http://www.americancouncils.org/donation/project/66

Shams is one of the girls that we work with here in Lankaran. She is amazingly ambitious and really sweet. She was one of the student leaders at the summer camp I did last summer, and now, she has been given a great opportunity to study in the US. Here's some more info she wrote about herself. If you are willing, interested and able, she and I would both really appreciate your financial support! THANK YOU in advance! :)

"My name is Shams Alizada and I am FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange Program) alumni of 2008-2009. I am 18 years old, and live in a small city in Azerbaijan called Lenkoran. I have three older sisters, and I currently live with my mother. I lost my father 4 years ago and this was a very challenging period in my life. My mother is a single parents and she works as a schoolteacher. I had to overcome many challenges by myself. I failed a few times, but failures did not stop me. I got more encouraged and succeed a lot. I graduated High School, and got accepted to Lankaran State University on a full scholarship. That same year I into the FLEX program, and went to study in the USA. Studying in America taught me a lot. I learned how to overcome challenges and interact with different kinds of people. I improved myself, experienced different culture, and I shared my own culture with others. Recently I was informed that I have been awarded the Iacocca/U.S. State Department full-tuition scholarship for Global Village 2010 in the amount of USD 6500. The program’s purposes is to increase business and industry knowledge, enhance leadership and entrepreneurial skills, and develop global and cultural networking among the participants. Earning this scholarship has been one of the biggest successes in my life. It will influence my future career in the business field. I live in a rural area where most people rarely accept female leaders. The most suitable jobs for females are being doctors, teachers, and nurses. We have very few women who work in the business field, and most of them do not have educational backgrounds in this field. Mostly males have business opportunities in Azerbaijan. This program is giving me a great opportunity to get more educated in the business field and to be able to organize new international projects in the future. It will influence the plans I have made for the next five years and my whole life. Five years from now I will have graduated from university. I will apply to study for my master’s degree in international business in the U.S., because U.S.A. is a democratic country and has an improved educational system. I see myself as a highly educated person with great professional and personal skills. I will apply my gained knowledge in my country, realize international projects and be able to bring innovations to my country. By that time female leaders will be more accepted in my country. I want to be a role model for them. The Iacocca/U.S. State Department full-tuition scholarship for Global Village 2010 I had mentioned above does not provide travel and meals expenses. The airfare ticket will be approximately $1700 and the cost of meals and personal expenses is estimated between USD $900-$1600 during the six-week program. So $1700 for ticket and $1000 is for meals, which is a total of $2700. I need this money by May 15th. Unfortunately my family and I cannot afford to pay this amount of money, since my mother gets paid 160 AZN each month and I get a stipend of 34 AZN from my university for getting good grades. I really need the support. I hope you can help me achieve my goals. Any amount would be appreciated. Thank you!"

This is a really beautiful website. I'd like to use it when I return to remind me of home cookin' in Azerbaijan :)

http://www.azcookbook.com/

This is the World Map Project, developed by a PCV and reproduced often by current PCVs! I'm planning on doing this in the new Resource Room at my school! Hopefully ours will look as great as this one! In this picture, my good friend Löki is helping a PCV in Thailand with his project. She did this while she was on vacation there! Amazing :) Here's some more info about it: The World Map Project brings people together to create large, colorful maps of the world.

Initiated by a Peace Corps Volunteer, this project promotes geography literacy in an

engaging way while also building a sense of community among mapmakers. It is one

example of how Volunteers meet the goals of their Peace Corps service.

Since 1988, enthusiastic Volunteers have carried this highly acclaimed program to over

40 countries around the world. Returned Volunteers have spread the idea across the

U.S. as well. Because of the wide appeal of the activity, this guide (a revision of an earlier

manual) has been written for many different groups: U.S. teachers, Peace Corps Volunteers,

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, scout leaders, youth workers, and others.

February 27th is the tentative date that we're planning on doing this in our village! Wish us luck!

It’s been a long time since I updated this blog so I think I’ll present you with a sort of list of things that are going on now and things that have happened in my life recently (slash in the last 3 months).

October. November. December. And now it’s January?! The end of 2009 was such a whirlwind which has in turn made the beginning of 2010 seem like it’s dragging on. October was full of guesting, weddings, birthdays, parties, exciting news, and new volunteers in Azerbaijan! November consisted of lots of travelling (to work, yes, but also to visit friends!) and reading, an international teaching conference in Baku, a trip to my host sister’s university, and Thanksgiving! December was when both good news and new site mates arrived, and also when I went HOME!

The new trainees (now volunteers) arrived in-country on October 1st. They have about 60 people in their group, most of whom are female (this is typical of Peace Corps worldwide). Shortly after their arrival, they made trips out to the regions to visit us current volunteers. [[Note: Their group’s name is AZ7, and our group’s name is AZ6. This has to do with the fact that we are the sixth group to be in Azerbaijan, and they, well they are the seventh…clearly.]] In Lankaran, the city near me, we had five girls come to visit! It was so much fun. We got to show them around Lankaran, take them to a conversation club, show them how to go to the bazaar, and even how to cook Peace-Corps-style. My site mates, Rachel & Hiba, and I answered a ton of questions. It was a nice time to get to know some people from the new group in a relaxing atmosphere. Plus, they bring a lot of refreshing energy with them. Shortly after that visit, I was off to Baku to be a mentor for the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) volunteers during their practicum. I attended one week of the two-week practicum, and was assigned to one individual group of five trainees. I watched each one of them teach a lesson everyday and offered advice and words of wisdom (yes, after being here for a year, I am considered wise). It was a long week, but one in which I learned a lot about myself and about 5 more of the trainees. I got to stay with my old host family for the entire week, which was awesome. The girl who stayed with them from AZ7, Amanda, is great. We got along really well and I enjoyed being a part of her psyche during that time of training; it gave me a chance to see how far I’ve come in just a year’s time.

