Peace Corps Journals

Simply Wonderful

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

2012-05-16 17:29:00

Sometimes, things just go well. There’s no explanation, you just feel on top of the world, no matter what happens. This week’s been one of those weeks. Despite the crazy electrical storms every night and the constant earthquakes (5.6 on the Richter scale) every morning, I’ve got a constant smile on my face, right now.

There’s currently an essay contest being held by the American Embassy. It’s for students throughout the regions of Azerbaijan. Samira, a constant mention in this blog, submitted her essay. It is one of the more extraordinary essays I’ve ever read, not even considering the fact that she is only 15 and English is not her first OR second language. I just had to share it, but did not change it whatsoever! Enjoy!

My dream is…

First I want to meet you with some people.

Hatma – 15 years old. Lives in Turkey. She loves watching students going to school. But she can’t study. Because she has a wedding next month. But she doesn’t know who will be her husband. The only thing that she knows about him, that he is the friend of her father, 62 years old…

Cavid – 5 years old. Azberbaijanian. Lives in orphanage. His parents left him when he was 3 years old. From that day Cavid spends all his free time in front of the window. “Maybe my parents will come to take me, but they won’t see me and go back…”

Asad – 21 years old. Her mother had a big health problem. Her kidneys had to be changed or she could die. Asad asked many organizations for help. But nobody helped. Asad didn’t want to lose the only person in his life and stole money. He’s in the prison now. But he isn’t regret. Because he knows that his mother is alive. And that’s enough for him…

Aisha – 7 years old. Lives in Afganistan. Everyday she wakes up to the voice of guns. Everyday she feels fear, everyday she cries. And everyday she thinks, “how the people living in the peaceful country are happy!!!”

Bakir – 67 years old. He lived all his life for his children. His wife died when she was 41. Bakir was a worker. All day he carried heavy stones in his back. But he never left his children hungry. But now he is in a rest home. Because his children don’t want an old and weak man in their house…

Almaz – 6 years old. Everyday gets “2” from lessons. But the teachers don’t know the reason why she doesn’t study. Her drunk father everynight beats her mother. And Almaz is tired of pretending like she’s sleeping while her mom cries secretly all night. Because of this Almaz --- 6 years old girl has psychology problems…

Yes, maybe they are just my characters, but I’m sure that there’re many people like them. And my dream is just to see them happy. I don’t want any high buildings, worldwide song contests, big concert halls…I just wanna see smiles on their face. I want to be sure that there’s no helpless people when I’m happy. This is my dream!!!

It Adds Up

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Corping the Peace in Azerbaijan

2012-05-16 12:34:00

Today, while I was walking to an event for our organization, a car followed me (almost) the entire way. As I walked, he pulled up beside me, parked and began to yell to me. As I continued to walk, he continued his ~~wooing~~ stalking; pulling up, parking behind cars and yelling as I walked along the sidewalk. When the sidewalk ended, I began to walk into a store parking lot, but he pulled in front of the sidewalk, blocking my way. I walked behind his car, remained stone faced and retained my pace. He backed out of the parking lot and went to the other side, trying the same tactic, blocking the sidewalk on the other side. Again, I walked around his car and ~~shattered his windshield with the baseball bat I carry~~ continued onward to my destination. Eventually, he moved along, most likely to stalk some other unsuspecting gazelle.

The story I'm sharing with you is not uncommon, not for me, nor my fellow female AZPCVs. It is my greatest cause of stress in Azerbaijan. I remember in my first months at site how scary I found these events and now I just find them common place, irritating and anger inducing (although the general anxiety that comes with people stalking you is still there).

With warmer weather now finding its way to Azerbaijan, the incidences of harassment are (much) higher. Recently, while I was walking with one of my students (and friend), a car pulled up in front of us, blocking the sidewalk. The driver then began calling out to me in Russian. We ignored them and walked on. I've had cars follow me all the way from work to my apartment block. I've had boys follow and speak rudely behind me while I walked with a group of girls. Two weeks ago I was walking with my American friend when a man came up and put his arm around her. She looked stricken, I was just angry. I physically removed his hand off her and told him to leave NOW. He seemed amused, took his hand off her, but then continued to follow us. We crossed the street, he crossed the street. We turned right, he turned right. Etc. Etc. Etc. I think I could have, for the first time in my life, hit someone.

I have had boys follow me for so long, that in order to get rid of them I had to fake a phone call to my dear (male) friend and counterpart (this works incredibly well for walker-stalkers, not as well for guys in cars). I always have the option of actually calling him, but I try to only call him in extreme cases.

The ongoing harassment is exhausting and I can feel the anger accumulating. It's a low, but steady stream of annoyance that's building to become something bigger. I'm not an angry person. Really. I get irritated with people, but I voice my dismay/annoyance and then I'm over it; a flash in the pan really. I've never "seen red" and am sometimes taken aback by extreme anger. This is a whole different experience. There's just no real solution. I know I will not see the end of this behavior before my service is complete. One of my fellow sitemates had a male student tell her he must always walk with her. Yes, the solution is to always have a male with me. You know, just give up a little more of my freedom and independence and always have a dude with me. That seems ~~like the most awful idea ever~~ viable.

The thing is, the best reaction to these types of events (as long as they aren't severe or physically threatening) is to ignore them. Any response is taken as a sort of indicator that you're interested,. But it adds up. The continued stress, annoyance, anger, irritation, it doesn't leave right away and the next day when you're still reeling from the day before, you leave your house and again experience this type of interaction. And the day after that. The same. And the day after. The same. Rinse. Repeat. And bit by bit, it weighs on you. I can sense it some days when I'm short with someone for no reason and it's typically after an exchange of this nature. The anger can be misdirected. I keep it pretty well in check, but sometimes it seeps out and creeps into a place it doesn't belong.

Don't get me wrong. I do things to alleviate stress. I run. I write. I color. I take a day for myself and hide out in my apartment to read a book and drink coffee, but there are some months where there isn't enough time to unwind and those seem to be when instances of harassment are rampant. It adds up.

I love my service and I have great work, students and friends. By far my service is a positive one. If you're looking for me, I can usually be found making a lame joke with a dumb grin on my face, but I have bad days here too. And when I don't have the time to take a minute, it's difficult get my head health back to where it needs to be (and it can get a little nutty inside this messy mind of mine).

I suppose the key, if there is one, is awareness. I'm aware of how I'm feeling and its cause and although I have virtually no control over these interactions, it's important to be aware of how I'm feeling and why I'm feeling that way. When I'm feeling just a little nutty (like today for example), I can try to take a moment to pause and figure out where my head is at.

Peace Corps was bound to present me with challenges and this is, by far, my greatest.

He said "Don't be so negative! "

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan ONE DREAM AT A TIME

2012-05-15 15:33:00

When my boyfriend came here I was super excited and nervous. I knew what I had experienced and wasn't sure what he would experience. I recall giving him some basics like: people are going to stare. just keep moving. The kids--they will say hello. Sometimes they will shout it. You are welcome to say hello back but try to say salam instead. A hand over the chest is a sign of respect. Eat the bread and other cultural tips.

But that didn't happen on the good foot as much as I wanted it to. Soon as he got here we had a couple of issues. When Thomas got off the plane I saw him at the carousel to collect his luggage. I decide to take a seat and wait for him. After a number of people came out through customs, but Thomas didn't-immediately I thought the worst. They must have detained him for something. Maybe something was wrong with his visa and they have to ask him a few questions. Damn Azeri's on that bureaucratic bullshit. Here we go! I went back to the doors to see if I could see him again and he was gone. I called my security officer for help and learned that Thomas was in the back filling out paper work-the protocol for lost luggage.

I don't know why I panicked but I did.

When we got to Shirvan I had only prepped him just enough for the taxi ride into town. I made sure to give him a couple of words because I knew that the taxi driver would speak to him first before speaking to me. But Thomas couldn't recall much of the language I had taught him so the taxi driver proceeded to deal with me solely off language capabilities. However another passenger quickly caught on to the circumstance and knew that while I could understand what was being said-Thomas wouldn't. The male passenger hit on me in-front of Thomas and with Thomas being helpless in language we decided to take a different cab.

Those became the stand out first impressions that Thomas received and all I did was make it worse.

I went on and on about certain situations, life, what I deal with that seems to stress me out and to make matters worse I asked others to join with me. It was a terrible-terrible mistake. I hadn't shed much light on the good things that happened to me and it only seemed that soon as something good happened, immediately afterwards I was rubbed the wrong way by something that didn't feel so good. I carried it with me too.If anything negative occured at 5:00pm on Tuesday, I was still brooding over it 36 hours later. We would sit down to eat dinner, head off to sleep and I would wake up and say : I don't want to go out there. He would say : Why? What's the problem? Show me your town. Show me some people. I would clam up and get scared. Worried that someone was going to pass us and shout something derogatory or fall out laughing or stare 4 minutes too long.

So we ran back and forth to Baku and over cups of coffee I would utter things like "These people..." or " See what I'm saying..." or "Please don't do that...because...won't understand." And it was all negative. ALL of it. When I called myself trying to say something positive, I would ice it up with something condescending. Then Thomas would ask about specific people like Peace Corps employees or my host family and would want to know if I felt the same towards them. My reply would be-Absolutely not. Those people are different. What I didn't realize I was doing was essentially talking about the same people. It's like someone expressing a depressing generalization about African Americans and then they will say -EXCEPT THAT ONE!

There is no EXCEPT THAT ONE. If you feel poorly about one, you will likely feel poorly about them all.

Towards the end of our trip, I interviewed Thomas. Going back over the interview I was shocked at how much my personal experiences influenced his opinion. Now mind you-we ran back and forth to Baku for roughly 1/3 of the time he was here. 2/3rds of the time we spent coupled up in my house and finished off our time with 1 night in Gence as we headed to Tbilisi Georgia. If he experienced Azerbaijan, he experienced what I told him. Now yes..we did have dinner with my host family and that was fun. I did take him to the bazaar and that was truly hilarious. The post office crew was great and he was well received at Peace Corps Headquarters.

But he didn't experience Azerbaijan and out of pure concern of what he might go through, I sheltered him and filled his head with nightmarish tales-giving only one side of the story. Which by the way-all of those stories were true. It's just I shared them too much too often.

The last night before leaving, he sat me down and told me that I was being too negative of a person and that much of what I was experiencing was a product of my own attitude. He had observed me hesitate and operate in fear triggered by either my own imagination of what could possibly happen but may not or by something that had happened in the past that I took personally and wasn't able to let go.

I told him that the things I experienced were very real and I had a right to deal with them as I pleased.

He said that I chose to be a certain way.

I said Azerbaijan makes me a certain way.

He said if I spent more time talking about the older woman that kissed me and asked me how I was doing versus talking about some cowardliness behavior, I would feel better.

I said I am only talking about what happens that feels piercingly disrespectful, that boggle my mind and sometimes hurt my feelings.

He said don't waste your energy. It's not helping you. Don't be so negative!

I said nothing.

So that's my personal goal for the next however many more days. To let go of whatever that has happened and recharge my attitude. To take a break from blogging because it's not my intention to offend anyone and I'm worried that the few who are reading this will feel turned off by Azerbaijan and that's honestly not very fair of me.
I'm worried that while I hate feeling discriminated against, I am perpetuating that same behavior just by what I share with people and the generalizations I come to conclude.

Thomas has gone home now and those were my favorite last words. Don't be so negative.

To jump-start this process, I'm going to watch The Secret!

Thank you for reading. Check back soon for something positive.

P.S. While blogs are a depiction of our own understandings and feelings, it is up to the writer to be cognitive of who may be reading. I have flown under the radar in terms of offending anyone in my blog (or so I like to believe) but I'm becoming increasingly aware and even more sensitive to the things that I say and how they may make someone feel. For the record, no one has charged me for what has been written in my blog. This is a move out of self conviction. The minute I can put a halt to my thoughts, then my words will shift as well.

Frisbee and a hijab. Two items that can’t coexist?

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Where the East meets the West

2012-05-15 14:02:34

Tuesday is club day. Since Novruz I’ve started focusing my attention on this group of awesome and ambitious 8th form girls who always show up on club day and always want to do whatever activities I have come up with … Continue reading →

Shake, Rattle, Row and Ollie - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan These Boots are made for Hiking

2012-05-15 11:31:00

Ollie In his favorite Box

Ollie on His favorite couch

For those of you who don't know, Ollie was my rescue cat that I had for twelve years and I had to give him up when I went into the Peace Corps. My niece and nephew took him in, in an emergency when a "friend" decided at the last minute she didn't want him (just look at the face, who could resist!). God placed him in the right home as my niece, nephew, grand niece and nephew love him with all their heart. He is just thriving in that love and he has to tolerate two dogs, several horses and even another cat. My niece grooms him as he does not clean himself and he gets a lot of hair mattes, she is a saint (thank you Janette!!). And my grand nephew Will takes him to bed with him every night. My Ollie is so lucky to be picked by such a wonderful family (Thank you again...Love to you all)...

Now back to Azerbaijan, this region has had continuous earthquakes for over a week now, not like the first day shakes of 5.5 and 5.4 but hard enough that the people here are still scared (or some like grandpa just smiles and shakes his head refusing to ran out the door). We are also experiencing thunder and lightening and heavy rains (mostly at night) as during the day it gets up to about 70 degrees. The Education Ministry has decided that schools in this region will not open until the fall. Teachers are going to school and are working outside just to do the paperwork, only 10th & 11th forms are there and they sit outside (doing nothing). I still have my bandanna art project for my Kid's Klub. So I've talked with my co teacher and we decided we will do it next week. She will let all the students know and hopefully we can get the students from the other schools to come as well.

May is half way over and I will be hopefully moving into my new permanent place at the end of the month, working on kids camps in other regions with PCV's and going on vacation to Georgia and Turkey. And most of all enjoying the warmth of summer.

Life Challenge: Cats are Intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose...Garfield or was that Goofy!

Q & A with American Visitor: Thomas S.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan ONE DREAM AT A TIME

2012-05-14 06:30:00

Myself and Thomas recently came back from Tbilisi Georgia. A really nice trip and weekend getaway for myself mentally. It felt good just to 'be' versus walking on eggshells in my current life. It was also difficult for me to come back to Azerbaijan after such an experience that was filled with overindulgence. Someone should have warned me to pace myself because when you're high-YOU'RE HIGH and you only know what comes after that.

Q & A with an American Visitor: Thomas S.

Q. How do you like Azerbaijan?

A. Now that I've been to another country in addition to Azerbaijan, I wouldn't say it's the best out of the places I've visited thus far. I don't think I will visit again. There are nice parts of the country, for instance some of the buildings and sites of Baku, the squares, Ganja, I think those things are nice coming in as a tourist but the people aren't warm. It's the people that make the country and this country feels cold.

Q. This is your first time out of America right?

A. Yeah

Q. Has your experience with Azerbaijan ruined your thoughts about traveling outside of the States?

A. No, not at all. I knew it would be different. I didn't have any expectations in coming here. I knew there would be times I would be uncomfortable due to language barriers and such, and I experienced all of that. I would honestly say that it has prepared me for my next trip out of the country. I know one place may not be like another. Azerbaijan is Azerbaijan. We went to Georgia and it was completely different.

Q. Let's say we didn't go to Georgia and you weren't doing comparisons, would you still feel the same about Azerbaijan if you had nothing to compare it to?

A. Yes. I don't dislike Azerbaijan. Don't get me wrong. I still think it was a great experience going out of the country, but with Azerbaijan being my first time out of the country and my first country, first impressions are lasting.

