Bill's Blog

Ocean shared her graduation photo with us from earlier this week. What a beautiful, mature, young woman she has become! I like the nod to Uzbek culture with the ikat sash featured with the robe.

I took Obi for a walk late yesterday afternoon by the Savr Avenue Development. It is located on the former grounds of a pharmacuetical factory near our school in the Mirabad District of the city. It is a huge complex with three companies putting up complexes. I am not pleased with the development as it will increase traffic on the two main streets (Sarikol and Fitrat) that our community members travel on to get to the school coming from the center of the city. The apartments are like most apartments, very small and densely packed. Developers are greedy and put profits over quality of life. I would guess there are close to 1,000 apartments in the various buildings. Even with low occupancy rates, there will be many more families living in the neighborhood near the school. There are two more developments going up on the other side of the school near Furqat Park. I wonder what traffic will look like in the next 5 to 10 years.

The advertised apartments range from the largest (818 square feet – below left), which features two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room, all located on opposite ends of the apartment. The smallest apartment (300 square feet – below right) is a rectangular room with a bathroom and a living room/kitchen combination that would be more common in Japan than in Uzbekistan. Many of these apartments will be purchased by people as investments.

The highlight of my week was chaperoning the Grade 4 Ski Trip to Amirsoy Resort on Thursday. I spent the day on the intermediate “green” slopes of the mountain and had a blast skiing with the boys and girls. Conditions were great in the morning, with cold temperatures, slightly overcast skies, and decent snowpack. Conditions deteriorated slightly in the afternoon as it became warmer; the snow was a bit slushy. I always say any day I am outside more than inside, is a great day!

Last night, my friend Aaron and I discovered a new Russian-style баня (banya) called Stanitsya. They have two private lounges with a sauna, a Turkish steam room, a cold pool, a regular pool, a dining area, etc. The facilities are well finished and come with a spa master and a masseuse. Each lounge can fit between 6-10 people. It is a bit expensive, and they tried to charge us for 3 and 1/2 hours when we were there for 3 hours. This was after they told us upon arrival that the spa was fully booked. They had a late cancellation. One of the employees ran out to our car as we were pulling away and brought us back in. I would recommend the bath house to others if you have a group of people.

All of the snow melted in the city with temperatures getting up into the 60s earlier this week. We had a “wintry mix” on Friday with rain and temperatures ranging from 1 to 15 degrees C (highs of 50s F). Climate change is causing weather fluctuations between warm and cold all over the world. This is only the beginning and I wonder what the climate will be like for my children and grandchildren.

I am taking time to savor my final year here in Tashkent. I went for a run after work along the canal yesterday and captured this sunset photo on one of the side canals beneath the hill of the Uzbekistan Olympic Museum. The weather this week has felt like a mini-spring with temperatures reaching into the mid 60s with a high today of 64 degrees F!

Ocean had her senior photo day at school yesterday. The grade 12 students took their individual portraits with their graduation caps and gowns. Graduation this year will take place on May 22, and Nadia and I are both excited and dreading the big day! The photos took place in the administration building, and seeing 17 and 18-year-olds fret about their looks makes me laugh from the perspective of someone in their 50s. I’ve reached the age where anyone with skin with no wrinkles and all of their hair looks fantastic.

We had a wet snow storm on Wednesday afternoon. It was not enough to delay or cancel school . The subsequent melting caused wet conditions which is a hassle when walking our dog Obi. We need to wash the dirt off his paws, legs, and belly after every walk. We celebrated Nadia’s birthday this week. I got her a really nice gift. One of her friends, Nuriya, gave her a custom family photo puzzle that Ocean put together. It was a thoughtful gift!

I had two off-campus meetings this week. Yesterday I visited British Management University, one of the many new private, English-language universities that have opened in Tashkent over the past few years. With 60% of the population under age 30, higher education, and K-12 schools, are taking advantage of the growth students. Unlike the USA where universities and schools are closing due to less young people, Central Asia is a growth area. I snapped the photo below from the fifth floor of a building on campus. It shows the incredible growth of homes in the flat, east part of the city. None of those homes were there when I first arrived to Tashkent in 2019.