In between the site visits from the AZ7s and being a practicum mentor, I somehow found time to go to three weddings, all of which were pretty different. I also celebrated Halloween…twice. I celebrated it once in Baku with my Peace Corps friends and once at site with my site mates, counterparts and about 30 of my students! We told the students to wear a costume and to bring a pumpkin, and that the rest would be set up by us. So, we got to work. I got some amazing donations from home from my oh-so-wonderful aunt Paulette and my lovely mother, including decorations, candy, and random Halloween supplies. My site mates and I cooked a spider web cake and put together goodie bags. Then, on the day of the party, we all set up the room (which is plain white, with desks and a chalkboard) to look as much like Halloween as possible. The students started showing up early, of course, and were so excited. I was so impressed by the creativity of their costumes especially because they were all soooo nervous about their costumes J. They didn’t have the option of going to a costume store, but to me their costumes were 100 times better. One student even had someone sew him a Dracula costume! The party began with making Jack-O-Lanterns and then proceeded on to snack time. After that we had a “funniest ghost face” and “scariest jack-o-lantern face” drawing contest. We then took many, many pictures and wrapped up the party by choosing from the huge pile of Halloween greeting cards my mom had sent. It was such a success. The students were talking about it for weeks afterward.

October was also the month of good news. I found out that one of my students passed on to the third round of FLEX testing. FLEX is a scholarship program that allows 9th-11th grade students in countries who were part of the former Soviet Union to study abroad in the US for a year. It is a huge deal that he, a student from the village school in Liman, has passed on to this level. So, he did the test and completed the application, and now we have to wait until about March or April to find out if he’s been accepted or not. The applications for the third round are sent to the US to be read. We’re so excited and nervous! The good news is, even if he doesn’t make it, he still has two more years of eligibility. Cross your fingers! The other good news is that I found out I would be going home for Christmas and New Years. My mom called almost in tears one day saying how bad she wanted me home for the holidays, and from that point, it’s all history. Haha. Somehow it worked out that I could come home and spend about two weeks with my friends and family…but more on that later.

In day-to-day news, I continue to be involved with the South Branch of AzETA (Azerbaijani English Teachers Association), which is based in Lankaran. We have a meeting every other Sunday, a book club once a month, a movie club once a month, and conferences twice a year. The most recent movie we watched was The Sound of Music! My favorite! It was a hit, of course. In November, Hiba and I, along with about 10 members from the South Branch attended the International AzETA Conference, held in Baku. There were people from all over, including the US, Great Britain, Iran, Turkey and of course Azerbaijan. It was such a great conference. Azerbaijani teachers got to learn about everything from “how to use music and art in the classroom” to “how to teach lessons on character”, and it was great for me, too. I did not go to university to be a teacher, so any help or extra training I can get is much appreciated. AzETA continues to be one of my favorite things to be a part of in Azerbaijan. I am constantly encouraged by the talent and drive of the teachers involved in this organization.

Also, I have begun to tutor my counterparts on a twice-weekly basis. Our main goal is to improve our speaking skills, and thus increase the amount of English spoken in the classroom. So far, it’s been pretty productive. We’re still trying to figure out the best way to do our tutoring sessions, but if nothing else, it’s an enjoyable time spent with two lovely ladies. FYI, what are counterparts? Peace Corps requires us to not only teach classes, but to also work alongside at least one counterpart. The thought is that if we teach the teachers how to teach using new, interactive teaching methods, our development work will be more sustainable. It is both extremely challenging and extremely rewarding working with counterparts.

School is a daily challenge. Teaching is such a roller coaster. It is very difficult for me to not take teaching personally. I struggle dealing with the emotional burden that teaching brings. True, my students have it better than students in many other places in the world, but they still face huge obstacles just by being a part of the education system here. Let it suffice to say that there are some things that aren’t perfect about it. Of course, in what country is the education system flawless? Our world does not value education like it should. Not even close. Anyway, as Peace Corps volunteers, we try to bring in new, interactive teaching methods, yes, but quite possibly our greatest goal is to simply be a good example. I want students to value being on time, respect each other and their teachers, and enjoy school. If I teach some English along the way, excellent. The new methods we try to implement are just that, new. And new things/changes are hard for children, and even harder for teachers who have taught using the same method for years. So, I say all that to say, I do enjoy teaching, I enjoy seeing the light bulb turn on in my students’ heads when they understand something for the first time, I enjoy seeing them excited about taking a test, and I definitely enjoy it when they give me a standing ovation after I’ve returned from a vacation! J Children are special people, difficult, funny, annoying and lovely all at once. And I could use those same words to describe teaching.