Q. What do you like?

A. I like the pride that the people have in their country. I even like the direction that they are trying to go in. You can see the construction happening in the city and that's evidence that the country is heading somewhere. The thing I really disliked are that the people weren't welcoming. You could tell that they weren't use to seeing us or foreigners and I understand that but the reaction to it never made sense to me.

Q. What about my host family...weren't they welcoming?

A. I really enjoyed meeting your host family, some of the people I met at the bazaar and some of the shops we went to, and a few other people just from walking the streets and exploring the country. But for every one of those people there were 2 or 3 that overshadowed that kindness that those former people put out.

Q. This may be a difficult question to ask, but what do you think about Peace Corps role here in Azerbaijan?

A. I understand what Peace Corps is trying to do in this country but I'm not sure that the country and the people understand that or want Peace Corps in their country.

Q. What do you think the country understands about Peace Corps?

A. I think they see you all as teachers who mainly teach English. I think Azerbaijan enjoys that aspect of it,but I'm not sure if they give it any more thought beyond that. I think as a few volunteer per community, sometimes it's hard to collectively put out the Peace Corps mission.

Q. Why?

A. Because it doesn't seem that there is enough representation. Sometimes what you are up against is overbearing.

Q. How do you think you would be as a Peace Corps volunteer here in Azerbaijan?

A. Well, it's very easy to feel uncomfortable here. There is no real fitting in. Even though some of the people are warm and welcoming, but once you get outside, the reaction you receive makes it hard for you to be yourself and adapt to your community. I think being here for 2 years, I wouldn't be able to function in discomfort. Walking down the street and being a stranger every day as if every day I'm a new person. I'm not sure if this would work, but I would try to talk to as many people as I could just to make them more familiar with me. Make them more familiar with Peace Corps and maybe it wouldn't be as uncomfortable. Maybe there wouldn't be so much 'wow' reaction when I walked down the street.

Q. But you know that as a woman I can't really do that. I try to make relationships with mostly women, because the interaction between genders is a bit fuzzy for me and I haven't seen an opportunity for me to build those same relationships with men.So I can't just walk down the street and speak to everyone.If you were a woman, how would you be as a Peace Corps Volunteer.I know I'm asking you to think as a woman too, so this may be a difficult question-but try.

A. As a woman you are viewed differently. So no you can't just walk down the street and approach everyone. I think Peace Corps does set up some survival tools for you guys to integrate into your community a little better. I think that the more children that you reach through your conversation clubs and your activities at your school, the more guesting that you do with these families or women, I think that would spread and you'd get a different reaction when they hear and see what you're doing. It doesn't have to be direct communication, but I think the more work you do, your community will recognize you in a different light. Not saying that it would be perfect, but as a woman it's really the only option that you have.

Q. Remember when I was crying on the way back from Tbilisi. Do you think I was overreacting?

A. No I don't think you were overreacting. We had a good time in Tbilisi. The people of Georgia received us a little bit warmer than the people of Azerbaijan. So it was easy to get comfortable for that short amount of time that you were there. We were in Georgia for 3-4 days and you were more comfortable there in those 3-4 days than you were here in however many months. So the thought of you coming back to this discomfort provoked that reaction and I understand that.

Q. I know you didn't get to come to any of my conversation clubs, but what impact do you think I am making in my community?

A. I'm not really sure, because I didn't get to go to any of your clubs. I know from going to the bazaar, the post office, and a couple of stores, I think those people have become more open to seeing someone different in this community. Some of the people that I've seen you teach English to, like your host father, I can see how their language has improved but I can't see directly the impact that you have on those students which seems to be the most quantifiable.

Q. What is your most memorable moment in Azerbaijan?

A. I think it's a combination of several moments but they all have one thing in common. I would say that in meeting those warm people who at that time changed my mind of how Azeris as a whole act. Meeting your host family, the people at the bazaar, etc, during those moments, I felt like if everyone reacted to us in that way, I think this place would be better. Those moments were the most enjoyable because that's what I wanted to see more of.

Q. Funniest moment in Azerbaijan?

A. Being called Barack Obama was classic. Hearing Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog blasted from a lada. Seeing the kid in the Wiz Kalifah t-shirt express excitement when he ran into us. Definitely hearing all of the stories from other PCV's.

Q. Hardest moment in Azerbaijan?

A. Not knowing how to respond to excessive staring and laughing. Knowing something is being said that is negative or disrespectful and not being able to respond to it.

Q. Can you tell me 3 things you want to take back to America about Azerbaijan? If someone said-Tell me about Azerbaijan and give me 3 things-what would you say?

A. I would say expect to see people have great pride in their country. Secondly family is important. You can see that family is first and work life is second. Just the simple act of sitting down and eating together as a family is huge. And three??? As much as we laugh and joke about Azerbaijani's dress to go God knows where, I think their style of dress is clean. Their cars are up to date and their architecture is ahead of their time. However the mindset doesn't seem to reflect what's happening on the outside.

Q. What do you want to tell Azerbaijanis about America?

A. Don't believe everything that you see on television, music, or sports. I don't know what the perception that Azerbaijanis have about Americans. The only viewpoints that I heard, I know they got those viewpoints from entertainment. For example, our women are loose and that black people cause trouble.

Q. In America we see art as an expression of what's really happening in life. Do you think much of what's in entrainment is a long shot from what's actually happening in American life?

A. No it's not a longshot. Art imitates life of course, but what people see is a small piece of the story. People don't see the back story or the other side. The basics are omitted and the view is myopic.

Q. Do you think you got the back story of Azerbaijan, or do you think you have a myopic view.

A. No, I don't think I got the back story. That's what makes it hard for me to make a solid opinion on the country after only a couple of weeks. I know there is much more to Azerbaijan that I haven't seen or experienced. I think that if I stayed here longer and experienced more, my viewpoint would change. Just from hearing rap music, that lets me know there is a different part of Azerbaijan that I haven't seen. Going to Gence and meeting those kids who act just like regular teenagers. To hear about them doing open mic, which I wasn't privileged to, let me know that there is more to this place and these people. But everyone hasn't reached that potential. I've only seeing behavior in response to "tunnel vision" thinking and in this short amount of time, it's hard for me grasp the back story.

Q. What's something you want Peace Corps Volunteers to learn and what's something you want Azerbaijanis to learn since you're not really apart of either and can be more objective?

A. I don't feel like I can rightfully say what I want Peace Corps volunteers to learn. I feel like after seeing what you guys do and go through, I commend Peace Corps Volunteers everywhere. It's not easy to do this every day in addition to being so far away from home and the luxuries that America affords you. To come somewhere totally different and have to adapt without anyone holding your hand, makes me feel like that in and of itself is the greatest learning experience of your life. I have a whole new respect for Peace Corps volunteers.

Q. What about Azerbaijani's. Anything you want them to learn or get from this experience with Peace Corps

A. Just be open to it. I recognize that this is their country and you all are visitors here. So you can't enforce your own way of thinking-especially as guests in their country. I don't think that's what Peace Corps intends to do, but I would advise Azerbaijanis to just be open to other cultures and not be defensive. I think that's what makes America nice because our diversity forces us to accept and tolerate differences.

Q. It's going to be really hard to see you leave. I haven't been so comfortable in all my time here until you got here. It was nice to be around someone who got me and understood me. I thank you greatly for supporting me in this life transformation experience. It's going to be really hard to see you leave because you're my go to place in my mind for what's normal.

A. It's going to be really hard for me to leave. I try not to think about it since i've been here, but since today being the day before I have to go, it's starting to sink in. I hate to leave you here uncomfortable. I'd much rather you go home and I stay. I honestly mean that. I know this has always been your dream and despite all the negatives and the discomfort for both of us, I'm still proud to see you doing this.I know you're strong enough to finish.

Q. Really! you think I'm strong enough to finish? How many times do I ask you if I can do this?

A. If I had a dollar for every time, I could probably buy a car. But at those moments I don't think you're going to quit, I just think you need someone to tell you that you can finish because you're second guessing yourself and you want to hear someone tell you something positive. But yes, I know you can finish this. I have full confidence and haven't doubted it 1 day-even after seeing how hard it is.

Q. Do you promise to send me more coffee and gummie bears and hair color?

A. I can promise on the coffee and hair color. The gummie bears I'll have to think about. I'm studying nutrition and I can't keep sending sugar in the mail. It just doesn't look good.

Q.Do you have any last words?

A. Yeah, You can do this. Once you're done, you're done. From that point on you can do whatever else you want to do.

Thank you Thomas for coming to visit me. For losing your luggage, for reapplying for your visa, for taking a bucket bath and asking if you actually stand inside the bucket, for filtering and boiling water, for holding my hand in my community, for learning to say sagol and cox sagol, for traveling to Gence, for hanging your underwear on the line, for going without a haircut and a decent shave, for bringing back Carrie's computer, for treating me to Tbilisi,for missing a couple of baths, and missing the playoffs.

To The Mommas...

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan The Labors of Other Men

2012-05-13 17:03:00

"The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them." - Stephen King
So thank you - we hope that we can show you how much we mean that - because words will never be enough.

Pictures of Mothers

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Jane's Going to Azerbaijan

2012-05-13 16:25:56

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the wonderful mothers in my life! Happy Mother’s Day to my mom, who has been unrelentingly supportive of everything I do. I am getting through a tough time at site (read my last post) … Continue reading →

Something to last.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan An American Stranger : Peace Corps Edition

2012-05-12 11:37:00

Week 82 – 4/8-14/2012: Oguz, Baku, Bujag, and Jalud

It’s nerve-wracking walking around with more than 1,000AZN in your bag. The bank account I opened for the SPA project didn’t come with an ATM card and even if it did, I would probably feel even less comfortable withdrawing such a large sum with the usual ATM mob huddled around me. So, I took the money out at the bank, stuffed it deep in my backpack, and hoped the zippers on the deteriorating bag would hold up.

Having walked around with the money for a week waiting for my school director to tell me when he was free to go down to Baku to buy the equipment, I finally got sick of waiting and on Tuesday, hopped on an 8am bus for the capital. Arriving around noon, I immediately bused over to the metro and rode the subway over to May 28^th station, tightly clutching my suddenly valuable bag the hold way. Walking into the electronics store, I selected my items and hoped to finally get the majority of money off of my hands (not that the thought of losing a new computer or projector isn’t daunting, but losing 1,000AZN in cash seems, to me, a much easier task). However, the store manager needed a few hours to load all of the programs. I was stuck with the bankroll for another four hours.

Thus, I tried my best to take the opportunity to enjoy a lovely Baku afternoon. The sun shined brightly in the cloudless azure sky as the temperature simmered at a level more akin to late June than early April. The city seemed more happy and alive than I had ever seen it. Mothers walked hand-in-hand with their smiling little ones. Groups of teens walked together, the boys trying to impress with goofy comedy as the girls giggled along. Young couples walked arm-in-arm through the Park Bulvar along the Caspian, enjoying a refreshing sea breeze. Families enjoyed lunch on the terrace of the Bulvar mall, taking in the glistening sea from their cool, shady seats (I would have done much the same were I not so focused on devouring the four slices on Sbarro pizza that lay before me). The entire city seemed so care free and beautiful that the constant construction and honking of car horns were but minor inconveniences. It was a great day to be in Baku.

As goes the busy life, though, I did not have as much time as I would have liked to enjoy the scene, for I was soon back to racing around town trying to get done all that needed to be done. Finally, at 6:00pm, I handed over a large chunk of the 1,000AZN and walked away with a new computer and projector for the Bujag School English Resource Room and Library. The dream of my counterparts and director was one step closer to becoming reality.

My agenda is full of projects both local and national. My packed daily schedule is often full of tasks that are directed toward these various ventures. Rarely do these tasks bring about the end result, though, nor do they reveal any type of noticeable progress and I am often left wondering how everything will turn out. Will all of the letters and schedules sent to the Ministry of Youth and Sport lead to support for the Azerbaijan Interregional Softball League? Will the spring softball tournaments be a success? Will the softball information letter written for the expat community garner support for the league? Will the ABLE article written for MagAZine help spread the camp’s good name and bring in some much-needed funds? Will lesson planning with my counterparts lead to better organization after I leave? Will my most committed students learn English well enough to pass next year’s FLEX exam? Until the end arrives, the results for each of these undertakings remain a mystery.

With the English Room, however, there is tangible evidence of progress. Returning to school Thursday morning, teachers and students thanked me for having brought the new resources to them. But it was not me they should have been thanking. Sure, I wrote the grant and made the trip to Baku to pick up the equipment, but the idea belonged to my counterparts. They were eager to find a way to improve English learning in Bujag Village. They wanted a wider range of resources for both teachers and students to be able to use. It is because of them that this improvement is coming to their school. When I leave, it will be because of their dedication that the room successfully puts the new materials to use. Their idea has brought change to Bujag.

At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment, myself. Our job as PCVs is to help our host communities develop in any way they may see as important. While sustainable development can come in many forms, it is always nice to be able to specifically point to something as clear-cut evidence of development. My work with teaching English and coaching softball have certainly had an impact; children have stayed healthy, learned and put to use life skills, and become better English speakers in the process. But, on a completely selfish level, being able to point to an end result and say, “I played a hand in that,” feels nice.

Of course, obtaining equipment does not – in anyway – spell development. The new electronic equipment is certainly nice to look at and point to, but the computer and projector are absolutely useless if not put to proper use. In all reality, obtaining the equipment, while a huge step, is insignificant in terms of the long-term goals of the project. From hereon out is where the project begins. Only when my teachers and students have learned to effectively use the new resources will we have truly built something to last.

* * *

Oguz is one of the truly beautiful regions of Azerbaijan, with an endless supply of rolling mountains, flowing rivers, and cascading waterfalls. With spring in full force, it is once again time to enjoy the natural beauty of this quaint region.

Next to Oguz city sits the small village of Jalud. Tucked into the mountains, Jalud has some of the higher village peaks in the region. Hoping to climb the behemoth that towers over Oguz city, Drew and I figured reaching Jalud’s highest peak would be a good way to start our training. Catching a ride up village, we drove along the dirt roads under the shade of emerald trees and over the soothing sound of the flowing river. The further and further we went along, it became clear that Jalud, itself, was another hidden gem of Oguz.

Dropped off at the base, Drew and I began our uphill battle with nature. The hike was pleasant from the start, as the fully leaved trees shaded us from the hot afternoon sun. The ascent was steady, working the lungs and pumping the blood without being too difficult. Five months of winter can take a toll on the body, though, and as the climb grew steeper at the halfway distance, my atrophied legs and lack of stamina began to feel it. For every two minutes I spent slowly trudging uphill, I spent the next keeled over against my makeshift walking sticks trying to let my burning legs cool. Gasping for air, I watched as Drew and his long stride moved further and further away. My complete lack of physical fitness was an utter disgrace. But I continued.

Hiking in Jalud.

After three hours of hiking, we powered up the final stretch of steep, treeless mountain, and entered the clouds. The highest either of had been in Oguz, we enjoyed our accomplishment of reaching the peak and when the clouds cleared, took in the breathtaking view of our beautiful region. Green rolled from the high mountains to the low wheat fields. The rocky faces of the larger mountains at the back of Oguz were right on top of us. Hundreds of houses huddled together like sheep as villages tucked themselves into the maze of mountains. We put in the hard work and it was paying off.

The top.

Looking out to Dashagil village.

After enjoying the cool breeze, alluring view, and lunch, we grabbed our bags and began our descent. Looking for a new adventure and change of scenery, we decided against going down the same way we had come up and instead decided to go down into Oguz city. The initial descent was quick and easy. The decline was steady and seemed it would be the entire way. Wanting to reach the bottom a little sooner, though, we chose to forego the ridge, instead taking the more direct route. It wouldn’t be long before we were met with evidence of our error in judgment.

