Bill's Blog

I am keeping track of the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Uzbekistan. As of yesterday, there are 65 cases, 60 of them here in the capital city of Tashkent. They confirm on average 6 new cases per day. I think this may be a measure of the number of test kits and not the number of actual cases. The government is working hard to develop more kits.

The government has been doing a good job in trying to “lower the curve” and stop the spread of the coronavirus. They have taken strong measures such as closing schools, public transport, any stores that sell non-essential items, parks, etc. They have closed the borders to international arrivals and also restricted access to cities and regions within Uzbekistan. 20,000 people are in strict quarantine, with soldiers and police out on the streets for enforcement. Two clinics were put in quarantine after a patient tested positive, doctors, visitors, etc. were all locked in for 14 days and surrounded by military personnel. There is a lot of information going to the public to raise awareness including a dedicated Telegram channel. The Ministry of Health is working closely with the World Health Organization.

My family has been trying to social distance as much as possible. The tragic consequences of this pandemic in Italy, Spain and now in the United States are frightening. I hope authorities have done enough here to avoid the worst of it.

Near my house, a government agency is disinfecting taxis and other vehicles. On a bright note, the tulips in my garden are blooming!

We had another day of shelter-in-place and we limited our movements. Nadia and the kids did not leave the home and our teenagers, would be perfectly happy in their rooms for most of the day. I think they will grow tired of the isolation, but we’ll see.

I did go to school to run around the campus. I rode my bicycle to school and got a flat tire on the way. I ended up running until my knees started feeling creaky (8 kilometers). I am trying to get more exercise during this quarantine. It is a good stress reliever and builds my immune system.

Things around the city are slowing down as the government is adding restrictions. As of today, public transportation is stopped. Two days ago the government closed the borders to flights, trains and buses, although, as I write this morning, I did hear a plane land or take off. Many of the embassies and international businesses are arranging repatriation of expats this week.

Slowing down has made me appreciate the little things more. While walking my bike back home, I noticed this portable bread oven (above). Bread is hugely important to Uzbeks and a baker is an honored profession here. Many homes have ovens and you see them selling non, a round, flat bread. Even the supermarkets have bread ovens as you can see in the video below. Wheat is originally from south eastern Turkey and the Uzbeks being a Turkic peoples, probably have been baking bread on the grasslands and deserts of Central Asia for a long time.

Yesterday it was the vernal equinox (March 21) and it is the biggest holiday celebration for the Uzbeks. They have celebrated Navruz for over 2,000 years and have large celebrations, concerts, etc. around the city. Unfortunately due to Covid-19, these were cancelled by the government. In keeping with the official beginning of spring, I photographed a blossom on a tree at our school.

It was a hectic morning assisting some of our staff members and their parents purchasing tickets on the last flight, for awhile, out of Uzbekistan. They were relieved they could go to the USA and I was glad to help. The departure of American embassy personnel and their families caused a bit of anxiety in those that remained, including my family as they lost friends.

I spent the rest of the day sheltering-in-place at home and preparing for the possibly long time we will be stuck at home. I organized our basement storeroom, cooked with Nadia, who is spending a lot of time with new recipes, inspired by Barefoot Contessa, setting up a treadmill we recently purchased, etc. Our pool cleaner came over and vacuumed the sand from the bottom that was in system when we opened the pump. We still have to wait a few more days because of the high chlorine content. It is raining and in the mid-50s F this morning as I write this so it is easy to wait.

I started the University of Cornell’s online Bird Ornithology Course. I love birds and being outdoors and as a former biology teacher, I want to bring more conservation and outdoor education to the school. My other project is to improve my investing knowledge and diversify my family financial portfolio. With university looming for our three children, I also want to be able to retire someday, so this will help.

Things are pretty much normal in Tashkent. The government has taken steps like closing schools, cancelling major events (Tashkent Marathon, Navruz Celebrations) and closing the border for the next 40 days. However, people are not really social distancing although I am seeing people wearing more masks. I expect stronger measures will be coming soon.

It has been an unusual Spring Break for me and my family. We finished school on Friday with a faculty meeting to update everyone in case Covid-19 cases were confirmed in Tashkent. On Sunday, March 15 the first case was confirmed, a woman arriving from Paris. Since then, it has been many crisis management team meetings and communication. Expatriates have to make the difficult decision to stay or leave. There is so much uncertainty to what is the best course of action and it has been stressful for everyone. I am trying my best as the director of the school to help all employees, students and parents. Time has slowed way down, and that Sunday feels like a month ago.

Part of the uneasiness is the fast nature of the pandemic. When we were making travel plans during the winter to visit Japan, we never thought that spring break would be filled with contingency plans and preparing for an extended social distancing anti-viral campaign. Everyone has been sorting through different emotions and with the huge amount of information we now receive via the internet, it is overwhelming. The Uzbek government, like many around the world has stopped outgoing and incoming flights.