The highlight of the week was Novak Djokovic’s victory over Janik Sinner in the Australian Open Semifinal. We lived in Belgrade for 6 years (2008-2014) and are Serb-philes! Nadia had her sister in the Gold Coast on Facetime (she is dating a Serb), Owen in Costa Rica and Oliver in Green Bay on WhatsApp, and Ocean and me in Tashkent, watching the game. It was an amazing feat to win at age 38 years old against the #2 ranked player in the world. We are going to be glued to the television on Sunday for the final. Owen sent some photos from attending Raphael Nadal’s tennis camp in Costa Rica. He is an strong tennis player and loves the sport. One of the coaches was from Santa Cruz, Bolivia!

It was so nice to get back onto skis on Monday! Two chaperones couldn’t make the Grade 10 ski trip and I was able to replace them. Our school’s adventure program has a “snow” strand. It is our goal to have all students learn to ski. Conditions were perfect with soft, dry snow, sunny skis and cool, but not cold temperatures. It was rewarding to give advice and help the students gain confidence on the slopes. We have loved the Amirsoy Ski Resort over the past seven years in Tashkent. I continue to soak up the winter experiences. My big takeaway from the day is drier snow is much better than icy snow and makes it easier and safer to make turns

We had a quiet Sunday without Oliver with us. I had a full day of exercise, including yoga in the morning, a long walk with Obi around midday and then a bike ride along the canal in the afternoon.

Oliver got stuck in Newark, New Jersey, for two days because of the big storm. This was the photo he sent as he landed. He is now back at school!

We spent Saturday preparing Oliver for his long flight back to Wisconsin. Nadia, Ocean, and I were doing his laundry, packing his bags, and making contingency plans in case his flights are delayed. He is heading into the “arctic vortex” winter snow storms in the USA. As I write this, he is on his United Airlines flight from Dubai to Newark. We’ll see tonight if his connections to Chicago and then Green Bay will be able to go. The start of the second semester is Monday at Saint Norbert College. Oliver is a sophomore at the private, Catholic, liberal arts college in DePere, Wisconsin.

Nadia, Ocean and I then went shopping for Nadia’s birthday present. Her birthday is Monday and I’ve learned that Nadia knows what she wants in life, so we have a tradition of her picking out her own present. She was happy with her Dyson hair appliance. We also ate at KFC. We were looking for Burger King, but it was not open yet in the Poytaxt Strip Mall. We had a quiet night at home. The house was quieter with only three of us.

We celebrated Oliver’s last full day in Tashkent by going out to dinner at Manana, a Georgian restaurant in the Shevchenko area. The fish and my chicken soup were delicious, but everything else was below average. We had a snow day on Friday because of icy road conditions. I got caught up at work and took a few photos of the campus. It is so beautiful with snow in the trees and the bright sun shining. My office on the second floor of The House is surrounded by the tops of the trees, giving me an inspiring view as I held meetings, answered emails, and finished document preparation.

In the early evening, Oliver and I had our final session at The Bani before he leaves today. Ollie loves the intense heat followed by the 13C pool and relaxation. It really does make you feel better! I also like the higher humidities of a Russian bath compared to the Finnish sauna. He is taking back a шапка для бани (traditional felt banya hat). Unfortunately for him this winter, the nearest banya to DePere, Wisconsin is Chicago, Illinois. The next time we are in Chicago in cold weather, we’ll have to check out the Red Square Bathhouse.

Owen is getting ready for his week at Rafael Nadal’s tennis camp starting on Monday. He sent a short video of his serve. We watch Australian Open tennis in the mornings together. My favorite players on the men’s tour this year are Novak Djokovic, Tommy Paul, Francis Tiafoe, Danil Medvedev, and Ben Shelton. We’ll see if anyone else catches my eye. I look for entertaining styles of play and personality.

I breezed through this 2011 science fiction novel by Drew Magary, the long-time columnist from Deadspin, the sports blog. I was not familiar with Deadspin or Magary before finding this book in my digital Michigan library. His career combines humor, politics, and love of sports and I am surprised I was not familiar with his work.