The next challenge.

The new route was markedly steeper and with slick leaves coating the Earth, staying on my feet became a difficult task. Slowing my pace and choosing carefully where to place my feet and walking sticks, I did my best to avoid falling on my ass. My cautiousness only seemed to make things worse, as every minute or so I was on my butt sliding downhill. I rolled my ankle, banged my knee, was a millimeter away from totally rupturing my groin, and inadvertently whacked myself across the head with one of my walking sticks. And things were only going to get worse.

As we slid further down the mountain, the walls on either side of us began to close in. We found ourselves being guided by nature to a narrow valley. On either side of us, the mountain shot up at a near-vertical angle, leaving us to walk down a trickling, slick creek. Continuing the descent, the creek began to pick up in volume and speed, forcing us to hop back and forth over the water, leaning against the steep valley walls and tip-toeing along the narrow banks as we tried to stay dry and keep from falling on the rocks.

With each step, the shallow cascade grew a little bigger, eventually resulting in a full-grown waterfall. Luckily, this 15 foot waterfall wasn’t too difficult to maneuver around, as a break in the steep walls allowed us to climb around. Not long after, however, we came across a second waterfall. This time, things would not be quite as easy.

The first waterfall.

Catching up to Drew, I found him perched on a small landing with a look of disappointment on his face. Turning to me, he told me the bad news: on either side of the landing sat a waterfall at least 40 feet high. This time, there was no break in the walls. In fact, the valley walls seemed more precipitous than ever. Dejection washed over me. After all of this, with daylight dwindling and so near the bottom, we were going to have to turn around and go back up. Finally able to muster the mental and physical strength, we began our new ascent. It looked as if a cold night in the mountains lay ahead.

It was determination, adventure, and a large dose of stupidity that had gotten us into this situation and it would be that same determination, adventure, and stupidity that would get us out. Determined not to spend the night in the woods, we were willing to take on one last adventure within our adventure. Thus, choosing the first slightly less-than-vertical wall he could find, Drew began scaling the mountainside. I immediately followed suit, finding slivers of rock to place my feet on and grabbing onto anything even remotely stable as I pulled myself up the real-life climbing wall. Making the rope-less climb, I soon reach the landing 60 feet up with a feeling of accomplishment. That accomplishment would soon be replaced by fear, however, as we began our dangerous descent. Walking beyond the walls towering above the waterfalls, we were hoping for more of a steady decline, but were met with no luck. The only option was a near-90 degree drop. We could have turned around and kept climbing higher. Instead, we let the stupidity kick in.

Not even attempting to stay on our feet, we sat down and began sliding down the mountain. It didn’t take long for Drew to disappear. I could only hope he didn’t tumble to his death. As for me, I tried my best to crab-walk slowly downhill, but every few steps resulted in my losing grip and sliding down uncontrollably. During these slides, my heart and mind raced, as if trying to get their last bit of money’s worth before my life ended in crashing disaster. Every 15 feet or so, though, I was able to find a tree, root, or rock stable enough to grab onto, buying my life just a little more time. I withstood four or five uncontrollable slides before somehow reaching the bottom with nothing more than a few scrapes and a minor heart attack.

In the end – all stupidity aside – it was the right decision. The rest of the climb down was fairly easy, as I only had to endure a few more scrapes and ass-busting falls. By 8:00pm, we finally reached the road at the top of Oguz, beaten, bruised, exhausted… and satisfied. We had experienced just about all of the beauty and adventure Oguz has to offer. I wouldn’t have changed a thing… well, except for the way we came back down.

Standing in Line or Waiting Your Turn

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan The Brief Note™

2012-05-12 14:34:01

You mozy on into a crowded bank and the hordes of people are all waiting their turn for the cashier window. You nonchalantly, and without whispering a peep to any of the other patrons, align yourself with the person nearest you – facing perpendicular to the back of their head. This faceless individual is doing [...]

Earthquakes and Subsidies

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Jane's Going to Azerbaijan

2012-05-11 18:28:26

This week has been incredibly hard. On Monday, May 7, my region of Zaqatala was hit with a 5.6 earthquake, followed all day by a series of aftershocks and another (possible) 5.4 earthquake. As a daughter of California and a … Continue reading →

Mary's Moving Day...and More Holidays

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Mary's Meanderings in Azerbaijan

2012-05-11 15:31:00

Moving Day…and more holidays

In Azerbaijan, every day that can celebrate the late Hedar Aliyev, father of the current president and considered the father of the nation, is turned into a national holiday. Every town, every village, every road in Azerbaijan has reminders of him…parks, statues, billboard photos, memorial museums, streets and boulevards, all in honor of him. So this past week there has been another such celebration, this time his birthday (in December it is his death day). On these, and other national holidays, it is common for schools to let out, and all teachers and students walk en masse to the huge statue of him in his park in the main part of town and there lay bouquets of flowers before his statue. It so happens that his birthday also falls on the same day as National Flower Holiday, May 10; this is particularly nice, as most schools decorate placards and other displays of flowers depicting scenes of the town, Azerbaijan in general, typical customs and Azerbaijani accomplishments, and of course Hedar Aliyev. It was a hot, sunny day, and the displays were beautiful, as were the darling school children in national costume, dancing in the center of the town to typical Azerbaijani music.

University students showing off the Youth Group display

The crescent and star symbol from the Azerbaijani flag reminds me of the Tri-Delta pin

Peace Corps Volunteers and Hedar Aliyev

The day before, May 9^th, is also a national holiday, marking the end of World War II (in Europe), or as it is referred to here—the great German-Soviet War. Although Hitler’s army never made it as far as Azerbaijan, he had his sights on it, because of its natural gas and oil reserves. Indeed, Azerbaijani oil is credited with supplying the Soviet troops, ensuring the win in the war against the Nazis. There are reports that for his birthday once, Hitler received a cake depicting the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea, and apparently he relished taking a big bite out of that part of the cake that represented Baku! For this holiday, the town turns out with flowers to lay at the huge statue/monument honoring the sacrifices of the “1941-1945 War,” as it is also referred to. Particularly touching was walking past the row of old men with ribbons and medals on their chests, as people expressed their “sag olun,” their thanks, to the aging veterans of the Soviet army which fought in World War II. Wisely, my friends told me it was a time to not strike up a conversation with my German conversation club members; in fact, sometimes rude comments from old residents are expressed when I am heard on the streets speaking German with my German-speaking Azeri friends. Deep, long-lasting resentments are still felt by some old-timers, who remember the losses sustained during WWII; at least 400,000 Azerbaijanis lost their lives in WWII. During and following the War, the town where I now live—and its dam and power plant-- were largely built by German prisoners of war.

Crowds gather before the WWII memorial for the ceremonies

Flowers are placed in front of the memorial by the eternal flame

Aging Azerbaijani veterans of the Soviet Army from WWII receive the thanks from their grateful countrymen

Azerbaijani youth and children in paramilitary/para-navy attire march in goose-step behind members of today's Azerbaijani army

Several weeks ago, I moved from my wonderful host family into my own apartment, near the center of town, about 3 minute-walk to work. I now enjoy visiting my host family and appreciate the time I lived with them, but the hour and half hike every day (though healthy for me!) was also time-consuming and unpleasant in cold weather. I also miss some of the amenities of their lovely home; being close to the bazar and under a very tight Peace Corps budget means that I settled for my own place, but with few amenities. I have an old boiler (called a kalunka) that hangs on the wall in the bathroom above the tub. To heat water, the gas coils inside must be lit with a match; then you wait about 20 minutes for the water to heat up. You do this only when you want to shower, and it is definitely something that must be planned for; and you must be careful—even though I was fore-warned to turn the gas very, very slowly as I stuck the match inside, the first time I tried it, it nonetheless exploded and shot flames across the length of the tub! I was scared! But I now have the hang of it, so no worries. (And thank goodness for the P C supplied smoke and carbon-monoxide detector—gas leaks in these old apartment buildings are common!) So, you don’t take a shower whenever you want without a plan—you must have enough time to light the kalunka and wait to heat the water, take the shower, and then use the rest of the hot water to do laundry or dishes, lest you squander the resource. Usually I boil water on the ancient gas stove for doing the dishes, however. The apartment has old red-painted wood floors, gold-patterned wall-paper with scalloped edges, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling…I call the place my Peace Corps Palace, as it must have looked elegant in its day. However, since it was built during the War, I do not believe it has ever been updated, remodeled, or even painted—there are holes and peeling paint everywhere, but thanks to my trusty duct tape (going away present from Patrick—thanks!), I can patch and cover-up some of the flaws. It also is an apartment with a western-style toilet (not the typical squat-type), though, as is common, it had no toilet seat—and finding one to buy was not easy, either, but I finally found a store that had one, and only one, so I bought it! The apartment was also totally unfurnished, but thanks to some friends (Gulnaz and her teacher friends—thanks!) I have some furnishings—a couch, some chairs and a table, some dishes, etc., and a wonderful old Russian-made refrigerator, needing manual defrosting every few days. With my housing allowance I was able to buy a bed and other necessities, though I had to dip into my own funds, since the allowance was not sufficient. However, for the close proximity to everything, and the ability to live next door to my good friend--and very good friend of Peace Corps—Gulnaz, I feel fortunate. I even have internet access, and can sometimes eat my dinner while watching the Seattle early-morning news on my laptop! It’s funny to be sweltering in my apartment (yes, we’ve gone from freezing weather to very hot!), and watch the Seattle weather reports (cool, rainy, etc.) and the rush-hour traffic jam reports. Life here is so very different (chickens, sheep, occasional cows cause the traffic ‘jams’ here), and the time difference, too, means family and friends are getting up and ready for the day, as I am winding down. But amazing is how I can enjoy being here and thanks to the internet feel connected to back home, too.

Balcony with storage and where I can hang laundry

The living room

Peace Corps Palace, complete with chandelier

Guest room

My bedroom

View from my bedroom of the Gray Mountains of Mingachevir

Bathroom with kalunka for heating the water tank hanging above the tub

Kitchen, with all the conveniences

Oh, my! Could it be? Finally…another blog post!

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Auspicious Adventures in Azerbaijan

2012-05-11 15:09:56

Hello again, dear readers. I congratulate you for being a part of this rather momentous occasion – my return to the blogosphere! As many of you already know, my computer has been a regular lazarus over the past 6 or 7 months (read: since I got it), dying and coming back to life again multiple [...]

What has been your proudest moment in Peace Corps?

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Auspicious Adventures in Azerbaijan

2012-05-11 15:21:58

As my service comes to a close, I’ve been thinking about this a lot. This is a time of reflection in the tenure of a PCV. Some days, it feels like the time has gone by in a blink, and other days, it seems like I’ve been here forever. Meanwhile, I find myself wondering – [...]

Life After Peace Corps

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Dream it, Plan it, and Do it!

2012-05-11 13:27:00

Spring time is just lovely here along the Four-Mile Run stream, a small running creek down by the hill of my apartment. The place exerts a magnetic spell. Wild flowers are everywhere. So far I have identified the daffodil, dogwood, Virginia bluebell, wild iris and strawberry, cliff rose, forget-me-not, yellow buttercup and many many more. Here is the place I called “Strawberry Field”.

About four miles into my walk, there is a patch of earth full of wild strawberry. I never saw a real wild strawberry before. Back in New York by the hiking trial of Harriman State Park, I spotted a few wild strawberry shrubs. Occasionally in early May, I would see their yellow flowers, but I had never once seen the flowers grow into fruits. Perhaps, they lacked of nutrients, or maybe birds got into the fruits before I had a chance to see them. But here it is! A plot of grassland by the river is full of wild strawberries. The fruits are very small, but plumb with crimson color. I pick one and taste it, not so sweet but juicy. The birds should love them. There is another plant I discovered by the hillside of the river. Its leave resembles the Chinese squash that my Brooklyn friend Wood grows in his garden. It has the same yellow flower. I have to remember to check them out in autumn. Maybe that yellow flower will turn into a squash. Wishful thinking!

I find a nice spot to take a break on a level rock. A gurgling sounds of the stream sooths me. I take off my shoes and dip my feet into the water. It is cold but I really enjoy the feeling. My mind begins to drift back to early February when I first moved to Virginia. I had my early sorrow. I missed New York. Many weekend, I felt desolate and bereft. But as soon as I had decided to train for the 26-mile hike, I started taking long walk along the Four-Mile Run stream. The walk slowly and surely heals my wounds. While I am with the river, I forget my loneliness. I keep walking and walking, discover more attractions along its bank. The river has also taught me another lesson about life. Life resembles the flow of a river, it is constantly moving. No matter how many twists and turns, the river continues to push forward and eventually, reaches its destination. So I should enjoy the ride and not to be defeated by its turbulences. Given time, I will fine-tune with my new life in Virginia, meeting new friends, developing a new altitude and living contentedly in a quiet suburban area. Soon I will not miss the city life of New York.

A child’s playful giggling brings me back to present, Oh! time to head back home. Linda and Iren, my two Returned Peace Corps friends are coming to see me. We are going to have a nice Chinese homemade lunch…….

Ants. The bloodhound of Azerbaijan

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Peace Corps in Azerbaijan

2012-05-11 11:45:00

I was just about to take a drink of Sprite. As I had it up to my lips, I glanced down and saw ants floating in my drink and other ones crawling around the glass. I quickly started swatting around my mouth in hopes none of them were crawling on my face.

Welcome to spring!

I have gone through great lengths to get rid of these pesky dudes. I took a whole day of cleaning my kitchen and putting everything in zip lock bags for added protection.

Ant proofed

I had a new bag of brown sugar, not even opened, and as I looked at it, saw ants crawling around in there. What? How? No!! Since this was an item from America and only found for a hefty price in Baku, what did I do? I sat down for two hours sifting through all of it to get them out. There was no way I was going to throw out a bag of brown sugar from America.

One night I made popcorn and didn't notice I had dropped a kernel on the floor. I went to my living room, watched a movie, and two hours later came back to my kitchen noticing a black blob on the floor. Looking closer, the blob was moving. The ants were on that one kernel like white on rice. Or this instance, like ants on popcorn. There was no trace of them two hours ago. I leave one thing out and they are able to sniff their way to it.

Now? I don't dare leave out a spek of sugar.

Cabinet armored and ready for summer

Ziplocked

Today, I sat in my kitchen catching up on some work. I love my mobile Peace Corps office while hearing the birds chirping, the light patter of rain, geese quacking as the light breeze whisks through my kitchen. Then I hear "Estefani" and glance through my kitchen window to see my neighbors head peaking over the gate. He tells me he fixed the water pump (after two weeks) and was filling my water tank. Five manat (dollars) and two weeks later, finally. On one hand, I love the laid back culture, on the other, when it comes to wanted necessities, like having running water, I wish they would hurry up.

Next on my to do list?

Shower.

Next?

Laundry.

My flowers are finally in bloom

Xinaliq

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Glendenewolf's Blog

2012-05-11 06:25:51

There is no question about it, Azerbaijan is a stunningly beautiful country, and now that spring is in full swing with the temperatures just right, there is no better time to take it to the road and begin to explore the green nooks and rocky crannies of the Baijan. Snow covered peaks A couple of [...]

