An Afternoon in Bukhara

I call all my journeys "My Great Adventures " and they are, indeed.  But, I never forget that this is an important part of my identity as a teacher and I work hard to bring my students along on these adventures. I try to post at least one blog a day and I take tons of video and photographs. There are, however, times I leave my cameras behind and just wonder the streets to have my own personal experience in whatever place I might be. 

I was able to do that on my second day in Bukhara. I had spent the morning visiting various landmarks but decided just to leave my cameras in the hotel and roam the streets in the afternoon. There were plenty of places to shop but, that's not really my thing. I prefer to simply mingle with the people on the streets and try to blend in. If I can find some interesting street food, I like to try it.  It's not always to my liking but, it's always an interesting part of my adventure. 

This day, I didn't find any street food calling my name but, I continued roaming down some of the side streets and I eventually stumbled upon a door with a sign that read cafe.  I entered. It was a very small room with just four tables. The room was dark with a TV playing what I guessed to be a Pakistan soap opera. Lounging in a chair behind the furthest table was a woman. She was watching the soap opera but sat up straight and said something that sounded French.  I could tell neither of us were fluent enough to clearly communicate in French. I replied, "Je ne parle pas Francais. Not giving up, she asked, "English?"  I said, "yes" and took a seat at the table nearest to the door. She moved to a threshold near the far corner of the room and asked, "Eat?"  I hesitate slightly and say, "Yes."  Still standing at the threshold she pulls back a curtain, motions for me to come and says, "Menu!"  I get up, walk across the room, through the threshold and realize there are no printed menus. 

I find myself in a small kitchen where she points to two simmering pots of soup.  One appears to be some kind of bean soup and the other has vegetables with noodles. I point to the noodle soup and smile. She then shows me two plates on the countertop. One has stuffed dumplings and the other has some kind of ground meat balls. I had eaten dumplings the night before so I pointed to the ground meat balls and smiled. She returned the smile as she'd asked, "salad?"  I nodded my head and said, "Yes."  

I'm also very thirsty and she has yet to show me any beverage choices so, I ask, "Water?"  She doesn't seem to understand so, I move my hand to my mouth as if I was drinking and she smiles and says, "Beer?"  I figure close enough and say, "yes". 

As I take my seat, she walks out the door and down the narrow street. A few minutes later she returns with a bottle of beer in a plastic bag, goes to the kitchen to get a small glass and places bottle and glass on my table. I smile saying, "Rahmat".   My order plus a couple pieces of flat bread arrive a few minutes later. We both watch the soap opera as I eat. My check came to 22,000 SOM.  That's about $3.75; well spent.