Better late than never

I met a lot of new people since September. They know me as a university student, working with a well-known cosmetic company. That creates a certain image of me, especially if they see me in a pink coat and with white fancy bag. When they get to know me better, I might tell them about my traveller's past. I have a lot of funny / scary / crazy stories from Armenia and Tajikistan (+ some really good ones from Macedonia where I spent a week in 2001). These destinations somehow don’t fit into the idea they had about me.
What distracts me is that me myself have sometimes difficulties to believe it. These stories just can't be something that happened to ME. They are more like dream, slowly fading. Anyway, here are some brief notes on my experience in central Asia. Better late than never.

7 things I loved about Tajikistan
§ mountains – you can see them from nearly anywhere and they are really impressive
§ people – AIESECers, university employees, host families. very friendly, open and helpful
§ travelling by marshrutkas, looking out of the window, everyday finding something new
§ meeting cows or donkeys in the centre of the city
§ music – Tajik, Persian, Russian. anything except Arash, please
§ sitting on the floor, sleeping on the floor
§ being “lost” in central Asia. I felt like a real adventurer

7 things I didn’t get used to in Tajikistan
§ food – I am afraid I will never ever eat lamb again
§ being guarded too much, lack of personal freedom
§ bad beer
§ no chance to take shower in combination with heat (45°C)
§ being a guest, not having anything like home there (no key from the flat where I lived)
§ paying for incoming phone calls
§ umm, I don’t know now. maybe I will add the last one later