Unexpected Guests

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan These Boots are made for Hiking

2012-05-11 06:21:00

The family I live with Back Yard

Spring in Azerbaijan

Since the earthquake (we had a lot of aftershocks), the family I am living with slept outside for three nights because they were so frightened. Our Country Director came to Zaqatala to survey the damage of all the volunteers in the region. They came to my house and saw the cracks but they were not threatening the infra structure. Later that day they called and we went out to dinner and after we went out to the village of Dansci where another PCV lived. She had cracks about 1-1 1/2 inches wide going down each side of the wall (and there were beams in the back holding the wall in place!!) and a huge crack going across the wall, her damage was extensive. She needs to find another place to live. Another substantial earthquake and that building is going down. I would sleep outside if I were living there! We also have been having severe weather, heavy rains, thunder and lightening and then in the afternoon, 80 degrees sunshine. They have cancelled school for the whole week. Because of all this crazy stuff, I have had critters that are not welcome in my place. My box from home was on the counter and I heard something move inside of it. As I was checking it out a large black cockroach or beetle came running out, and of course I jumped and he got away. The next morning as I was drinking coffee, I heard something (thinking it was the bug) and looked over to my cupboard and saw this mouse climbing up along the side (how do they climb without a ladder?), I ran out and got the mom of the family to see it. That mouse just stood there not moving, was he taking a stand? Myrna came in and that mouse ran. I put everything in plastic bags and tape the cabinet close. Maybe he will just go away. I do not want a roommate! The next morning I woke up hearing a rustling sound. I got up and looked around and could not find where it came from. I sat down for coffee and heard the rustling again, "oh no", he is in the trash can. I slowly picked up the garbage can, opened the door and yelled "mouse" (as if they understood me!) and that little guy came barrelling out of there and just started running. The mom had a broom in her hand and started chasing it, I on the other hand, ran back into my place and slam the door, didn't want him to come back in! He got away, he is somewhere in our garage/kitchen but he is NOT in my place anymore. Never a dull week here!!!!

Life Challenge: With the new day, comes new strength and new thoughts... Eleanor Roosevelt

Days Like This

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Corping the Peace in Azerbaijan

2012-05-10 14:40:00

I haven't written a blog post in, well, far too long. Part of this is due to no longer having internet at my home and the other part is due to a relatively long winter which left much of my writing negative and whiny (and who wants to read that?).

May is here and with it warm weather and bright rays of sunshine. Today I spent the day with some of the young women from my classes, who I've come to regard as friends. There are times when life is difficult here. When walking through the streets can leave you exhausted from stares, shouts, laughter (directed at you), boys who follow you through the park or in their car on your way home. These experiences are exhausting because there's no way to improve upon them.

But along with these experiences are the ones which I will forever cherish. A walk with one of my female friends discussing women's rights. Starting a girls run and sports club, which, despite it's Sunday 8am club time, is something I greatly enjoy (although I often find it difficult to leave bed). I have a schedule here which, I'm certain, I will never have again. I workout and run every day, which is something I never seemed to have time for in America. A week ago, I went for a hike with one of my friends all day on a Friday. I set my own club hours, my own schedule and work with incredible students.

I've been spending a great deal of time with the students in my Women's Club. We discuss just about every topic you can think of (although it seems to often center around the role of women). In this sharing, I find I am frequently excited and saddened, especially when we talk about the ways things could be. Azerbaijan is sometimes difficult to navigate because it is close enough in appearance to America (cars, paved streets, WIFI, public transportation, etc.) and yet it still is lacking in things like equal access to water, gas and electricity. It's lacking in equal rights; despite a constitution which grants equality to men in women (but what good is a law if it's not culturally accepted or imposed?). It's incredible to me the privileges I have been extended in my life solely based on the country I happened to be born in; that something I have no control over can so drastically change my life (although, I suppose it can be argued that it is often the things we have no control over which drastically change our lives).

This post is all over the place, my intention was to reflect on how lucky I feel, so I would like to conclude with that. I enjoy my service, the people I've met, the friends I've made. I greatly enjoy working with students, with the Peace Corps community and I love that daily, I never quite know what to expect (although I confess it's both exhilarating and anxiety inducing). I am lucky, not just because of the country I was born to (but it does make me feel pretty lucky), but also to be here in Azerbaijan living this life.

The times they are a changin'

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Life on the Edge

2012-05-10 10:24:00

5 weeks to go. I woke up this morning, and it took me about 2 lessons to finally catch my breath and not think about how crazy this all is. I don't think it helped that I spent the morning on the BU MBA facebook page reading about everyone else's significant work experience...and then there's me...

I'm going to miss having time. And I'm excited to get some back. I've developed a rather funny relationship with time being here...either I have too much of it, or not enough of it. Mainly, too much of it when I'm alone and there is nothing to do. Not enough of it when I'm with people I'm close to. Especially my family. I get ten days, or three days, and then it's back to waking up in an empty house and having no one to say good night to. But I like that I have time to take care of myself. To prepare meals. To work out. To reflect. Time to write. To read books that I want to read. To watch old movies, and really enjoy them. (I don't remember who said this, but they were speaking about how you should read a play. This person said you must give the play the same attention you would when going to the theatre. Turn everything off, go to a comfortable place, sit, and give the play your full attention for the full two hours. In America, I never had that kind of time. I do here. I love it.).

Mainly, I like it when I do have time with the people I love in town. And I've learned to cherish it. To make the most of it, and to love every minute of it. To listen, to be present with someone. (Thanks Sanford Meisner...five years later it finally makes sense. *acting reference). And mostly to be present with myself. To really feel out what is important to me, what I am feeling, what my body needs, what I want. That kind of thing doesn't just pop up out of nowhere, but you have to take the time to learn. And you can't learn if you don't open yourself up to it. And you can't open yourself up without time to be comfortable.

I have learned to be patient. Life is so much slower here than it is in America. My refrigerator has been broken for the past three weeks. Because there is only one guy in town (I know of) who can fix a fridge, and thanks to travel, work, and the occasional earthquake, it just hasn't happened. But you know, I'm ok. Stuff isn't always going to start when it says it is. It is going to start when everyone involved is ready. Life is slower, and things just aren't as efficient. It'll take you a little bit longer to make a test and print it out, or to get pictures printed for students. But the pace is welcome. Because in those moments of waiting, new things arise. And you realize if it is really worth it. Anything worth having is worth waiting for.

I hate countdowns. (And here I am, posting weekly as a countdown). I suppose I hate countdowns that exist for the buildup to something. It seems you are just dragging your feet and wasting the time you have until then. As in, "I only have to be here for six more months" or "I get to go on vacation in three weeks!" Why can't the countdown be used for good? I know my relationship to my site and to my service is extremely different from that of other PCVs, but I'm tired of listening to people look forward to leaving. I guess the only reason I'm counting down is to plan. So I can get everything done that I want to, and make the most of every moment I have left. Because I know it'll sneak up on me.

More Pics From MyMic

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Bat Fishing in Montana

2012-05-10 07:07:00

Here are a few more pics from MyMic Khachmaz. These pictures were taken by Glendene Wolf, who is also doing an interesting photo a day project documenting her life here in the 'baijan. Check it out HERE

This guy's band, New Skin, won Baku's Battle of the Bands last year

Enemy, of Enemy & Black, from Baku

These two girl hip-hop dancers brought the house down.

Dustin, the Ganja PCV who started it all, reading some poetry.

A few snapshots

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Land of Az

2012-05-09 05:58:05

A few snapshots of my life in Az as I attempt to learn the rudiments of a DSLR. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of pictures of people – especially because Azeris are sensitive about what appears online. But, I’m working on it. Unsurprisingly, I take a lot of photos of food (goghal, grape leaf [...]

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Peace Corps in Azerbaijan

2012-05-08 17:19:00

I have come across these terms the past year and realized they are true. First world vs. Third world problems. Let me give you a list of examples.

First world problems:
1. Having to fill up your gas tank during the winter.
2. The tips of your plastic fork curls when you try to eat a hot pocket.
3. Your water is turned off for one hour for repairs.
4. Your cell phone call is dropped.
5. Your Internet goes out for 10 minutes and you are unable to chat with your friend.
6. You stub your toe on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
7. Your shower is too hot.
8. Your flight is delayed for an hour, so you have to wait in the air-conditioned airport.
9. You run out of tomatoes and have to run to the store around the block.
10. Finding a teeny, tiny spider in your room.

vs.

Third world problems:
1. Waking up in a cold room everyday only to see there is no firewood to make a fire, so you decide to curl up in your warm sleeping bag and put off chopping wood for another few hours.
2. Having a bird poop on your freshly hand-washed clothes as they were hanging on the line to dry.
3. The pump breaks and you have to wait a week for the neighbors to fix it to get running water again.
4. Your electricity goes out for two hours and you are without your fan in the middle of summer.
5. Having to hitch hike to the nearest city 40 minutes away, in the pouring rain, just to get to the Internet cafe.
6. Dodging goose poop while walking to your outhouse with a headlamp on, at night.
7. Stepping in a cow pie when trying to pump water into the tank.
8. Waiting for two hours to catch a bus, only to have it not stop.
9. Running out of coffee and having to wait for the next care package to get more.
10. Waking up to find a cockroach sitting on your stomach.

I think you get the point. No matter, where you are in the world, no matter all the consumer items you purchase to make your life easier, there is always a flip side. I may not have a car, but I don't have to pay car insurance! I don't have a heater, but now I know how to chop wood and to survive in that environment.

The next time I am standing on the side of the road waiting patiently for my Beylagan bus to pass, I remember all the hassle it is to own a car, and am happy I don't have the worry. (At least not for another 7 months.)

I don't want to come across as all the things I don't have, but lucky to have the new found appreciation for the "simple" things. When it comes down to the simple things...my family and my friends are all that I really need. And a toothbrush..and a lifetime supply of oranges...and. Well, there are those things I do appreciate more then ever, but seriously my connections with those who support this endeavor, is what keeps me going.

Return to Normal

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Life on the Edge

2012-05-08 11:56:00

Well the ground stopped shaking.

5 quakes in 12 hours, and then it was over. So weird. Of course, at school today, no one came. The 4 kids who did come were so freaked out, any time a big truck drove by they thought the school was coming down. There was definitely a little damage, cracks in the walls, some fallen plaster, but nothing major, and nothing that makes it look like the school is no longer structurally sound. They ended up sending us home around 10:30 due to a rumor that another quake was imminent. It never came, so my counterpart and I went shopping again!

What I wanted to write about, really, was the anomaly we discovered this weekend. Matt and I headed out to the region of Ismayilli, to a small village with a winery. We head to the village, which is bizarre in and of itself. It's inhabited primarily by Russians, blonde-hair blue-eyed, minivan-driving, rollerblade-wearing, people who don't speak much Azeri. It was like we left the country. The next day, we hopped in a cab and drove even deeper into the middle of nowhere, over mountains and rolling green hills, up to a pristine winery, rivaling the ones I visited in Napa. 850 acres of land and and grapes, all picked, processed, and bottled on site. Turns out, in 2003, the government dropped 9 million manats to build the place, and stimulate the local economy. Locals do most of the manual work, while a Moldovan comes in and acts as head winemaster, tasting, mixing, and comparing. It was a beautiful place. An expansive cellar, tasting rooms, a discotheque for the guests, swimming pool, tennis courts, and all the fancy technology you need to make some damn good wine. We spent about 3 hours 'tasting' and chatting up our tour guide, an Azeri from Sheki, conversing in half Azeri/half English. We paid him back though, buy buying another 5 bottles...but the wine was excellent. All variations on Saperavi, Rkatsiteli, and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. The wines reminded me of Georgian wines. Quite tasty.

Getting home was a nightmare, but I made it just in time for the earthquake (lucky me!). And now, back to work. Not much of it left really, just starting to tie up some loose ends.

This post is incorrectly labeled. There's nothing normal about any of this.

Pictures from the winery:

Matt made a little furry friend who just wouldn't leave him alone...

Russian village!

Shato Monolit was the name of the winery, it was gorgeous.

Guys labeling all the bottles for export.

These are all the varieties they have made since they began producing wine in 2007.

These are all bottles of wine, just chilling in the cellar.

Matt and I enjoying our tasting.

Pure May-Ham!

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Close Encounters with the Third World

2012-05-08 10:00:51

First and foremost, I want to wish a very Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms of the world, especially my own, who’s birthday is today and the anticipation of her visit is on the tip of my tongue whenever … Continue reading →

Hip-Hop From The Land Of Fire: Enemy & Black - 23:44

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Bat Fishing in Montana

2012-05-08 08:16:00

This past Saturday at MyMic Khachmaz was good for Hip-Hop From The Land Of Fire. I was able to hook up with 2 new rappers and get some contact info and material. Both were really solid and I'm looking forward to some of the posts I have lined up.

This week's track comes from Enemy of Baku duo Enemy & Black, who came up for some stage time this past week. I dig the barren aesthetic of this track, vocals and a slight supporting backing track. No techno effects, no massive drums, just a man stressing over late night insecurities.

Also, Hip-Hop From The Land Of Fire has started a radio show on GrupFM.com. It comes on Wednesday at 9pm(ish) Baku time, which is Wednesday at 12pm EST. This week will be week 4 and I'm fairly confident at this point that it actually will come on.

Enemy (of Enemy & Black) - 23:44

Previous on Hip-Hop From The Land Of Fire: Burito

Finding the time.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan An American Stranger : Peace Corps Edition

2012-05-08 05:20:00

Week 80 – 3/25-31/2012: Oguz and Bujag

It is not often that I come out of a break feeling more exhausted than when it started. I understand the importance of relaxation and take advantage of it whenever given the opportunity. Recently, however, free time seems to have disappeared and it doesn’t look as if it will return any time soon.

Coming into this experience, I told myself that above all else, my commitment would be to my service. At times, I will admit that this commitment is of an obsessive nature. Sometimes at the expense of relationships with fellow PCVs and personal health, I fill my days with lessons, conversation clubs, sports clubs, tutoring, and guesting. I am on the move from the moment I get up until the moment I retire, reminding myself that is all for the good of my service. And I truly believe that it is. Yes, I sometimes neglect the important people in my life and yes, I have never experienced exhaustion like this, but I have made a commitment to this experience and it deserves my all. To Peace Corps as an organization, I have a responsibility to carry out my duties as an English teacher through teaching and conversation clubs. To my role as a community developer, I have a responsibility to help my community in any way I can help, whether it be helping establish an English Library, conducting sports clubs, or leading the softball league. To my role as a student of culture, I have a responsibility to learn about the customs, traditions, and language of the people with whom I live by celebrating their holidays and accepting their tea, lunch, and dinner invitations.

Put that all together and you’ve got yourself a more-than full-time job. From work to culture, I am doing all I can to experience it all. Finding the time for it all can be difficult, but find time I will. If it means I’m a little tired at the end of the day, so be it.

And, so, with another week of pleasant weather came more days packed with activities. From teaching to conversation clubs to softball to tutoring to softball commissioner duties to guesting, each hour was spent fulfilling my service. I could slow down; I could give myself a legitimate break. But why take away from the experience? It is one I will never have again.

I don't mind being busy with a view like that.

The frustration of rushing.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan An American Stranger : Peace Corps Edition

2012-05-08 05:32:00

Week 81 – 4/1-7/2012: Oguz and Bujag

Going from life in urban and suburban America to life in rural Azerbaijan is going from a life of every convenience and comfort to one of markedly less. As my days grow busier and busier, these inconveniences that I have gotten used to and even come to appreciate have been thrust back to the forefront in frustrating fashion. The lack of reliable transportation has led to hours wasted waiting to hitch rides into town (I have waited as long as 90 minutes on certain occasions). The lack of a dishwasher and washing machine has taken time away from preparing for work and engaging in hobbies. The lack of home internet service has led to frantic trips to the internet café.