November was when we had the AzETA conference, and also when we had Thanksgiving! The current US Ambassador hosted a dinner for Peace Corps Volunteers at his house in Baku. There were probably about 100 people there and we each brought a dish (I brought mashed potatoes, duh). We had turkey, all kinds of veggies, casseroles, mac-n-cheese, fruit salad, regular salad, bread, and lots of delicious desserts! After we were all thoroughly stuffed, we had a talent show. I, unfortunately, had not prepared anything (I know, I know), but I enjoyed watching my fellow AZ6-ers singing, dancing, and acting. It was such a fun evening and a great way to spend Thanksgiving- not to mention the food was incredible!

Also in November, I made the trip to my host sister’s university in Baku. It is the university of languages, and her major is American Studies and English, with a sort of minor in Spanish. For those of you who know me, you’re probably thinking how ironic that she is my host sister. I agree. Anyway, Johanna and I went, and answered questions about the US. They asked us about everything from idioms (I’m probably the world’s worst person to ask about idioms, I’ve found) to our current and past presidents. I was so impressed by their curiosity and English skills, and it was really encouraging and a pleasure to be around educated, motivated students.

In other day-to-day news, I read an amazing, very touching and difficult-to-read book, Half the Sky. It’s a book about the obstacles women have faced over the years and continue to face today. The book is written by a couple who have been journalists for years and eventually decided to write a book about what they saw in the field and what they feel to be one of the world’s most neglected populations, women. They write about everything from sex slaves to women not having access to education. This is a subject about which I am extremely passionate. I would encourage every person to read this book, and then do something about it. As citizens of the world and especially as Americans, we have great power to make changes. If only we would act towards that change on a regular basis. Anyway, read the book. And then, let me know what your thoughts, opinions or ideas are about it.

And finally…December. December was such an exciting month! We had our final VAC (Volunteer Action Committee) meeting of 2009. The new volunteers had their swearing-in ceremony, which I was lucky enough to attend. The ceremony was a really nice time, with inspirational speeches and lots of energy from newly-sworn-in PCVs. I felt extremely patriotic during the playing of the national anthem and while listening to one of the new volunteers talking about what it means to be an American. What an exciting time for these new volunteers and also for Azerbaijan who has the privilege of accepting this awesome new group of PCVs. Lankaran is excited to welcome two new volunteers as our new site mates. Their names are Aaron, who is from Wisconsin and is a Community Economic Development volunteer, and Eli, who is from Alaska and is a Youth Development volunteer. Lerik, the mountain town close by received a TEFL volunteer, Jessica, and a CED volunteer, Mason. The southern region of Azerbaijan overall received 7 volunteers! We worked hard to get more people in the South because it is such a large and underrepresented region…success! I traveled back to site with all of our new volunteers and enjoyed getting to know them a bit. It was amusing to think back to my own experience moving to site with all my bags and awkward water filter and huge sleeping bag and more!

Before I left for home on December 21st, I found out that the grant I had written for an English Resource Room at my school had been officially approved. YESSSS! It is called a SPA (Small Project Assistance) grant and is a grant sponsored by USAID especially for Peace Corps volunteers. We’ve been approved for a little over $3000 and will use the money to buy computers, technological equipment, furniture, and other supplies. I’m working on the project with my counterparts and students, and am extremely excited to see the finished project. We’re hoping to paint a map of the world on the wall, put up posters and visual aids that we’ve both made and bought, and collect a good amount of books. While I was home, I found that my always amazing aunts had collected books from their friends, co-workers, and neighbors. Unfortunately, we’re still trying to figure out a way to get them over here. Shipping is very expensive and the grant will not pay for shipping from a different country. Sooo, let me take this opportunity to say, if you’d like to make any donation, $1 or $100, I’d be forever grateful. You can contact me for more information (jaclyn.gilstrap@gmail.com).

Well, that's all the energy I have. Next time, I'll write all about being home. Until then... happy days to all of you!

Dancing with Nana at the wedding in Mingechevir. She's my fav.

August 2009

Jale, Me, Khadija at the wedding in Mingechevir.

It was located next to a river- really quite pretty!

August 2009

The view of the Blue Mosque at night (from our guesthouse!)

August 2009

Johanna, Caroline (her mom) and me drinking tea in the huge Turkish bazaar!

We found a guy who had lived in New Orleans for years and decided to move back to Turkey after Hurricane Katrina. He was so fun and sweet, and charmed us with his extremely American accent, but also extremely Turkish-man ways!

August 2009

Johanna and Me on a boat in Boyukada.

August 2009

Well, it's rainy season in Azerbaijan and what that means to me is a lot of mud and frequent power outages! This week alone, I've seen a rainbow and hail for the first time ever in Azerbaijan! But it's also the start of school. School started on September 15th so I'm just now really getting in to teaching lessons. The schedule is a touchy topic, as it is yet to be set in stone, but it must be really difficult to make a schedule for 1,000 students without a computer! This year, I'm looking to teach three 8th grade classes, one 7th grade class and maybe one or two 3rd grade classes :) It's already a lot of work, but the summer definitely gave me a nice break and some extra energy. Although as the weather gets colder and colder, it gets harder and harder to get out of bed in the morning! Oh, and those of you who know my sleeping habits will be SHOCKED to hear that I have taken on three lessons that are in the first hour of the morning, meaning at 8:00am! I don't care what they say, it never gets any easier to wake up in the 7's, especially when it's dark outside!

Last weekend, I traveled to Baku for a VAC (Volunteer Advisory Committee) meeting, which is where a small group of PCVs meet with staff to discuss any problems that PCVs are having in general. It's a great time to work with staff and to be apart of some decision-making processes.

