A week away!

I still can't believe how fast this summer has been going. In less than 20 days I'll be 21- and in less than 8 days I'l be in Tajikistan! It has been quite a hot and draining summer in Arizona, but I know that the culminating experience abroad is going to be more than worth it.

For those of you that don't know (or don't remember), I wanted to get a post together before I left the country that gave some travel and abroad details.

I will be leaving Phoenix the morning of Friday, July 20th, flying to Washington D.C. and then onward to Frankfurt, Germany. I have a few spare hours in Frankfurt, and then I fly onward to Dushanbe!

You can see a more complete itinerary here.

While in Dushanbe, I will be living with a host family and studying at the Tajik National University. By this coming Tuesday, I will know if I have morning or afternoon classes and more information about my family (if they have children, ages, etc.). 

Interestingly enough, the Muslim population of Tajikistan will be observing Ramadan for the entirety of my trip (it starts on July 19th and ends on August 18th!) Ramadan is a religion holiday where members fast from sunrise to sunset. Usually, families wake up just before the sun rises to have a breakfast. This will definitely make my time abroad much more interesting, and I have heard that the food served when they break fast is the best! It also offers an incredibly unique opportunity to observe a Muslim community during a religious holiday.

I think that's all for now. I'll try to get another post up once I find out more details about my host family!

Nick