When added up, all of these rather minor inconveniences result in one thing: the frustration of rushing. In doing all that I can to find time to fulfill my duties to the fullest, every minute counts. With reliable, convenient transportation, I wouldn’t have to spend hours waiting. With a dishwasher and washing machine, I would be able to devote more time to work (and perhaps even a little relaxation). With constant internet access, sending out ten important emails could be spread across the day, rather than packed into two hours at a slow-paced internet café, my toe tapping with impatience as I wait for each document to upload.

Then, there are the intricacies of the Azeri household and how easy it is to get locked out. I have done it enough times myself to be sure that I am extra careful when leaving my room. For a visitor, though, taking into account the strange locking mechanisms of the door cannot be expected. Here’s how it works:

Like any door, the key is placed into the hole and twisted away from the latch, unlocking it. However, when the key is removed from the door, a second spring-powered latch shoots back out, automatically locking the door upon closing. This latch can, too, be permanently unlocked if its specific knob is twisted all the way to the right. This latch can also be only temporarily unlocked by simply sliding the spring to the right, allowing you to leave the room. When doing this, though, you better bring your keys, because once you let go of the slider, the latch springs back into place and the door locks behind you.

Allie forgot the keys.

Devil door.

After munching on some exceptionally delicious homemade pickles, I went to enter my room to change clothes for a workout. Pushing against the door, though, I was met with nothing but stiff resistance. For the next 15 minutes, as Allie apologized profusely for her mistake, I tried everything from sliding a knife near the latch to ramming my shoulder against the door to trying to kick it down, SWAT team-style. All I was left with was a bent knife, a raw shoulder, and a tender groin from kicking too high. The door wouldn’t budge.

Having made such a commotion trying to break into my own house, my landlord’s son came to offer a helping hand. As he pondered how to break in, I thought to myself how inconvenient and slightly stupid it was for them to not have a spare key. Then again, he was probably thinking how stupid we were for having locked ourselves out. When it came down to it, I was the only idiot present (even though it was Allie’s fault).

Eventually, a solution was found. Noticing an unlocked window, we ripped back the screen and, through the bars, pushed it open. Then, with that MacGyver resourcefulness that all Azeris seem to posses, my landlord’s son wrapped a wire around the end of a long stick, hooking it at the end. Reaching through the barred window, he swung around at the keys sitting on the table in the middle of my room, knocking them to the floor (and nearly out of reach) before finally hooking them and pulling them out. That’s the last time I ever lock my door.

Returning to a week of full days, however, I realized that, despite inconvenience and exhaustion, my life is great. Were I to have the conveniences I speak of, they would completely dilute the experience. The fuss I have been making is simply much ado about nothing. If my only problems are that I have a lot to do and am tired at the end of the day, then I don’t have problems at all. There are some volunteers with loads of free time, home internet access, and who guest infrequently. There is nothing wrong with this; each individual and the experience that he or she desires is different. For me, the full experience has always been my mission. I am extremely lucky to be in a situation where I have great counterparts to teach with, enthusiastic kids who come to my clubs (both academic and athletic), and a community that treats me like a son. If I am exhausted at the end of the of it all, it means I am doing it right.

And things don’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. With two months of school remaining, working closely with my counterparts to plan and execute interesting and effective lessons will continue to be the bulk of my day-to-day work. Daily conversations clubs continue to grow in size and excitement. Softball practice is again in full swing as the children of both Bujag and Oguz prepare for the 2012 season opener on May 20^th. The Girls’ Sports Club continues to grow in popularity. The Azerbaijan Interregional Softball League committee continues its efforts to build partnerships and an onslaught of letters, schedules, blog posts, and other forms of communication are to be sent out, all in an effort to make the league known. The funds from the SPA grant for Bujag’s English Resource Room and Library have been received, which means setting up the room is on the very near horizon. Throw in guesting three days per week and it all adds up to more work, less free time, and the adventure of a lifetime.

As a reward, it seems, time finally ended its dead sprint on Friday evening, slowing enough to allow me to enjoy a free weekend. With the sun beginning its glowing descent, Allie and I rushed one last time into town, meeting at Lilli’s for a nice, small Passover dinner. Matzo and matzo balls and latkes and charoset and wine. All delicious, all filling, and all a beauitful example of how even on the other side of the world, a Volunteer can keep her traditions alive.

Priorities.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Life on the Edge

2012-05-07 18:06:00

So, I've discovered, I am frightened of earthquakes.

Especially when I always happen to be on the 3rd floor of a building when they hit. (By always I mean the 3 I felt today.)

The first one hit when I was in class. My counterpart grabbed my arm and shouted, 'let's go.' She grabbed her computer and bolted. I grabbed some kids and tried to usher them all outside. (Priorities). There was a lot of shrieking...kids panicking. We get outside, stand for 45 minutes, and they send us all home. So my counterpart and I went shopping (awesome priorities). Mainly because I was too scared to go home right away, and everyone in my apartment building was standing in the parking lot. (In the shadow of the building, which hardly seemed like the best place to stand).

Went home, (to my 5-story apt building, I'm on the 3rd floor). Some tiles in my kitchen that were hardly glued to the wall fell and broke, and some bottles were on their sides, but otherwise, my place was the same. I ran some errands and came back after dinner, only to feel two more aftershocks in less than 3 hours. (I was watching Some Like It Hot, one hit before, and one after).

A relatively carefree search of the internet taught me that the epicenter of these quakes was generally about 40 minutes south of me (with some variation), and that they all registered between 4.5 and 5.7 on the Richter scale. (I guess around a 5 means light damage, but you can definitely detect it. Anything above that seems to increase exponentially in damage potential). I really don't know what all of that means, except the feeling of the ground moving under your feet, is, well, unsettling. What's worse though, is the period after. When you know an aftershock is on the way...but you don't know when it will hit...or how powerful it will be. These things are crazy unpredictable, and there is no way to know if the first one was the main quake, or a foreshock to a bigger quake.

Needless to say, I was tired of sitting alone in my apartment flipping out. Even Marilyn couldn't take my mind off of it. So I called up my sitemate and headed to his house. Before I left I got a call from my Peace Corps Safety and Security officer, asking me how I was, and telling me to 'pack up all of my valuables just in case.'

Here's what I packed:

-passport
-wallet (some cash, cards, etc)
-both phones (and chargers)
-computer
-hard drive
-clothes for school tomorrow
-toiletries (including a towel, which, according to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy shows that you are a seasoned, responsible traveler)
-water bottle
-wine opener (it was in my bag from this wknd, I swear)
-a smurf (yes, Gutsy, a stuffed smurf came with me)

Priorities. They're totally in order. (Though I did forget to bring the wine I bought this wknd...damn)

On the bright side, very little damage has been reported, I have heard of no casualties or injuries, and we have all of our utilities and will probably function as normal again tomorrow.

It's been fun to see people react. Everyone is asking me if I am afraid (especially since I live alone), and what it is like in America. When I was walking with my back pack to Trey's, some old xanim thought I was skipping town. She rather frightfully asked why I was leaving, and when I told her I was going to a friend's she said, "Oh! You are afraid! Of course, you are alone!" I'll own it. I freaked. Especially since we haven't had any earthquakes in this region since 1990. And today we've had about 5.

Some interesting updates:

http://www.today.az/news/society/106603.html

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/ (we're UTC+5)

Ganja - Beautiful City - Side Bar Earthquake

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan These Boots are made for Hiking

2012-05-07 17:40:00

I am telling her to get rid of this guy!!

Ganja is a region (or rayon) south of Zaqatala (about a 3 hours of bumpy Marshurutka ride). I am meeting a PCV friend for lunch because the PCV I am meeting with is in Georgia and won't be back until later in the afternoon. I am on working in several regions on summer camps for children, but this is the largest one I am involve with. It is called GLOW (Girls Leading Our World), I am on the curriculum and supply committees. And we are meeting in Ganja to buy most of the supplies for the week of camp. It is funded but we volunteers are not, which means any traveling or food or anything else is on our dime, which makes it a little difficult on our allowance we are given!! Living in a state where the weather is mild and no seasons at all, I am in awe of spring here. I saw on my ride baby ducks, cows, sheep, geese and horses. Especially the baby horses, they are running and jumping, how cute is that!! I met Julie (PC friend) and we had a great lunch and just walk a while around Ganja. Ganja is the second largest city in Azerbaijan after Baku, so it feels like a city in America. But alas, I had to go to the village of Kechile to meet the PCV who was in charge of the camp for our meeting. But of course there are two Autovazal (bus depots) in this city at either end of the city. So to go to the village I must take a marshurutka to the other end of the city to get on a marshurutka to the village. My PCV at village asked me to pick up a couple things at the store for dinner. By the time I did, it was getting late and the marshurutka for Kechile was leaving in 20 minutes and I still had to get to the Autovazal (now this is the 1st time I have been here and I am alone and do not know my way around), okay, the bus came and we are off to the Autovazal, I am not looking at the time, because I was going to make it (please God), and I got to the Autovazal 2:29 (the marshurutka for Kechile leaves at 2:30) and there was 25 buses there in the parking lot, soooo which one is it???? Okay, start running and I hit the first row and looked in the window, the very first marshurutka I came to the sign said Kechile... yea and with a minute to spare. Whew, got on the marshurutka and even got a seat. He left right on time and then waited for 20 minutes up the road for another passenger and packages for the village. I finally made it to Kechile, an hour ride out of Ganja and had a great weekend. We got 90% of the supplies bought, I met a lot of great people in the local organizations, and had some wonderful Georgian wine. Life is good!! I took these pictures of Ganja, see how beautiful this city is:

SIDE BAR: This morning I was in school and in second period I was writing my blog in my notebook and we had a 5.5 earthquake. The center of the quake was Aliabad of course. Azerbaijani have very few earthquakes and the screaming and yelling going out of the building was a sight to see. The school building is new and I saw no damage but the Director sent us home. I got on the marshurutka and (of course my favorite driver was driving) and he asked me if I was okay, I told him that I was from California and we have a lot of earthquakes and I am very familiar with them and I was okay. A couple of teachers from school number #1 and #3 told me that walls fell down at their school as their schools are very old and made of rock, not even bricks. As we drove back to Zaqatala, I saw the older rock walls crumble down. Later this evening we had another strong earthquake and many more aftershocks. There is a lot of cracks in the house I am staying but I believe unless we have a 6 or 7, this building will hold. But to be on the safe side, I do have a bag packed and ready in case I need to leave in a hurry. I tell ya, never a dull moment here in Azerbaijan!!

Life Challenge: Always keep an open mind and a compassionate heart... Phil Jackson

Khachmaz Has Got Talent!

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Bat Fishing in Montana

2012-05-06 17:14:00

MyMic'rs from Ganja warming up before the show. Note the most Azeri backdrop ever.

Ali, the 2.5 foot Lesginka dancer.

I really like Khachmaz. The people here are nice, its a place that's seen Americans before, and we've got beautiful (relatively speaking) shoreline only a few kilometers away. Heck, we even have a pretty supportive relationship with our local government, which is to say, they are not explicilty unsupportive. Yeah, Khachmaz has a lot of good things going for it.

But what I like most about my site are my incredibly sitemates, who continue to do things that amaze and impress me.

Previous causes of pride have resulted from activities such as what Glendene is doing. She's teaching yoga twice weekly to a growing group of women. In a country where so many aspects of the female body are shamed and objectified, Glendene is helping some of these women rediscover their own body for the first time since leaving school (and sports) over 20 years ago.

Or Lannea who, with her counterpart has opened a sustainable women's computer center, which not only provides computer lessons and internet capability to girls in a culturally safe environment, but also is creating leadership and employment opportunities for graduated students in teaching new girls.

These are pretty awesome things. And on Saturday, another awesome thing happened; Khachmaz hosted its first MyMic.

MyMic is a program that was started in Ganja by a Peace Corps Volunteer, and its basically a monthly open mic night. I attended one this winter and it was great-people sang and played piano. There were bands and rappers, dancing and poetry reading. It was an awesome way for kids and adults to showoff their talent and an enjoyable way for the audience to discover what Ganja has to offer.

Recently, Dustin applied for a grant to initatiate MyMic in two new regions and Lannea and Kelsey applied to bring it to Khachmaz. We were selected and this past saturday 7 talented youth from Ganja came with Dustin to help launch Khachmaz's first MyMic and it was possibly the most enjoyable experience of my service.

The first act set the tone; two kids around 10 blew the crowd away with some great breakdancing. A girl sang Adele's rolling in the deep. Two guys from Ganja performed Led Zeppelin's 'Black Dog' and afterward one of them performed an absolutely insane 3-minute guitar solo. A trio of 6 year olds, clad in Minnie Mouse dresses, did a choreographed dance to 'Barbie Girl'. The house nearly lost it when two girls from Ganja did their hip-hop dance routine, only to further be blown away by the next act-the smallest, and most adorable, 5 year old, performing Lesginka in traditional garb. People rapped, read poetry, and sang mugam. It was awesome.

I'm super excited for this monthly event. After the show, people were rushing up to find out how they could perform next time. We already had a crowd of about 100 people in the region's (beautiful) Culture House, I can't wait to see who shows up next time.

Life After Peace Corps

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Dream it, Plan it, and Do it!

2012-05-05 14:17:00

Best Time of the Week

Sunday morning is the time I treasure the most. Usually, I get up very early, clean my apartment, do laundry, and water my plants. I walk around bared foot on the squeaky clean wooden floor, have a cup of 3 in 1 Chinese coffee and watch the sun comes up behind the two big sugar maple trees in front of my living room window. That is how my day begins.

My apartment is facing east, captures all the morning sun. As soon as the sun comes out, my plants become alive, someday, I could nearly hear them sing. The blue morning glory plant whose seeds I brought back from Azerbaijan last year is growing nicely. Actually, it is growing very aggressively. Its vines quickly spread by way of long, creeping sterns. It seizes every object it can take hold of and grips on tight. I have to trim the vines and let them grow along my floor lamp. Soon I will see its blue flower.

After I make myself a hearty healthy breakfast, then I am ready to head out for a long walk. My favorite part of the walk is a river gorge about five miles from where I live. Some time I like to refer it as “my canyon” for I love the sound of it. Inside the canyon, everything is just lovely. Here is what I wrote when I first discovered this place:

I followed the watercourse and it led me to a narrow gulch. Inside, the air was moist and cool. Immediately, I was taken in by the luxuriance of plant life along the stream bank. The vegetation was lush and green. Soon I could hear the gurgling sound of running water echoing through the gully. Occasionally, small rapid appeared, and the water cascaded down to a rock chute. There it was! a lovely water hole right underneath it. Sun rays peeked through tree branches and casted a brilliant glow on the water surface. At the bottom, pebbles covered with green algae and I found a few tiny fishes wiggling merrily. Judging by the gully’s steep walls and richly forest, I was convinced that once upon a time, this place must be a remote coulee profuse with wildlife and exotic plants. So I named this place “My Canyon”.

This place is part of “My 26-mile hike training trail in Virginia” article. I am still in a process of finishing it and hope to share it with my hiking friends in NY soon. So stay tuned, my fellow 26-mile hikers.

Making It to Novruz, by AZ9 PCV Lindsay Curtis

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan The AZLander

2012-04-28 08:12:00

I don’t know how many times I heard, “Just make it to Novruz.”

Novruz is a type of New Year holiday primarily celebrated in Muslim countries. The coming of spring is acknowledged and rejoiced around the world, but Novruz is supposedly the oldest of these holidays, as every Azerbaijani school child loves to report. March 20th is the main holiday, because that is around the time of the vernal equinox; when the center of the sun is on the same plane as the Earth’s equator. The four Tuesdays leading up to Novruz each have their own theme: water, fire, air, and earth. All of these days, plus Novruz, involve a lot of cooking, cleaning the house, and a ton of eating. It is a celebration; the welcoming of spring. People build bonfires and jump over them numerous times in order to burn away anything bad from the previous year. It is a very interesting time and I think every Peace Corps volunteer has their own unique Novruz experience.

