We are enjoying our Ski Break long weekend in Tashkent. We are at the halfway point between the end of Winter Break and the start of Spring Break, so it comes at a good time.
We started the break by attending the classic Italian opera, The Elixir of Love at the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Uzbekistan Named after Alisher Navoi. The Russians value the fine arts and built a beautiful opera house theatre dating back to the 1930s. The Uzbeks have maintained the building after independence and I saw there is another renovation project taking place on the facade. It could use a renovation inside as well, the men’s bathrooms smelled horribly and the old tiled flooring has seen better days. However, it is a gorgeous venue, and because it is subsidized by the government, it is inexpensive to attend. There is something to be said to see a live full orchestra and hundreds of singers, actors, and crew perform and only pay around $10. The story itself was a bit silly, but the costumes and performances were awesome. They had both Russian and English subtitles which made it even better! We could follow along the story. We had reservations for a Japanese restaurant that was recommended to us by someone from the Japanese Embassy so we left at intermission.
Nadia and I stopped to check out the new shopping mall (Alfraganus) that is nearing completion near our house. There are only a few stores open as construction is taking place. We liked the new Korzinka supermarket and the layout of the outdoor mall. It is nothing special, but nice to have another shopping option close by. The city is growing so rapidly that a major project like this is just another development among literally hundreds of construction projects taking place.
Besides resting and enjoying some well-deserved leisure time, we are also getting organized. We are buying flights for the summer, getting documents for Nadia’s Green Card application, etc. Below is a photo of Nadia and Obi after we visited the Japanese Embassy. We took the little guy for a walk after waiting patiently in the car for us.
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