I stayed in Baku afterwards since it was a holiday (end of Ramazan), which turned out to be an excellent decision. I attended a fellow volunteer's photo exhibition opening-- extremely impressive! She had photo camps around Azerbaijan this summer for interested students, and the best photos are on display in the capital for any and all to see!

Then, Johanna, Lexi and I spent the weekend with new friends, eating delicious things like BBQ ribs, Mexican style potatoes-au-gratin, buffalo style chicken, salad with real lettuce and ranch dressing, and some delicious spirits. Eating like this occasionally definitely wards off the cravings! Thanks Brent!

I also finally bought black boots, which I've been looking for ever since last winter.

I'm working on writing a SPA (Small Project Assistance) Program grant to fund an English Resource Room in my school. My director has agreed to giving me a room in our school for me to create this masterpiece. The grant will hopefully cover the costs of buying some furniture, computers, a TV/DVD/VCR, head phones and lots of books! I am really excited about this, and feel that this will be one of my bigger projects during my service. As part of the SPA Program, which is funded by USAID, the organization is required to give at least 20% of funds needed. This 20% can be in cash contributions, items donated, or labor/time donated. My director was really excited about this when I came to him with it, and was more than willing to give 20% of the funds, which I was nervous about. NOW... if YOU (or anyone you know) back in the USA are interested in helping out with this project in any way (host a book drive, send a book or two, send magazines, send computer games for learning English, send markers, or anything else!) please, please, please let me know. I would LOVE to have as much help as possible with designing and creating this resource room.

Next on the list of things to do here is a Halloween party! My students get so excited when talking about Halloween, so I've decided (along with my counterpart, Taliba) to host a Halloween party for interested students. We're hoping to dress up, make masks and have some Halloween-y snacks!

Thursday, October 1st is when our new group arrives in country. They'll be named AZ7- we're AZ6. So far, all I know about them is that there are 60 of them (17 of which are male, 43 of which are female), and there are 3 couples. My site, well the city near my site, Lankaran, is likely to get 2 or 3 new volunteers after they finish training in December! We couldn't be more excited! The new group is coming about one week later than we did last year, and because of that, their training will be cut short. This is due to unfortunate budget cuts within the Peace Corps, already one of the cheapest things the US Federal Government funds!

I'm starting to learn Russian! It's not easy! Russian is very common in Azerbaijan since Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union. In Baku, it is spoken a ton! But in the regions, not so much. Older people generally speaking know Russian, but they are very proud of their Azerbaijani. Many government workers in the capital, Baku, have some (or a lot of) knowledge in the Russian language. I'm mostly looking to be able to read it and have a basic conversation. So far, I've only learned the letters--no easy task. My host sister swears I speak Russian with a Spanish accent! haha. I don't doubt that I probably do :)

Well, that pretty much sums up what's going on for me in-country. I don't have any words of wisdom to offer, unfortunately. But I would like to encourage you to tell people about the Peace Corps, and make it known. I feel like often times, Peace Corps is severly misunderstood. Use this blog as a way to explain it to people. Go to the Peace Corps website for more information. Peace Corps is an organization I truly believe in, an organization that has a hugely positive impact on our world as well as on our country. And I don't think it's given enough credit.

Anyway... this year has been such a great learning experience for me in so many ways! I've grown up a lot. I've gotten older (my half birthday will be in October! haha that was for Olivia). I've even gotten wiser. I've been culturally inappropriate at times (although not purposefully). I've learned from my students, counterparts, and from other Peace Corps Volunteers and Staff. I've traveled. I've nearly frozen to death at times! I've been outside my comfort zone more times than I'd like to admit. I've been homesick! I've laughed a ton and cried some. I've eaten things I never thought I'd eat. I've taught many many Azerbaijanis how to make pizza! I've made incredible friends. I've been adopted by the best family imaginable. I've been criticized and praised. I've been thanked and ridiculed. But through it all, I've stayed positive. I feel so fortunate that I've been given this opportunity to learn about myself and learn about such a rich and beautifully complicated culture, country and people.

I am so excited for what the remaining 15 months have in store for me and for this country. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family and friends for all their incredible support. I would never have made it this far without you all. I miss you all on a daily basis, and think of you often. It is not uncommon for me to get inspiration from thinking about what is going on in your lives, or from emails, letters and packages you send me. I will never be able to thank you properly. Cheers to you all!

September 23, 2009!!!!!

Last Wednesday marked our 1 Year Anniversary in country!

For a really great article, please see my site mate Hiba's blog:

http://hhakam.blogspot.com/2009/09/five-women-in-turkish-sauna.html

** I am a 23 year old female TEFL volunteer in the south of Azerbaijan. This list may not be for everyone, but it should at least give you a good idea. Here are the things that I feel are necessary when packing for 2 years; however, these are only my suggestions.

Jeans: 1-2 pairs, depending on how much you like wearing jeans (I have 3, 2 that I brought and 1 that I accumulated, and I wear them all). Note: dark jeans are best. Don’t worry about them being too tight.

Skirts: 3-4 Bring knee-length or longer. My school allows us to wear pants, but they love it when I wear skirts. Some schools require you to wear skirts. When I wear my really long skirt (ankle-length) I get made fun of, they’d prefer a “fashionable” knee-length, or mid-calf length, but bring what you’re comfortable with as long as that’s not a mini-skirt. During the winter it’s nice to have ankle-length because you can layer underneath it. You will also wear skirts a lot during the summer since girls cannot wear shorts and the weather will be hot.