Everyone told us, “Just make it to Novruz.” This winter in

Azerbaijan

was one of the coldest in years (no one can seem to agree on just how many years), though I am sure life as a Peace Corps trainee or volunteer is difficult in any country, no matter the temperature.

Our group arrived in late September, when the weather required a thin sweater in the evenings and the walk to language classes was still dry. However, the months that followed were full of wind, snow, heavy rains, and maneuvering across the lakes that swallowed our streets by balancing on wobbly rocks as old ladies in heels commanded us to hurry. Nightfall started coming before the end of our training sessions. Everything was muddy. Electricity and heat became rarities. The Azerbaijanis bundled up twice as much as we did but still managed to ogle us, the foreigners, as they bowed their heads against the storms. And so, from previous Peace Corps volunteers who had been through all of this already, we often heard: “Just make it to Novruz.”

It became like a mantra for some of us. If we could make it to the spring holiday, we were assured, it would be worth our while. We were promised feasts and piles of pastries and the chance to jump over fire. Better yet, the weather would be warmer. “Inshallah,” we’d murmer. God willing.

And so we made it through training, all 44 of us, and then we were dispersed throughout the country to our permanent sites. They sent me north. I marked Novruz on my calendar and the 100-day countdown began. The weather got colder. Pipes froze and showers became a distant memory. At night I huddled with my laptop’s adaptor for warmth, like a child with his or her most comforting stuffed animal. Every day I put on my tall black boots and my heavy black jacket. I walked through the brown mud to my brown school, passing men in black clothes herding their brown sheep across brown fields with the help of their black and brown dogs. In my head I tried to Photoshop leaves onto the scrawny trees and brown vines that line Agstafa’s streets, but I couldn’t seem to do it.

Attendance in school fell with the temperature, because Azerbaijanis seem to have a semi-rational fear of anything cold. It seemed to me that things were paused before they were even begun, like someone had played the opening scene to the movie that is my Peace Corps service, complete with an awesome intro soundtrack and upbeat montage of me during Pre-Service Training and then—pause. Who sat on the remote? Are we going to unfreeze this? Literally?

And then the first Tuesday came and went without me being aware. I was invited to a neighbor’s house for the second Tuesday, and that is when I was rewarded with a feast fit for an Azerbaijani guest. Sprouting wheat seeds started showing up in windowsills; the tall blades of grass would grow from water into healthy clusters and eventually be tied with red ribbons. That is when the color green came to

Azerbaijan

The third Tuesday is called, “Papaq atmaq“ and it involves children throwing their hats over peoples’ gates and recollecting them after they have been filled with candy, nuts, and homemade sweet breads. Colored eggs are used in decorative table spreads, and later each person holds an egg in their hand like they’re going to draw with it, while another person hits their egg with their own, and the winner is the person whose egg does not crack. I loved learning that eggs are dyed in natural ways, using things like vegetable skins. Red onion skins dye eggs a beautiful auburn color. Coming from an very capitalistic country, I greatly appreciated that no special “Novruz bags” were sold, like our plastic Jack-O-Lantern containers we must use for Halloween in America, and no egg-dying kits were for sale like they are during Easter. Making do with limited resources is definitely a skill I will return to the States with. The Azerbaijani people seem to have a very practical nature, which one can assume comes from the history of their country and culture. It is something to admire and a privilege to live amongst. Plus, I like wearing the same outfit for three days in a row without getting stares.

On March 20^th, Novruz, the weather was almost warm during the day and totally tolerable at night. I went to my neighbor’s house again, and after dinner we built a bonfire out on the street. There were several fires already going, and they lit our little neighborhood where streetlights do not normally exist. (OK, we do have one pitiful streetlight, but it looks like it has not worked since The Beatles were singing “Back in the

USSR

”).

I managed to jump with my belly full of the aforementioned promised feast: chicken stuffed with levengi, a walnut and onion mixture, which is a popular dish in the south of Azerbaijan; sweet breads like pakhlava and shakarbura; pickled tomatoes and cabbage; plov, rice cooked with butter and raisins then topped with a juicy chicken/apricot/chestnut sauce; and, of course, at least three cups of tea. The mother of the family raked the coals into a pile and said, “We eat for an entire month then jump over fires in the street. Lindsay is going to think we are a bunch of hill people.” When this was translated to me I think I laughed for at least three minutes straight. The mother smiled at me shyly, and then announced that it was time to eat turkey.

Spring has most definitely come to Azerbaijan. I stare in amazement at all the green, white, and pink that covers the ground and trees of my town. I had no idea the area had it in her. I feel like a bad teacher who assumed the student in back had a learning disability but then that child stood and recited a Shakespearian sonnet while playing the violin. I did not need to make it to Novruz. I would have loved this country and its people just the same if the weather had not changed and the landscape had remained borderline desolate. Still, I am glad I made it to this point. The others were right—it was completely worth the wait.

An Analysis of Georgian Khinkali, by AZ8 PCV San-Eou Lan

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan The AZLander

2012-04-28 08:13:00

Many of us have been to Georgia, and many of us have enjoyed the deliciousness that is khinkali: a large dumpling with a beef and pork (sometimes lamb) filling, extra broth, and sometimes intermixed with different greens. I think the additional broth aspect of khinkali separates it from normal dumplings. Soup dumplings are common in Chinese cuisine, such as xiao long bao and sheng jian bao, and my experience with these in the United States and abroad in

China

make me a bit of a connoisseur. It is easy enough just to devour ten khinkali; it is another thing to dissect it. I have by no means eaten a comprehensive sample of Georgian dumplings, however, I believe I can use my experience to describe the ideal khinkali. I will only consider meat-based khinkali, because others like mushroom, cheese, or potato khinkali should be judged on a different rubric.

There are three core components to khinkali: the wrapper, the filling, and the broth. The tenderest wrapper can not compensate for sub-par meat, and a flavorful filling can not make up for a watery wrapper. So let us start from the most fundamental component, for my personal taste, of khinkali: the wrapper. The ideal wrapper must be tender, and offer a slight bite, a concept I can describe better in Mandarin (kui). It can not be too thick nor can it be too thin, which might break while cooking. So what makes the wrapper of dumplings like khinkali or Chinese shui jiao tender?

The answer is the use of warm or hot water. Cold water dough, most common with Western breads and pastries, helps create gluten. Gluten is what gives dough structure, and the more it is kneaded and worked, the tighter and more elastic it becomes. The level of chewiness and stretch you get from cold water dough is directly related to how vigorously it is kneaded, and how long it rests. Adding hot water denatures (breaks down) the gluten, which still forms, but because denatured gluten is not nearly as stretchy or clingy as raw, you will not get anywhere near the stretch or elasticity of a cold-water dough. Most recipes for khinkali call for warm water, though I suspect the use of hot water would create a tenderer wrapper. Also, there is a reason why the wrapper is pleated, and why the more pleats there are the better. The pleats help create better structural integrity, holding the khinkali together better than if you just pinched it together at the top.

The next two components, the meat and the broth, are tied together. Let us tackle the meat first, shall we? Mutton or a combination of beef and pork are the most common fillings, although lamb is more common in the villages. Mutton can have a gamey taste that can be off-putting, and the fat it produces can be overly greasy. Beef/pork is the way to go in my opinion. I know some places offer a pure beef or pure pork version, but the best varieties are mixed meat. Different kinds of meat can complement each other in flavor, and the best mixed meat dishes (meatballs, meatloaf, and burgers) contain multiple types of meat. I will not get into the specifics of which cuts are optimal, but what is important is the leanness of the meat. Lean meat is not as delicious as fatty meat, and lean meat creates poor juices for the broth. Vegetable additions such as onion, garlic, cilantro, etc. can help create more complex flavors in the filling, and they help to supplement the broth, which otherwise may come off as too “meaty” (not an entirely bad thing).

The broth is what sets khinkali apart, and though khinkali is inferior to the glory that is xiao long bao or sheng jian bao, the sheer volume of broth in a khinkali is one of the main attractions for me. This juicyness is where it gets difficult to break down though. I have seen recipes that call for broth to be incorporated into the filling, which creates the soup, and I have seen recipes that do not call for additional broth, and I assume the soup created comes only from the filling and the water absorbed in the cooking process. I am inclined to believe that recipes that have broth added into the filling are superior, because you can control the quality of it more directly. The kind of broth used in the recipe can affect the outcome of the soup. Using beef bones will obviously “beef up” the flavor, while certain pork bones can create a creamy broth. I am partial towards pork-based broth which creates an additional layer of flavor, adding creaminess, whereas a beef-based broth would not add much beside additional beef flavor.

There is a fourth factor that comes into play only with fried khinkali. I will confess to bias here. I am a sucker for textual contrast, and the crust of a fried khinkali makes me swoon. With fried khinkali the wrapper gets another bump up in the form of a crust that contrasts with the filling, and the slight greasiness sits better with a pint of beer. So where can one find the best khinkali in Tbilisi? My personal favorite is the fried khinkali at a restaurant on Rustaveli Boulevard, across from the Radisson Hotel. It does not have a name, only a green hanging sign that reads “Georgian Cuisine.” Nush Olsun PCVs!

Balqabaq Baş Says Yaxşi Yol to Winter, by PCV? Balqabaq Baş

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan The AZLander

2012-04-28 08:13:00

Dear Winter of 2011/2012,

Thank GOODNESS you are done. I mean, really. You started early, (I think many of us experienced some snow while sheep were being Gurban’d), you froze pipes, spirits and hope from January till nearly the end of March. Let’s be real – I do not think you have too many fans around here right now. With that knowledge, here are some of the better (mildy bitter) memories BB will take away from this winter:

Seriously considering attaching sleeves to the Brown Monster to create the ultimate Snuggie.
Going for weeks without any form of bathing because considering the freezing torment of a bucket bath was simply too much to bear, but not really caring.
Not going into work for a day or two when there was a lot of snow needing to be boiled and filtered.
Not wanting to read because my fingers would get too cold from exposure while holding the book.
Existing in one room next to the heat source and slowly losing my mind.

Wait. Are all of these just a wee bit negative? Wup. My bad. Let’s see if we can find some more positive memories:

Commiseration with other volunteers
Really catching up on all of my shows, and adding some new ones.

And most importantly….

Survival.

Congratulations Peace Corps

Azerbaijan

Volunteers. We survived winter 2011/2012. Bahar Qiz (Spring Maiden) finally showed up and kicked that silly Gar Qiz (Winter Maiden) to the curb. Yaxşi Yol, you dali qiz (crazy girl). We will catch you again next year but until then this particular gourd can not wait to kick back with some watermelon, strawberries and sweat away the more traumatic memories.

Keep it seedy and fresh,

-Balqabaq Baş

Want to write for BB? Want BB to write something for you? Email at balqabaq.bas@gmail.com

So, You Think You Want to Extend? by AZ7 PCV Stephanie Ormstom

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan The AZLander

2012-04-28 08:17:00

There are four AZ7s who extended, and I will not begin to act like I can speak for them. Everybody’s service is different. I am sure you are sick of hearing that, but it really is true. This is my attempt to give you some insight into the process – and my experience – of extending.

A conversation that was often repeated between me and any number of other PCVs:

Me: Hey! How’s site!
PCV: Eh, it’s good. So when are you leaving?
Me: Well, I’m not. I’m extending.
PCV: Oh…(noticeable confusion)…Why?
Me: (I launch into my cliché list of reasons for staying…) My counterpart came back from maternity leave, I feel I still have more to give, I had some time before grad school…blah blah blah…
PCV: Hm. (forced smile) Good for you!
(awkward turtle)

Unforeseen Benefits of Extending:

-You will be more productive. Suddenly, your American support system has left, so you rely on your Azebaijani friends. You spend more time with them, the exchanges are more meaningful (you are finally at a point with your language and your relationships where you really understand each other), and because you have so meticulously planned out why your extending and what you’re doing, you’ll do it.
-You get more time to work on graduate school/job applications. While all of your fellow group mates are flipping out trying to get in their DOS, close up shop at site, AND do all those pesky essays, you can sit and leisurely flip through your thesaurus because hey, you have got TIME.
-A bump in your readjustment allowance. If you extend, your monthly readjustment allowance is increased. Not by a lot, but a bit. So when all those other PCVs burn through their allowance on travel, you are comfortably sitting on just a little bit more.
-Another Novruz. Um, duh.
-Your town loves you even more than they loved your site mate who left. They will say to you, “that other girl left, why? It is so good that you stayed.” You will find out who really cares about you. My counterpart’s husband (a man of few words) said to me after my site mate left, “Do not miss for her. You do not need. You have us. You are one of ours.” And I really am.

Unforeseen Obstacles to Extending

-Your support system changes dramatically. You will realize how much you needed other members of your group, if only to make you feel a little less alone. You will try to talk to members of the group after you about what you are dealing with, and they’ll just shrug and say, “You chose this.” Because you did.
-You will watch yourself become irrelevant. As your projects become more sustainable (which is a good thing!), your counterparts need you less and less. Other members of your group will do exciting things like travel and get jobs and move on (and post every detail on Facebook), and you will not. You will try to fit in with the group after you, but they are at a different stage in their service, and you will always be the older volunteer. You are a fifth year senior now.
-It is another winter in

Azerbaijan

. Know how you react during the winters here. If you were depressed this winter, you’ll be really depressed the winter you extend. If all you wanted to do this winter was curl up in your brown monster, what will change that?
-You are going to experience A LOT of déjà vu. I found at least four different weekends this winter where I had traveled to the exact same rayon the exact same weekend last year. Thanksgiving was the same. The honeymoon stage is definitely over.
-You might not go to your COS conference. If you extend for a year, you will go to the COS conference with the group after you, NOT YOUR GROUP. If you do go to your COS conference and are still extending, you will feel like a fish out of water and will end up walking to the beach every night instead of playing games with the people in your group. (Ok, that was my experience, not everybody’s).

What to do if you are thinking about Extending

- Make a list of all of the reasons you want to extend. Write everything down.
-Separate them into personal reasons and professional reasons. (Ex: a personal reason is, “I have nothing to go home to,” or, “I have a boyfriend/girlfriend in AZ.” A professional reason is, “this project is really taking off, and November is too soon to leave it,” or “I’ve always wanted to do project xyz, and I just met a great counterpart.”)
-Scratch out all of the personal reasons. They are NOT why you should stay. This may seem harsh, but I have found that personal reasons disappear and change in an instant. When stuff gets hard (because it still does) you need something tangible to hold on to. Also, you’ll need to write a letter to Macie about why you want to extend, and I doubt she would like to hear, “I am staying because I do not have anything better to do.”
-Look over your list of professional reasons and ask yourself these questions: Are my skills/relationships so unique that this project/goal will only succeed with me? What potential obstacles face this project? How likely is it that this will actually happen? If it does not happen, do I still have other work to do? (One of my intended professional projects fell through, but I had other reasons to stay.)
-Now, get a feeling from your counterparts and director. You will likely need a note from your director if you want to extend, and they will need to be aware of your intended projects and goals for your extension period. So if they want you to stay, awesome. If they do not, you might want to figure out why before you stick around.
-Talk to people. Other volunteers, family and friends back home. Gauge their reaction. They might have information or insight that you do not.