The premise of the book is that a cure for aging has been found. People have a “cure age”, the age they received the vector to stop aging, and their chronological age. The format is like Albert Brooks’ World War Z, a combination of news reports, diary entries, etc., which I liked. It is a dystopian story with overpopulation and climate degradation creating a post-apocalyptic world.

The book forced me to think about my own mortality. With all the time in the world, people started viewing their lives differently. For example, the “cyclic marriage”. Couples would commit to a 20-year marriage, long enough to have children and then with eternal youth, find another partner, family and wife. In a non-Post Mortal world, we don’t have that option. Nadia and I have been together since 1997 and married since 1999 and are growing old together. The last of our three children is going off to university next year. We are happy in our marriage and plan to stay together as we eventually retire and look forward to more free time and caring for our grandchildren. Magary’s book asks the question what we would do if we were not aging. What comes after grandchildren? Another partner and family? Another career? It reinforced the idea that every generation has its moment and it might be good for humanity to move out of the way for the next generation.

How long is sufficient for a life well lived? I am trying to maximize my active years through diet, exercise, relationships, and good medical care. Will I get bored in this life? Would I get bored after 2 or 3 normal lifetimes? I can relate to people who are ready to die, especially if their loved ones are gone or they are facing health issues.

Magary wrote an interesting book that was entertaining and insightful. That is good science fiction.

We are enjoying Oliver’s final week with us in Tashkent. On Sunday Oliver and I went for a bike ride around Yangi Uzbekistan and the new Olympic Village. Most of the buildings are completed. I hope it will be open to the public or at least they develop a cycling/running path around the area. We ran into a bit of mud on the backside, but overall it was a fast ride. Afterwards we went to The Bani, the Russian banya and warmed up and relaxed. It is nice to see Oliver and Ocean bonding this week. The person who will be in your life the longest is your brother and sister. I hope they maintain a strong relationship throughout their lives.

It has been cold this week in Tashkent as you can see by the sunrise photo above of the frosty turf of the school’s sports field. We have had wintry mixes of precipitation mixed with sunny skies. Temperatures are hovering around zero Celcius daily. I made a video of Ocean, Oliver and I walking the dog around our mahalla last night.

We are having a quiet and cozy weekend so far, with rain mixed with snow falling almost all Friday night and all day Saturday. As I am writing this on early Sunday morning, light snow flurries are gently swirling down on our front lawn. The photo on the left is of the tallest skyscraper in Central Asia, the Nest One Tower. Murad Building Company, with the Turkish construction company Ozguven concieved and built the building over the past several years. I met with Mr. Murad and some of the Ozguven directors when we were looking for a company to build our elementary school. I am happy for them that they completed the project! I hope they have full occupancy. I am noticing that with all of the residencial apartment blocks in the city, that the occupancy rates must be quite low. Uzbeks use apartments like we use 401 (k) s and stocks. They put their savings into real estate and hope it grows in value. I would love to have some data regarding occupancy rates.

The other photo I took was through my car window on Friday night. Oliver and I came across the white car smashing into a utility pole. Many Uzbeks are new to driving, and driving recklessly is a bit of a macho thing. You see a lot of car accidents and fender benders throughout the city. It will take a coupleof generations to realize that higher velocities mean a higher chance of accidents.

I did Day 15 of my 60 for 60 yoga workout in the morning and went for a run in the afternoon. I ran 6 kilometers around the Tashkent City development. I have not been there for a while. I see they have opened underground parking and established European style walking streets full of shops and restaurants on the ground floor of residential apartments. Nadia and I went to lunch at Breadly Bakery and restaurant. We spent the late afternoon and early evening taking down all of our Christmas decorations in the house. We have a lot more space with the tree, Nadia’s nutcracker and wreath collection put into storage.

My eldest son Owen, is serving in the United States Peace Corps in Costa Rica. He occasionally sends us photos of his life. It is nice to see him giving back to the community and helping the disadvantaged of Costa Rick with their food drive.