Well, it turns out that maybe I just needed an extra-large dose of benadryl. Slept from 11:15-6:45 last night. Very nice. Now I'm out of benadryl because I neglected to pack enough given my apparent increased tolerance for the stuff. Crap.
Today is election day in Tajikistan. Emomali Rahmon will win a new seven-year term as president, with probably around 80% of the vote. There are a bunch of election monitors here from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. They were wearing white arm bands and speaking in French, Spanish, Greek, and sundry other languages at breakfast this morning. I wonder about their presence here -- doesn't it lend an air of legitimacy to a laughably, transparently undemocratic election? The government isn't even trying to have fair elections here, so it's not like monitors can be looking to ferret out intimidation at the polls and raise an international outcry over it. No one has even heard of the opposition party candidates for president, not least because the main opposition party is not participating at all.
Also, it's a national holiday (on that score, at least, Tajikistan is more democratic than our voter-suppression-loving country). So I've been cooped up in the Serena all day, working away inefficiently at various things. Going to the office is especially important on trips because in the hotel it's very easy to let work and rest bleed together. It's 5:40 now and I'll be doing work until I go to bed. I'll also watch some TV while I eat dinner, maybe go to the gym, pack, and read. All mixed together. I showered at 3:30 this afternoon. Weird day.
In other news, I managed to talk to Mom and Claire this morning (success!). Great to see their faces through the miracle of video chat, as always.
Tomorrow morning I head to Khorog. Here's hoping the weather allows us to fly. If not, I guess that means hitting the road. Knocking every piece of wood in the room.
Today is election day in Tajikistan. Emomali Rahmon will win a new seven-year term as president, with probably around 80% of the vote. There are a bunch of election monitors here from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. They were wearing white arm bands and speaking in French, Spanish, Greek, and sundry other languages at breakfast this morning. I wonder about their presence here -- doesn't it lend an air of legitimacy to a laughably, transparently undemocratic election? The government isn't even trying to have fair elections here, so it's not like monitors can be looking to ferret out intimidation at the polls and raise an international outcry over it. No one has even heard of the opposition party candidates for president, not least because the main opposition party is not participating at all.
Also, it's a national holiday (on that score, at least, Tajikistan is more democratic than our voter-suppression-loving country). So I've been cooped up in the Serena all day, working away inefficiently at various things. Going to the office is especially important on trips because in the hotel it's very easy to let work and rest bleed together. It's 5:40 now and I'll be doing work until I go to bed. I'll also watch some TV while I eat dinner, maybe go to the gym, pack, and read. All mixed together. I showered at 3:30 this afternoon. Weird day.
In other news, I managed to talk to Mom and Claire this morning (success!). Great to see their faces through the miracle of video chat, as always.
Tomorrow morning I head to Khorog. Here's hoping the weather allows us to fly. If not, I guess that means hitting the road. Knocking every piece of wood in the room.
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