Dress Pants: 2, black in color (or dark gray/navy blue). I wear my black pants all the time to school! Make sure they’re big enough to wear leggings underneath. It’s important that the black pants are good quality, because they’ll get worn out by wearing them a lot and then hand-washing them.

Leggings: 2, Underarmour is the best brand and has worked wonderfully for me. It gets really cold. During the winter time, the only time I took off my leggings was for my weekly shower. I would wear one pair for one week, and while washing and waiting for them to dry, I would wear my other pair.

Long-sleeved shirts: 2 dark-colored shirts for layering, 2 button-down to wear with skirts and pants to school, and maybe some others for lounging and/or casual wear

Short-sleeved shirts: 5 or more, Summer is hot, and you will sweat a lot! I appreciated having a variety of shirts to change into.

Sweaters: 2-3, You’ll want at least one heavier sweater, and at least one lighter weight sweater.

Tank tops: 2, conservative in style (thick straps, not showing too much chest). In most regions, tank tops are fine. Even if they’re not okay out in public, you’ll want them to wear around your house.

Undershirts: 2-3, They take up very little room, but I always wear one under my clothes- less washing!

Shorts: bring one pair to wear around the house during summer time. DO NOT leave these at home!

Capris: I wish I had 1 pair of capris to wear for the summer. I hate wearing skirts, but it’s too hot to wear pants. Capris are fine by Azeri standards.

House clothes: 1 pair of sweat pants and 2-3 t-shirts. One of the best things about Azerbaijan is that at home, they dress completely for comfort. Embrace this. Bring lounge clothes!

Socks: Many pairs! Bring nice, thick socks, but also bring thin socks for layering. It’s worth it to spend the extra money to get quality wool socks, it makes a huge difference in the winter. My favorite brand is Smartwool (a little pricey but worth it!).

Tights: 5 pairs, bring wool tights as well as thick black tights to wear with skirts and to use for layering. Remember that tights get holes pretty often.

Underwear: Many pairs! I have about 15 pairs and I’m always wanting new ones. They get really warn out by washing them constantly. Hand-washing takes a toll on underwear.

Bras: 2-4, including one sports bra. Bras also get really sweaty in the summer time and worn out by hand-washing!

Shoes: 1 pair running/tennis shoes. 1 pair flat sandals and/or flip flops. 1-2 pairs black closed-toe flats that can be casual as well as dressy. 1 pair of dressy boots, with heels or flat (Azeri’s prefer heels, and won’t understand if you wear flats as a girl, but do what you’re comfortable with). If you like hiking, bring hiking boots (although I would suggest waiting on this and possibly having them shipped). I would also suggest bringing a nice pair of slippers for the winter- you’ll wear these around the house 100% of the time- if this doesn’t fit, there is the possibility of getting them here fairly cheap.

Coat: 1 pea-coat type (heavy), 1 NorthFace style casual coat/jacket, and possibly a sweatshirt to wear around the house and in casual situations. One light weight sweater to wear when it’s cool but not cold enough for a coat.

Hat: 1 baseball cap, 1 toboggan/beanie/whatever you call it. Azeri people do not wear toboggans and they will look at you funny if you do, but do it anyway. It will keep you warm. Also bring gloves and scarves for cold weather.

Linens: 1 towel, 1 flat sheet, 1 wash cloth

Other: umbrella, jewelry, purse, hair ties, a couple of books, journal, small backpack or overnight bag, toothbrush, glasses (2 pairs), sunglasses, adapters, Tide pen (!!), a pocket knife (I use mine all the time), nail clippers, a foot scrubber

Supplies: It’s nice to have some school supplies to start out with, for making visual aids and such. I would suggest 1 duct tape, 1 pack of construction paper, 1 package of markers, 1 Elmer’s glue

Electronics: I find my laptop to be an absolute must. If you don’t have one, think of investing in a used one. I mostly use it for Microsoft Word, watching movies, and occasionally internet. If you don’t want to bring a computer, I would still highly suggest bringing a portable DVD player. It’s also nice to have a USB drive as well as an external hard drive. My two favorite things I have in country are my mp3 player and my head lamp! Bring a small flashlight, too. A camera is a must. Don’t forget to bring any battery chargers and maybe an extra set of batteries for any electronics you bring.

Toiletries: (enough to get you started, you can get most everything here): make-up (if you wear it), face lotion, body lotion, deodorant (I love my America deodorant! I’d bring extra of this.), toothpaste, shampoo, a razor, soap, contacts and contact solution (if you wear them. Remember Peace Corps does not help out with contacts, only glasses), 1 package of baby wipes (a lifesaver during winter months where showering is rare), face wash, comb/brush

Feminine Care: Peace Corps gives ob tampons, panty liners and pads. You can get tampons with cardboard applicators if you ask for them. No plastic applicator tampons so if you like plastic, bring them.

Luggage: I would suggest bringing 1 large rolling suitcase, 1 small rolling suitcase, 1 small/medium sized backpack and 1 purse. OR 1 large rolling suitcase, 1 large backpack (with a much smaller one stuffed inside) and 1 purse. If you can pack in less than this, good for you. (Note: do not leave home without some sort of backpack!) Otherwise, just get ready for carrying your luggage from one place to another to be a pain in the ass. Everyone will be in the same situation.

