05:00)

Trinity Hall Pub
5321 E. Mockingbird Ln
Dallas
Contact: Roger Chapin
972-234-2190