How to support extending volunteers

-For AZ8s: Stop talking about all of your cool plans. Make the extenders feel like what they are doing is awesome and worthwhile. Your cool plans will happen, do not brag. Send them e-mails, send packages. Remember when you left for PC and none of your friends responded to your letters? Do not be that guy.
-For AZ9s: Reach out. You may be close with some AZ8s, but those of us who extend tend to be pretty tied into our communities and do not like to leave a lot. So you might not know us that well. It does not mean we do not like people, or do not like visitors or to talk on the phone. And it certainly does not mean we do not need a couple words of love every once and a while. You miss your AZ8 site mates, and we miss our group mates. We have stuff to talk about.

Extension of service is just that, an extension of what you are already doing. You ca not expect things to suddenly become wonderful after you extend. Azerbaijani men still follow me in their cars. I still get daily phone calls from people asking for private tutoring. And sometimes, I feel like other PCVs judge me. Clearly, I must be crazy for staying. I am still a Peace Corps Volunteer in

Azerbaijan

and it is still a daily challenge. But us extenders, we are lucky. We are lucky because with some cosmic mixture of our community, our work, our counterparts, and our personalities, we are happy. We have made an impact, we are wanted, and we want to be here. Not everyone gets to have that experience. Not everyone is so lucky.

Interview with YD Program Manager Sevinj Abullayeva

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan The AZLander

2012-04-28 08:47:00

I would like to start my interview with a confession. I would like to say that Peace Corps Azerbaijan is a dynamic and diverse organization. I like that every day is different; that you learn continuously from the job that you are doing, from Volunteers, staff members, and from different posts, and that you have all types of possibilities to share your experience. I am glad that I can give a lot and can absorb even more.

AZLander: Describe a typical day at work for you.

Sevinj Abullayeva: A typical day in PC for a Program Manager starts usually with e-mail check. On Mondays we have weekly meeting with the Program and Training Team at 10:00

The other work days I work on Volunteers’ reports, plan Site Visits, prepare for Pre-Service Training sessions, Project Design and Management sessions, Counterpart sessions, HIV Aids Workshop sessions, Early Service Training Sessions, Mid Service Conference Sessions, and others throughout the year. There are a lot of other activities that I do daily, however, the main work is to support the Volunteers to be safe and healthy, and have productive and positive service in the country.

AZ: What did you do before working for Peace Corps?

SA: Before Peace Corps, I was studying in New York at Columbia University, at the School of Social Work. I obtained Diploma of Master in Social Science (with a concentration on Social Enterprises and Management) in May 2011. It is my second Masters Degree after Medical University that I graduated from

AZ: What has been your most memorable Peace Corps experience?

SA: My most memorable experience with Peace Corps was the Swearing In Ceremony of AZ9s.

AZ: What advice do you have for volunteers about working in Azerbaijan?

SA: I would advis

AZ: Who do you a

SA: I admire John.

AZ: Favorite part about being Azerbaijani/I am proud to be from Azerbaijan because:

SA: I am proud of the cultural heritage that has been carried over for many centuries despite many invasions throughout the history. I love Mugam and have always been surprised when in other parts of the world people cry while listening to this soulful music, as I always thought you had to be born an Azerbaijani in order to be touched by this music, but I was totally wrong.

I am proud of the support that every Azerbaijani tries to provide for their young, older and other family members who are in need.

AZ: Where are you from in Azerbaijan and

SA: I was born in Sheki, where I spent three wonderful months of school holidays during 10 years at my grandmother’s place. Sometimes I feel the smell of Sheki or dream about how I climbed the mountains. I will be always in love with it; it is as a first love about which people usually remember positive things. My family has lived in Mingachevir since I was one year old. I lived there until I finished school. I think that it is one of the greatest young cities of Azerbaijan. I was raised in a diverse community of Mingachevir that we had back in the Soviet time. Now, I am living in Baku and love it despite the fact that I am from small city. I like the opportunities that a big city gives even though I have not much time to use most of these opportunities.

AZ: What was it like living in America?

I was living in Manhattan, studying and having two jobs at the same time, to get as much as possible from these two years. I would say that it was like a (road) rally in New York/Dakar/Baku. I had a lot of sleepless nights writing papers, missing home, and just adjusting to a new culture. I have learned a lot of positive things that I am going to pass to my people: a zillion amounts of patience in communication, how to advocate for yourself, fight for what you need in a clever way, enjoy the beauty of life even in bad days, make various types of friends (for studying, working, shopping, cooking, games, etc), travel, observe, and try to understand and do not go for judgment that affects you in a more negative way than others.

AZ: What do you enjoy most about your job?

SA: The daily cultural exchange, exposure to the creativeness of Volunteers, learning new things about Azerbaijan from Volunteers, the dedicated staff, and last but not least, the fact that I can help my country

AZ: If you could be any animal what

SA: I hope I would never be an animal. I like that I have second signal system which is speech. I like that humans can explain their feelings by words (great poems, novels, songs, etc), even though I am not undermining other ways of communication.

animal would you be and why?’s people and Volunteers through this job.SA: It was great and challenging at the same time. Two years in US was not my first experience of living abroad. I spent three years in Kishinev/ Moldova while studying at Medical University. However, these experiences differed a lot. Moldova was still a Soviet country and there were some similarities [to Azerbaijan]. I was younger and my approach to many things was different and I was more resilient. I wish I had Pre-Service Training with all of the Cultural and Language training that PC Volunteers have. AZ9 PST helped me to understand most of the things that I experienced many years before. how has that helped form your identity?F. Kennedy, therefore I am with Peace Corps. From my perspective he has done a lot for democratization of the United States and I am not afraid to say that he did it for the whole world.dmire and why?e all Volunteers to be patient, learn from each other, remember about their aspirations and desires that they had before applying for PC and what they want to gain from this experience and what they would like to leave behind as a result of their service.in 1995. I have 15 years of working experience with various NGOs. I worked with Doctors of the World managing Primary Health Programs, International Rescue Committee (IRC) as the Community Health and Development Program Manager, Young Leader Association as Program Manager of their Youth Development Program, and with World Vision managing their ‘Improving Lives of Mothers and Children’ Project. AM where everybody shares what he/she has done during previous week and shares plans for the next one. The same day around 11:30 AM we have General Staff meeting where all PC staff discusses work, does some planning and gets new information.

Engineering Peace: PCVs Build Understanding Though Photos, by AZ8 PCV Amanda Zeidan

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan The AZLander

2012-04-28 08:55:00

Peace Corps Volunteers enjoy a unique opportunity to cultivate understanding across all cultures. As a result, Serve for Peace, an online photo journal that seeks to emphasize the beauty and diversity of Muslim countries in which Peace Corps volunteers serve, was founded in response to a previously published article by Caroline Brown entitled “Understanding Islam” in the 2010 Worldview winter issue. In the article, Ms. Brown challenges the Peace Corps community to do more to bridge the gap in outside understanding and perception regarding the Islamic world. PCVs have a specific ability to bring detail and awareness through photos to an area of the world that is often incorrectly portrayed.

Photo Credit: Leo Redmond

There is power in numbers. There is power in persistence. And there is power in collaboration. Please join me in this call to promote understanding by submitting photos of your work, experiences, and people that comprise your surroundings during your service to serveforpeace.tumblr.com.

Please help spread the word by sharing and linking this project with any others whom you feel would be interested in participating. All photos submitted will remain on serveforpeace.tumblr.com. If you have further questions or concerns regarding submissions, please direct your inquiries to Amanda Zeidan at pcserveforpeace@gmail.com

Photo Credit: Leo Redmond

How to Get Involved

General

Pictures must be from a country where Peace Corps Volunteers have served (past or present).
No picture showing a Peace Corps Volunteer will be eligible.

Format

Digital image (must be high-resolution from a 5 megapixel camera or better).

Quality

Images must be clean, in-focus and have realistic color.

Documentation

In an e-mail please provide: first name, last name, country, years of service and a brief caption capturing a detail of the photo. *Please note all submissions require a release form (see: serveforpeace.tumblr.com/submit)
If you submit digital photos, send the photos to Amanda Zeidan at pcserveforpeace@gmail.com subject: Serve for Peace; or, simply post to: serveforpeace.tumblr.com.

For a link to the article “Understanding Islam”, please see: http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/ADVOCACY_brown.pdf

Voting in the 2012 Elections, by AZ8 PCV Susan Kay

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan The AZLander

2012-04-28 08:57:00

We are lucky in that recent legislation has made improvements in voting for citizens living abroad. However, the system is not perfect. Depending on your state, finding good information is difficult. A 2008 GAO report found that 18 states or territories had misleading or conflicting information about voting for overseas and military voters.

Peace Corps Volunteers should complete the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), not really a postcard at all. The postcard is online at www.FVAP.gov and must be mailed or faxed to LEO. (LEO is your Local Election Official – don’t ask how long it took me to decode LEO). You can complete the form any time before elections and many states allow you to confirm your registration online. I will be going to USA in May and I will take any LEO applications that are in my box in the lounge. If you have your own USA postage stamp that would be nice.

The FPCA has a check box for requesting your ballot mailed or available electronically either by internet download, fax or email. However, that does not mean you may return your ballot electronically. Only seven states currently allow remote voting electronically although each has different and specific regulations. Most states require ballots be returned by mail.

For the November 2012 general election, the FVAP website offers a postage paid envelope you can print. You can use this envelope and bring your November ballot in person to the US Embassy. Forms and ballots may be dropped off at the consular section during regular American Citizen Services hours Monday – Thursday 2pm – 5pm and Fridays from 9am – 12pm to be returned to the U.S. via pouch. Normal pouch transit time is 2 weeks.

_________________________________________________

As US citizens overseas, we also have the opportunity to model voting rights. A few volunteers have mentioned counterparts and community contacts do not have confidence in the importance of voting in Azerbaijan. Using the presidential elections is a wonderful Goal Two activity, stressing voting rights and responsibilities and the American system. Among the many websites, basic lesson plans, resources for classrooms and community may be found online at http://www.pbs.org/teachers/vote2008/. Even though 2008 is in the link, the lesson plans are great.

Some Peace Corps counties plan mock elections. If anyone, especially TEFLs and YDs, are interested in a coordinated Azerbaijan mock USA election, through the schools, American Corners, and other locations, please let me know. This would be a great country-wide project opportunity to teach about the USA. Contact me at suziandsnickers(at)yahoo.com.

No Bones About It: Calcium + Vitamin D = Healthier You, by AZ8 PCV Lannea Russell

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan The AZLander

2012-04-28 09:32:00

Vitamin D is the bank card for calcium! It is needed for calcium to be absorbed from the digestive tract and deposited in bones. If either nutrient is lacking, a “withdrawal” occurs. Calcium gets sucked out of the skeleton, which weakens existing bone and prevents the formation of strong, new bone. Besides contributing to bone health, calcium and vitamin D play important roles in overall health and well-being.

Vitamin D comes from what, exactly?

You can get vitamin D in three ways: made in your skin, from your diet, and from supplements. Spending 15 minutes a day in the sun during spring, summer and fall can provide enough UVB rays for skin to make enough vitamin D. But following current advice to prevent skin cancer and wrinkles by always covering up or using ample amounts of sunscreen effectively blocks UVB rays (even wearing SPF8 sunscreen!) Vitamin D-rich foods include egg yolks, oily fish, liver and fortified milk (most in AZ is not fortified). Talk to PCMOs if you have concerns about your vitamin D levels.

Am I getting enough calcium?

AGE	DAILY NEEDS*	EQUIVALENT DAIRY SERVINGS
18-50	1000 mg	3 (1 serving = 1 cup milk, ayran or yogurt, or about 50 g cheese)
51+	1200 mg	4 (1 serving = 1 cup milk, ayran or yogurt, or about 50 g cheese)

*Amount recommended by the National Academy of Sciences

I don't do dairy. Can I get calcium in other ways?

Certain vegetables with calcium (spinach, collards, kale and beans) actually contain oxalates that block calcium absorption. It’s true that almonds, broccoli and other foods contain calcium, but nowhere near the amount in dairy foods. Lactose intolerance var? (Do you have?) Dairy is still doable! Enjoy yogurt (with live and active cultures) containing lactose-digesting friendly bacteria. Or drink ½ cup of milk with meals.

If you aren’t able to meet your calcium needs through dairy, consider a supplement. Did you know Peace Corps medical services offer a daily multi-vitamin/mineral supplement? In specific cases, PCMOs can offer a calcium supplement (with or without vitamin D). While a supplement may help you meet your needs, don’t miss out on other important nutrients that foods provide. Good nutrition depends on overall healthful eating.

Other Tips for Bone Health

Get enough weight-bearing exercise

AVOID bone-robbing behaviors:

- Smoking

- Nushing (eating/digesting) on a lot of salty foods

- Having more than two alcoholic drinks a day

- Drinking soda often

- Consuming more than 300 mg of caffeine per day (the equivalent of two cups of coffee)

Avielandia: A Place of Peace and Happiness, by Nazrin Agharzayeva, student of AZ8 PCV San-Eou Lan

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan The AZLander

2012-04-28 09:34:00

Background

In 2003, a group of Peace Corps volunteers in

Georgia

established the Writing Olympics as an innovative way to promote creativity and critical thinking among students in developing countries. Three years later, Armenia and Azerbaijan competed in the first Trans-Caucasus Writing Olympics. The contest went international in 2009 with the inclusion of Moldova. Thanks to outreach efforts by Peace Corps volunteers and staff, the number of participating countries has doubled in recent years with the addition of Albania, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Mongolia, and Ukraine. The project, now known as the International Creative Writing Competition, is in its ninth year.

My student, Nazrin Agharyayeva, won 2^nd place in Azerbaijan for the 11^th form, and she chose the essay prompt “Write About Your Perfect Place.”

Write About Your
Perfect Place

By Nazrin Agharzayeva

I always dream about that perfect place and I am glad that I have an opportunity to write it and share it with you.

It is a place where people are kind, where everybody helps each other, supports each other, talks nicely to each other and etc. Well, it sounds so “perfect,” but I dream about that kind of place.

It is a place where people do not call every Chinese as “chinky-eyed person.” It is a place where people do not call every person with black skin as “negro” or “African.” It is a place where people do not appreciate others for their looks, but their minds and thoughts…It is a place where every person is a HUMAN. People are free there! Well, some people think that to be free means to do everything you want, but that is wrong. Freedom means responsibility, to be responsible for what you do. I would like to write that it is a place where people live in peace and there are no wars. I know that almost everybody wants it.

It is a place where people do not use religion for their own selfish use, people do not have religious persecution. It is a place where people don’t fight. Everyone lives great! All children, kids have parents; there are no orphans or poor people. There are no refugees and enemies. There are just people who called human!

So welcome to my perfect place called “Avielandia.” Hope you will like this place!

Now, wake up! There is no such a perfect place like this. I am just dreaming…but remember, dreams come true!

Letter from the Editors, AZ8 PCV San-Eou Lan and AZ9 PCV Fiona Severson

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan The AZLander

2012-04-28 09:41:00

Dear Peace Corps Azerbaijan,

Congratulations on surviving a truly long and terrible winter Peace Corps Azerbaijan! Thank goodness this is my last winter in Azerbaijan; otherwise I would just curl up into a ball and start crying. I do not know about all of you, but there was an existential moment when I found myself in my background, collecting buckets of snow so I would not die of dehydration. That is all in the past now, and the spring is finally here. I will say this though; it did not feel like spring until the season première of Game of Thrones and Mad Men. Honestly, it was as if the weather, along with George R.R. Martin and Don Draper got together to say “we love you San-Eou Lan.” We begin a new segment in the AZLander, in which we interview staff members about their day-to-day job, their background, and why they are working with Peace Corps. Please let us know if there is any staff member you want to be interviewed in the future.