**General note on clothing**

Here is a summary of things I wish people had told me about clothes before I came. Do not dress frumpy. This is not okay by Azeri standards. Yes, we must dress more conservatively than we might in the US, but this does not mean frumpy, grandma style. They will respect you more if you look sharp. Think of how you might dress for a job interview. Also, for women, they love it when you wear “stylish” things. Other teachers are constantly commenting on my earrings or shoes. Azeris do not mind if you wear tight clothes (to an extent), they’re more worried about you showing too much skin (knees, chest, and back mainly), so you do not need to worry about bringing all loose-fitting clothes or buying things in sizes bigger than you wear. Don’t bring all black or dark colored clothes. You’ll want some color. I keep my pants and skirts dark-colored, but I love my colorful shirts. During the winter, most people choose one or two (max) outfits to wear during a week. Azeris wear the same outfit pretty much the entire season, and although it may seem gross now, you, too, will be wearing the same outfit most of the time, so don’t worry so much about bringing a variety of clothes. Bring the necessities and a few extras to keep you comfortable.

**Other**

- Bring stuff to do! You will be really bored sometimes. I would suggest some kind of Sudoku or Word Puzzle book, a deck of cards and/or a hobby (yarn and needles for knitting/cross-stitching, stuff for painting, whatever!). Also, it’s nice to have some stationary/paper for writing letters. You can get envelopes and paper here, but I’d bring some with you. Bring a couple of books, but know that there are tons of books in the Peace Corps lounge. Also bring any of your favorite DVDs- this is also something that doesn’t take up much room but that can provide you with much entertainment!

- If you like spicy foods at all, bring spices/hot sauce/spicy mustard/etc. They do not have any spicy food!! If there’s any particular spice you’re really addicted to, bring that as well.

- Bring pictures! Bring a few of your family and friends for yourself and to show to others. It’s also nice to have pictures of your house, your car, your university, the grocery store, a US classroom, the street, etc. Azeri people love to compare things! And these can be great teaching tools.

- I brought a light blanket that can fold up really small, and it has been extremely useful (but isn’t a must).

- You should bring gifts for your host families (there will be 2). Gifts should be inexpensive and small. Good ideas are magnets/postcards/books about your state or university, American candy, small toys, kitchen items, hand lotion, etc.

- If you have anything that makes you feel at home or comfortable, bring it. I love my small, soft blanket and my own pillow.

- Maps are great teaching tools, but also make for great decorations in your room.

- An exercise band doesn’t take up much room and is nice. Some people even brought a workout DVD. Working out can be a great stress-reliever, and who knows, maybe you’ll start an exercise class for people in your community?!

-A small stash of your favorite candy (especially if you like sour things).

- Note on coffee: there is only instant coffee here, so if you’re a coffee addict, bring the necessary things for that.

- Crystal light packets are good for putting in bottled water.

Things I wish I hadn’t brought: any kind of medication or medical supplies (except I love my vitamin C pills), a rain jacket, hiking boots (have them shipped if you find you need/want them), clothes that need to be ironed, stuff for when I moved out on my own, conditioner (although I used conditioner daily in the US, I just don’t wash my hair enough to use it here), floss (Peace Corps will give it to you).

You never know what will get you through the day. Today, it was this collection of "Adult Bedtime Poems"... I hope you find them as uplifting as I did.

Without further ado:

Bedtime Poems (for the not so little children):

MARY HAD A LITTLE PIG,

She kept it fat and plastered;

And when the price of pork went up,

She shot the little bastard.

MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB

His wool was black as soot

And into Mary's bread and jam

His sooty foot he put.

MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB

Her father shot it dead.

Now it goes to school with her,

Between two hunks of bread.

JACK AND JILL Went up the hill

To have a little fun

Stupid Jill forgot the pill

And now they have a son.

JACK AND JILL Went up the hill

Each one had a quarter

Jill came down with fifty cents

They didn't go up for water.

SIMPLE SIMON met a Pie man

Going to the fair.

Said Simple Simon to the Pie man,

"What have you got there?"

Said the Pie man unto Simon,

"Pies, you dumb ass!"

HUMPTY DUMPTY sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the kings' horses,

And all the kings' men.

Had scrambled eggs,

For breakfast again.

HEY DIDDLE, DIDDLE

The cat took a piddle,

All over the bedside clock.

The little dog laughed to see such fun.

Then died of electric shock.

GEORGIE PORGY Pudding and Pie,

Kissed the girls and made them cry.

And when the boys came out to play,

He kissed them too 'cause he was gay.

THERE WAS A LITTLE GIRL

Who had a little curl

Right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good,

She was very, very good.

But when she was bad...

She got a fur coat, jewels, a waterfront condo and a sports car.

I'M A LITTLE TEAPOT

Short and stout.

Here is my handle,

Here is my... oh shit, I'm a sugarbowl.

LITTLE MISS MUFFET

Sat on a tuffet

Eating her curds and whey.

Along came a spider

And sat down beside her

And said... "Watcha got in the bowl bitch?"

LITTLE MISS MUFFET

Sat on a tuffet

Eating her curds and whey.

Along came a spider

And sat down beside her

And she beat the hell out of the spider with her spoon.