Another source of uneasiness is how long this pandemic will last. In looking at the early hot spots of China, South Korea, Italy and Japan, it could take a while, even until this summer. I also do not know how the virus will spread here in Uzbekistan. There are limited testing kits and medical facilities will not be able to handle a large number of patients. It is a young population here, but there is also a lot of poverty and I worry about the disadvantaged population here, the poor and elderly. I hope our school and my family can help.

I now want to prepare for the worst and make sure that our family is ready to the challenge ahead. We will stock our pantry with non-perishable food to carry us over in case we are homebound.

One thing I am doing to relax is to cycle and on my rides I take some pictures of Tashkent.

It was a busy day yesterday with all three children playing basketball games. The day started with breakfast for Ollie and Ocean and taking them over to the gymnasium. Ocean’s team lost 5-11 in a game with a running clock and slow-acting referees where most of the game was spent arranging players on free throws or inbounds plays. The referees did not recognize the importance of swift play to give the students the most amount of actual play.

Oliver’s team defeated a local school 53-18. They were much younger than our school and that happens occasionally when arranging games with local teams. I love the way Oliver attacks every moment on the floor with gusto! He is always hustling and supportive of his teammates.

Owen’s team also faced an inferior, younger opponent and won 78-9. It was a workout and the team did run through its sets in a full gym, but it was almost not worth the game.

It was a beautiful day, more spring-like than winter with temperatures going up to 20C (68F) in the afternoon. I took advantage of the delightful day and went for a 10 kilometer run along the Ankhor Canal. Nadia and I had fun at the Tashkent Women International Group ball at the newly opened Hilton. All proceeds went to a children’s hospital . The theme was Hollywood and the organizers did a good job with the entertainment, including arranging for paparazzi to welcome us on the red carpet. We had some laughs and danced for a long time. Nadia looked beautiful in her Aunt Silvia-designed dress. I am lucky to have married such a mujerona.

I really enjoyed Parent-Teacher-Student conferences on Friday. With our kids growing up so quickly, these occasions will be coming to an end. It was funny to see Owen’s face as he was getting it from both me and Nadia. All of them are good kids, just not ambitious or studious at this point in their lives. All of them are well-adjusted and happy, and I guess I should be happy for that.

This is my second visit to the Netherlands. I attended an IB conference in March of 2009 in Amsterdam. This week I was in Den Hague (The Hague) the third city of the Netherlands. The city is much smaller than Amsterdam, which I like. It has been awhile since I’ve been in an European city. I forgot how nice it is to have good public transport and most importantly, a strong cycling infrastructure.

The Netherlands is probably number one nation for cycling and in thinking back to my first trip over 10 years ago, I have developed into an avid cyclist. My five years in Japan gave me the opportunity to road cycle daily and I continue to find opportunities to cross-cycle in Tashkent. I rented a bicycle from the hotel and daily rode the 7 kilometers towards the coast to the International School of the Hague. Besides having protected cycle trails on both sides of the road, the drivers are hyper aware of bicycles. One of the employees of the hotel said he saw a television program that Americans were questioning why the Dutch do not have mandatory helmet laws. Research shows that often people do not bike because of the helmet laws and the Dutch government even went as far as to say helmet laws are bad for overall health of a population. I would say that the Dutch are probably more healthy than Americans because of high number of people with the bicycle as their main form of transport. 27% of all trips in the Netherlands are by bicycle! There are more bicycles (22 million) than citizens (17 million).

I rode onto the dunes and visited the North Sea beaches two afternoons after the workshops finished for the day. The Hague is at 52 north latitude and darkness in late January comes around 5:30 PM (8:30 AM sunrise), so I had limited time. As in the city, there were clearly marked and protected cycle paths through the dunes with views to the beaches and the coastal towns inland. From the town of Kijkduin near the school, one day I went north, riding through Westduin Park and the second day, I rode south to the town of Monster.

We are considering sending our children to the Netherlands to university. There are many English language programs and sadly, it is less expensive for non-EU citizens than in-state tuition for American universities. The Netherlands is smart to attract foreigners to come and study in the country. I think that may result in more business in the future for Dutch companies as smart people with strong ties to the country develop their careers. I would be OK with my children eventually living here. The one drawback to life here is the population density, which is slightly higher than India. However, they have such a great infrastructure (housing, roads) that it doesn’t feel crowded as other places I’ve been to.

The Hague is also known as the International City of Peace and Justice. I know it for being the site of the UN International Court of Justice and remember while living in Belgrade the many Bosnian Serbs that were captured and faced trials in the Hague. I visited the Peace Palace on a rainy Sunday morning and was pleasantly surprised that American Andrew Carnegie donated the funds to build the beautiful cathedral like building. Since the 1300s, the city has hosted peace conferences and meetings. Today, it is the seat of the Netherlands government, one of the most progressive governments in the world, and also international peace organizations.