A new chapter has started to unfold in my AZ9 Peace Corps service with the success of making it through the winter in one piece. After getting to know my third host-family since making the move to Azerbaijan, next week I will be moving into my very own apartment – the first time I will have ever lived alone. While I am going to miss having a reliable source of the Azerbaijani meals I have become so fond of (dovga is delicious – what?!), I am looking forward to experimenting with the fresh fruit and vegetables popping up at the bazaar soon. Now that we are all mostly thawed out for the next 6 months or so, I would like to propose the idea of regularly appearing columnists in the AZLander. So if you think you have a way with a pen (or a keyboard) and would like to see your name in ink (computer screen ink, that is), get at us already! Nothing like a running narrative to help us all make sense of this Peace Corps business, eh?

Sincerely,

San-Eou & Fiona

Cover Photos

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan The AZLander

2012-04-28 09:44:00

A policeman stands guard as a tightrope walker balances before a crowd

Photo Credit: AZ8 PCV Julie Nelson

An Azerbaijani family lights a bon fire in celebration of Novruz

Photo Credit: AZ8 PCV Allie Solomon

A Week of Frustrations & Inspirations

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Retired & Inspired

2012-05-05 09:19:00

It's been a frustrating week as the school year closes. Every little thing looms large due to the discomfort I have in my left foot. The smallest problem becomes a bigger irritant – slimy slugs leave a trail on my kitchen sink, biking boys trick me by braking in front of me, teachers chat with each other during class, the store is out of my favorite tandir bread. Grrrr. I've yet to find the word for “crabby” in the Azerbaijan language. Even my English teachers know I'm irritable.

Wednesday I decided to stay home from school and try to stay off my feet. It has been a month since my foot became swollen and painful on the top - not at the ankle. I saw an orthopedist in Baku, but I haven't started feeling relief until this past week by taking ibupropen daily and riding not walking to and from school. I'm paying more attention to how fast I walk, the shoes I wear, and the amount of gravel I walk on. I suspect it was sharp gravel under the ball of my foot that caused this problem initially.

This morning I'm sitting outside in the sunshine waiting for either the water truck to come by or a “master” to arrive who can repair the water pump so that it fills the water tank for my house. I only need to fill it about every 6 weeks but wıthout water I can't cook, bathe, wash clothes, etc. It's a frustrating weekend when I can't do household chores. Well . . . there is one thing I learned to do for my mental health back in Minnesota: pull weeds! My yard is without the grazing of a cow and her calf. One of them snapped the electric wire leading from my house to the water pump, so the landlady won't allow the farmer use my yard again. (My neighbor Sakit spliced the electric line, but the pump still doesn't work.)

I do a little self-talk to get me out of my pissy mood by thinking instead about all the positive things that happened last week. Here goes:

great language sessions with my student Georgie; he loves the visual dictionary
Georgie brought me tandir bread from his father's store
I killed those slugs with slug pellets
my home phone and internet are working again
a shy 5^th form boy started speaking English in class this past week
students gave me many red roses on Friday
I introduced another English teacher to the new restaurant in Masalli
the new school director requires assembly and national song before school starts each day
I am reading All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
Facetime video chats with Anton, Tracy, and Deb S. this past week!

For added interest, here are a couple photos from a weekend in Baku with PCVs Elaine and Suzi.

We went to the site Atashgah where Zoroastrianism began (fire worshipers) plus located several homes (now museums) of early 20^th century oil barons, and the Aristocrats Society in the old city. Best of all we had great meals (Shamrock burgers and Caesar salads and white wine) and laughs (don't ask about whales) together.

“This is for you.”

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Land of Az

2012-05-04 18:12:15

It’s moments like when my host dad looks down, precariously balancing on a chair on top of a bed, hammering in a nail to hold up my tangled mosquito net, sweating in the humid, pre-storm air – and grumbles, in a half-disgusted, half-joking tone, “This is for you,” that really seals it for me. I’m [...]

Take’n the Train: The Azerbaijan Railway (includes English train schedule)

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan The Brief Note™

2012-05-04 17:07:33

If you’re interested in taking the Azerbaijan train, below is a few musings and an English train schedule for both international and domestic railway routes headed out of Baku. In comparison to the International Bus Station (Yeni Avtovağzal), which requires a short bus ride out of the city, the Baku Central Train Station is just [...]

An exhausting break.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan An American Stranger : Peace Corps Edition

2012-05-04 06:51:00

Week 79 – 3/18-24/2012: Oguz and Bujag

After last week’s preliminary celebrations, the Novruz festivities continued Monday in Oguz with the Oguz Ministry of Youth and Sport’s Novruz party. Billed as an event for the community, it was actually more of an opportunity for local government officials to come together and put on a show. The event started with a speech from Oguz’s mayor, giving everybody a warm welcome and sincere wishes for peace and prosperity in the year to come. Then, the music began. Then, the eating. Then, the dancing. As was the case last year, each table of government or school officials was introduced and required to come forth and dance to the festive music. Each table filled its duty (including the Youth and Sport table, at which Drew, Colin, and I sat), some taking it seriously and putting on an energetic display of Azeri dancing prowess; others simply going through the motions, lazily stepping back and forth to the rhythm before being allowed to sit again. Unlike last year, speeches were not required, giving guests even more reason to not pay attention to the “show.” This year, the dancing and music was all but entirely relegated to background noise. Instead, guests chose to focus on the mountain of food before them. It may not have been the most fun of events, but at least I got a huge free meal out of it.

The following day brought about the true celebrations. While Novruz is technically the 21^st of March (although, nobody in my village seems to know for sure), Bujag holds its big celebration the evening of the 20^th. As day approached night, I began making my trek up village as festive music echoed off of the mountains in every direction. Passing by the school, I was stopped by a few jovial villagers outside one of the chai khanas, where they had brought in a keyboard and tar player to perform at their man party. With the beer and vodka flowing freely, many already had their holiday buzz and their dancing showed it. Unable to avoid them (and not really wanting to), I joined them for a dance. With an upbeat tar and the steady buzz of whatever that buzzing flute instrument is called, I found a rare groove and shuffled amongst the crowd. For once (perhaps thanks to the ridiculous dance moves of the drunk), I was not the worst dancer on the floor!

The man party.

Wrapping up the pit stop, I continued on to my host family’s, where I was greeted by the whole gang, including my two Baku-living host brothers. However, after quickly catching up with one another, my host brothers took off to join their friends and my host sister to join her cousins in throwing hats (a Novruz version of trick-or-treating), leaving just me, my host parents, and my host grandmother.

“Our good son,” my host father said to me with a slap on the back. With the boisterous house suddenly quiet, it looked like it would just be a quiet holiday with the parents. With a mountain of plov before us and a bottle of vodka between the men, my host family and I went to work on the holiday feast. As we scooped piles and piles of rice onto our dishes, we discussed everything from Russian politics to jackass neighbors. In the rather intimate setting, my always jolly host father opened up and admitted that after I had moved out, he had been in a bad place, worried that he had done something wrong, unable to grasp my American desire for privacy and personal independence. Reiterating that my leaving had absolutely nothing to do with them, that I was grateful for everything they had done for me, and that they were my family, we opened up the bottle of vodka, wished one another a happy holiday, and threw back the first shot of the night. Several bowlfuls of plov and a bottle of vodka later, it was time for my host dad and I to pay a visit to the relatives.

This is where the mistake of the night came into play. Having bought homemade vodka in Nij on Sunday, I figured Novruz would be the perfect time to consume it. However, I did not bring out the Azeri moonshine until after the first bottle of the night had been downed. Still feeling fine, though, I presented my host dad and host uncle with the sour plum-infused ev araq and we drank it down with our second dinner of the night.

The already entertaining night grew even more so after this. I gave the greatest toast I’ve ever delivered in Azeri. My host father and I jumped over the Novruz bonfire at least 20 times each. We danced around the fire with family and friends. And the little headache the next morning was all worth it. Novruz 2012 was one hell of a night.

Host dad jumps through the fire.

No words necessary...

I awoke the next morning exhausted and in search of some relaxation, but it never came. Any sliver of free time I had was basically spent waiting until my next activity, as my day was filled with baseball and more holiday guesting. Thursday brought much of the same, before I knew it, my spring vacation had turned into an exhausting break. Friday and Saturday brought no relief, either, as a crop of PCVs descended on Oguz for softball and ABLE meetings. As the only Oguz PCV willing and able to take guests, the exhaustion piled on even further as I played host for the weekend.

At the very least, the added fatigue and arrival of guests allowed for an interesting cultural dichotomy. Americans are an entertainment-seeking people. We go out to eat. We go to movies. We go to ball games. We play softball until we’re 90. While I would never accuse Azeris of having no fun (I have had a blast in this village!), entertainment outside of the home – other than the teahouses – seems to be very rarely sought out. Families don’t go out to eat. Movie theaters are all but non-existent. Soccer stadiums are often empty on game day. And only children are seen outside playing games.

Thus, it certainly came as a surprise to my landlord and his family when a group of eight young adults were playing an intense game of whiffle ball in the yard. As they passed back-and-forth to complete their yard work, they watched in confused, curious amusement as we whipped around a small plastic, holey ball and swung a narrow plastic stick at it. The landlord’s sister-in-law seemed to detest the game, complaining of the newly planted trees being ruined (despite the fact that the strong winds were causing much more damage than the plastic ball) and trying to break up our game in the final inning to plant a tree at home plate (we were able to convince her to hold off). There was no damage done; no relationships soured. Just another beautiful display of cultural exchange, reminding each of us of our own cultural uniqueness.

Trey AKA a young, right-handed David Welles.

An Ode to Food in Azerbaijan - You are what you eat

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Life on the Edge

2012-05-03 13:46:00

Officially, from today, I have six weeks left in this country. Only someone who has known what it's like to be a PCV, and what it's like to COS, knows how I feel right now. There is a constant tightness in my chest, as if some bizarre sci-fi organism has its tentacles wrapped around my heart. When I think about leaving, I have to remind myself to breathe.

I don't think I've ever been so attached to a place.

My home (in Ohio) is certainly one thing, and I also know will always be in my life, and I can always go back there. But it is highly unlikely that I will return to Azerbaijan. As much as I say I want to, realistically, I won't have the money - or the time - to make it happen. Really, as far as my friends here are concerned, I'm falling off the face of the earth. And they are falling of the face of mine.

(Yes, the internet exists, but it hasn't permeated most Azeris lives as much as it has in America. My counterpart JUST GOT her first computer. Most don't even have one).

So, in light of having six weeks left, I'm going to write (at least) once each week, with a little feature of two things. One, is a thing I'm going to miss. The other, is a thing I've learned. Maybe they'll be related, maybe not.

1. I am going to miss: Fresh Food

I don't know how to describe how satisfying it is to pick a persimmon off of a tree, and just take a bite out of it - the juice running down your hands. Or to go to the bread shop, and buy bread fresh out of the oven. Crisp outside, soft inside. So hot you can barely hold it all the way home. Fruit freshly sliced and plated next to a tea pot - and the tea! Always fresh tea, sitting by the stove. A kettle always half-warm, from the last time it was heated. Local honey sitting in the crystal bowl - so sweet, but so thick, you can just watch it curl around your spoon. Fresh dairy - from the cow in the barn outside. Milk, yogurt, cheese curds unlike any I've had in America, tender and smooth...almost sweet. I will miss going to the bazar and seeing the xanims wrapped in their scarves, trying to coerce me into buying things I don't need, amidst piles of brightly colored vegetables and fragrant spices.

The only things I eat from a package/factory are: milk (so I don't have to boil it), food from America (Chips Ahoy, Ritz, Annie's Bunny Crackers, assorted spices that don't exist here), wine and other spirits, gouda-style cheese, juice (they add too much sugar when they make it fresh, that is a shame), candy (generally also from America), coffee (they aren't so big on coffee here) and bottled water. There are so little preservatives in my diet now...it's wonderful.

2. I have learned: To appreciate food, and to prepare it with care and attention.

Food is almost a religion here. In the sense that it is the only thing anyone will ever ask you about, and it is the only thing people seem to talk about. The price of eggs rising, falling, what your favorite food is, how you prepare it, what you prepare. And the central experience of Azerbaijan - guesting - is a four hour feast. I have gone guesting countless times, and the woman of the house has TAKEN OFF WORK so she could stay home and prepare a meal. Suddenly, I am more important than her job, and she will spend the entire day preparing food. To make sure it is perfect.

I certainly have not gone to this extreme, but I do take much more time - and much more joy - in preparing food. I've learned my rosemary from my thyme, how to recognize fresh cilantro vs. dill or mint, what goes with what, how long to cook lentils for a salad vs how to cook them for a soup, how to tell when muffins are done based on how they smell, and how to get the bread to rise perfectly without the top browning too soon (even in my shitty ez-bake oven). I get excited when people come to see me, because it is an excuse to prepare food. I take pride in serving something new, or something that I know is tasty and I've spent a lot of time on. I've mastered some of the Azeri staples too - xengel (kesme, and Avar-style), maxara, dovga, tomato/eggplant/pepper dolma, not to mention the things that I've helped locals prepare. I've stomped on grapes to make wine, and helped separate grape leaves for yarpaq dolma. I've even passed along some of my own creations to friends here, including carrot cake, pie, chili, and everyone's favorite, pizza.

You'd think from all this cooking I'd have gained a lot of weight, but I haven't. (Stomach parasite aside) I'm still the same me who showed up here. It's because I'm conscious of my what I eat, and what I put into my body. It can be a religion for me too...being aware of where your meal came from, and how your body uses it. Knowing which things are necessary, and which are aren't. (Don't get me wrong, I'll still eat an entire box of Annie's crackers in one sitting, and over-indulge on the wine once and a while, but I KNOW I'm doing it, it's a choice.) We move so fast in America, and have filled our lives with so many other activities, the first thing to go is our meals. We'd rather microwave something packed with sodium and preservatives, than slice up some vegetables for a salad. We'd rather eat in our car, than try and make time to sit down at a table with our family. I don't know how my future will look - I am entering a Business program after all - but I am going to continue to be conscientious about my food. If you are what you eat, than why do we eat so much garbage? I love who I am, and I will love what I eat.

Like It Or Not Josh, You've Got Some Friends

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00

Azerbaijan Bat Fishing in Montana

2012-05-03 08:00:00

Earlier, in winter, I was struggling with the idea of friendship in Azerbaijan. I had definitely made some great friends amongst the Americans here but felt as if there was this invisible wall between me and Azeris. These friendships always seemed a little distant, there was always this feeling that whenever I was socializing with Azeri friends there was a little bit of Peace Corps work going on.

And then, after feeling frustrated that I hadn't yet made any true friends amongst Azeris, I suddenly came to an 'Aha' moment; this wall was entirely of my own creation. I remember laughingly telling myself that, like it or not, so and so people are my friends. Real friends, not some sort of half way there, cross-cultural image of a friend. I just needed to deal with the fact that I actually have some friends in Azerbaijan.

It was a weird thing to realize, it should be so easy to recognize the people you consider friends. But in Peace Corps, so much of my everyday speaking, working, and living is tinged with an element of work, even if just providing a worthwhile representation of America. By constantly looking at people as employees, colleagues, or students, even if only slightly, I was unfairly preventing them from just being a person wanted to be around.

This was a bit ethnocentric, a bit too much of a 'what I can benevolently grant to this unfortunate culture' storyline going on here, and I'm glad I came to this sudden, if obvious, insight. There is a really good lesson for me here: to determine a friendship based on the person to person interaction rather than whether the context of the friendship is familiar to me. Yeah, maybe we don't go out to concerts and drink beer together, but that doesn't mean the friendship is any less real, its just simply in different locations with different activities.