Thailand. Buddha statue right on the street.

My 23rd Birthday. My students surprised me with a party complete with decorations, cake and tea! The board read, "Happy Brit-day!"

I took my students to the local park that girls literally never go to. Pushing the boundaries!

Me digging for potatoes with my host mom in our backyard garden!

Me, Johanna and Lexi at the soccer game in Baku! There weren't bathrooms for women... that was an adventure :D

I would like to send out an enormous Thank You to everyone who helped out with Summer Camp 2009 in Lankaran, Azerbaijan. It was a huge success, and it could not have been possible without you all.

Jane and I have sent out Thank You notes to those of you who donated to our Peace Corps Partnership Program grant, and allowed your information to be released to us. However, we know for a fact that some people donated and did not release their information. Thank You to those of you. We would love to know your identity so if you did not receive a Thank You note from one of us, or if you don’t receive it in the next two weeks or so (developing country postal system, be patient!), please email us to let us know that you donated to the site so that we can properly and personally thank you. My email address is jaclyn.gilstrap@gmail.com.

Again, thank you so much for your continued support. It was incredible for me to see people from literally every part of my past donating to this camp including coworkers, friends, family members and even some people I will meet in the future. I am extremely encouraged by your ability to see the same vision for the world, and specifically for my community here in Azerbaijan, that I have. I urge you to continue to support other community workers in any way possible, or become one yourself. This world sure could use more people like you!

Thank you. Teshekur edirik.

Warning: This is quite a lengthy blog, but it is a wealth of information so push forward.

TURKEY:

The first week of August was a glorious week for me. I spent it vacationing in Turkey with a fellow PCV (Johanna) and her mom (Caroline) visiting from America. We spent half of our time in Istanbul and the other half on an island called Büyükada about two hours away from Istanbul by boat.

Our goal of the trip was to relax, be lazy and simply enjoy ourselves in any and every situation, and I feel 200% sure that we accomplished just that. In Istanbul, our time was dedicated to taking walks, people watching, Starbucks, decent wine, delicious food and sleep in an air-conditioned room! We visited the historical and awe-inspiring Blue Mosque, spending a long time on the inside, taking it all in, watching people and enjoying the simplicity and peacefulness of its interior. We did not go inside the huge church that faces the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sofia, because it was too expensive. Instead, we sat outside, reading about it and appreciating its beauty and historical importance from a distance. One full day was spent at the famous Istanbul bazaar, which proved to be quite the entertaining experience. The salesmen at that bazaar have really got their pitches down! Here are a couple of our favorite examples:

Us: “Excuse me, how much is this scarf?”

Salesman: “20 lira, but let me see your eyes…”

>>PAUSE

The following is a list compiled by a fellow PCV, Katie Preston, (with a few additions of my own) of the day-to-day glorious things that happen to us in Azerbaijan. The things on this list (and more) actually literally happen to all of us, all the time. They make up the stories that we tell each other to keep us going and positive during tough times. We like to call these our “special experiences”. K Enjoy.

ONLY IN AZERBAIJAN…

· can your landlord come to your house, unannounced, with a giant blue tarp and ask you to climb up a giant tree and shake the hell out of every branch possible until every last mulberry drops down. Then, he will take all the mulberries and leave

· will an old man or woman repeatedly call you “English”, even after correcting them a dozen times that you are not in fact English, but American

· will a completely random woman hand you her toddler while she stands on a bus

· does a car completely packed with watermelons on the roof as well as packed in the trunk and back seat (or peaches, or pomegranates, or apples, etc.) pass you on the highway with oncoming traffic ahead

· will your landlord come over, again unannounced, with two random Asian people and tell you that they will be living in the guest house in the backyard that has been locked for the entire time of your residence. Furthermore, these Asian people do not speak English or Azeri

· will you see three little boys (no older than five) kicking around what looks like a ball, but in reality is a baby chicken

· will random truck drivers pick up hitch hikers, and once in the cabin, the truck drivers will share shots of vodka with his passengers, tell them stories about the rifle that’s in clear view in the back seat, all while ignoring a police car that is in pursuit of them

· will you spend five hours watching wedding videos and looking at wedding pictures, all while drinking endless (literally, ENDless) cups of tea

· will your landlord’s 50-year-old sister (who lies in Baku) randomly show up at your house with her husand and say, “We’re here for a funeral; we will sleep here for the weekend”

· will you spend three consecutive hours with your fly swatter in hand to murder any fly w hose buzz disturbs your silence (or mosquito!)

· will your brand new host mother peer pressure you into snorting a shot of vodka to help with a stuffy nose- oh, and said host mother is a nurse at the local hospital.

· does your landlord ask her son to kill your cat

· can you say with a straight face and truly mean it, “I need more bedazzles, ASAP”

· does the Baku International Airport staff offer to take you home for the next two days until you can find a flight to Paris that actually exists

· do you see people reuse disposable diapers

· does a police officer respond to your complaints of a stalker by saying, “Maybe one day- God willing- he will become your husband”

· is it “cute” that a two-year-old child chases after you with a sharp knife, seriously trying to stab you with it

· can you marry your cousin and everyone be perfectly fine with it (and actually, they’re more than fine with it, it’s the ideal situation)

· will a strange woman you just met five minutes prior pull up your skirt to see if you have “proper child bearing underwear” on

· will strangers pet your hair while you ride on a bus

· do you get forced into staying up till 4 am watching videos of birthday parties for people you have never even heard of, let alone met

· does a computer repair man ask, “what is a motherboard?”

· will your host mom, after knowing you for only two days, grab both of your breasts in front of your husband to make sure you are both aware of the importance of breastfeeding

· will people insist that because you are an American, you do not actually speak English

· will an absolute stranger in a cab ask you to their home for fish and vodka and tea

· will a cop give you a free ride to a historical graveyard, speeding, tailgating, hand-break turning and running stop signs all the way

· do parents have children use a wooden pipe-like item 10 inches long to pee into a container through the slats of the cribs

· do you get off a marshrutka (small bus) and someone has paid your fare

· does an old shopkeeper mumble on about Shirvans (the old money) as he figures your bill on an abacas

· can you walk down a busy public street and find open manholes with people walking, biking and skating around them as if nothing is wrong

· can women invite you for tea and ask you how many abortions you have had

· can you follow all the rules about women having nothing to do with strange men in this country, then get on a night train and find out you are staying with three men in a four person cabin

· will you find old ladies wearing knee-high fishnet hose, or even fishnet footies with slide on flats.

and a few of my own…

· will you go guesting and the family asks you to prove your religion

· will you see one pair of jeans that are both Gucci and Chanel

· will the man who works at the post office ask you to send him cigarettes from America (cigarettes here start at about 20 cents and the most expensive brand is about 1 dollar)

· will foreigners automatically be assumed to be Russian

· will Azerbaijani people continue to speak to you in Russian, even after you have explained in perfect Azeri that you do not speak Russian…4 times

· will you go to the salon expecting to get your hair straightened for a wedding and come out with 4 inches less hair. Did I mention that you did not want or ask for a haircut, and even said you were not interested in a haircut? The stylist decided to cut it while your head was facing down and you could not see what she was doing.

· will you be considered the special guest at a luncheon, and forced to sit at the head of the table in front of everyone so they can watch you eat, just because you are a native English speaker

· will the groom’s wedding and the bride’s wedding be separate, neither one attending the other’s

· do most taxi drivers have a small bottle of vodka in the dash

· do boys get circumcised when they’re 9 years old (and sometimes older!)

· can you walk around and see tons of hypodermic needles and know that most of them are not from illegal drugs- people buy them from the pharmacy and find a neighbor who is/was/wants to be a nurse to inject them with antibiotics, etc.

· will stores close early because the worker is attending a wedding

I am incredibly appreciative of what the military does for our country. I think anyone who is in the military makes an incredible sacrifice for our country, often affecting far more people than just themselves. Families and friends of people in the military have it the hardest, no doubt. I can't imagine sending a son or daughter or a brother or sister off to war, never knowing what might happen.

My question is: Are other forms of service to our country seen in the same light? And if not, what is the general opinion of organizations such as Peace Corps, Foreign Service, etc?

I definitely know how I feel about all of the things and people mentioned above, but I'm curious to hear what other people think?

Two weeks of summer camp down, only one to go. Although I’m exhausted from camp and from being around 120 kids everyday, I’m truly sad to see this camp coming to an end. The kids have enjoyed every single minute of it, even when it was blazing hot and they were getting tanner (tan is despised here) they didn’t complain. They wore smiles on their faces even when they were hungry and tired at the end of the day. They have inspired me and all of the other Peace Corps Volunteers working with them. It’s incredible to watch them trying new things, doing things out of their comfort zones, learning how to be creative and meeting new friends. If you’ve worked with kids before, you’ll know what I mean when I say that they give off this intense energy that is so contagious to everyone around.

The first week was Environmental Awareness Week, where we did everything from a nature hunt to planting plants in recycled bottles, from a trash pick up to building a trash monster from the week’s worth of recycled materials. And get this… 100 students picked up 436 bags of trash on trash pick up day! That’s something to brag about, for sure.

The second week was Sports and Games Week, where we played kickball, wiffle ball, Old Maid, Spoons and even Yahtzee. These were all so new, and the best thing they’d ever done…that is, until we had Field Day on Thursday. It started out slow with a dreaded 3-legged race, shot up to hilarious with the wheel barrow race and got insane and off the Richter scale with the water balloon toss and the proceeding water balloon fight! Those kids have never experienced such freedom and adrenaline in their lives, I assure you of that. It was amaaaazing. We all left the field happy and soaking wet. The few that didn’t get hit with a balloon were feeling extremely left out and depressed. On our weekly evaluation forms, we actually got back about 5 forms that said the worst part about camp was that they didn’t get hit with a balloon. Aww pobrecitos. 

Next week is Arts and Crafts Week, where we’ll make God’s Eyes, popsicle stick picture frames, friendship bracelets, tye dye t-shirts, still life pictures and homemade play dough, to name a few. I’m excited to see what these kids will think up! When we give them permission to be creative and allow them to think outside of the box, it’s amazing how quickly they catch on to the idea. It’s also very encouraging. In the schools here, they are taught to stick to the straight and narrow. Thus, one of our main goals at camp is to break those suffocating boxes and let their imaginations and creativity run wild!

Now, besides camp, there are actually other things going on, believe it or not. I have had a lot of time to hang out with the host fam. My host sister who typically studies in Baku is home for the summer. She studies American Studies, English and Spanish. I’ve been helping her perfect her speaking skills, teaching her how to apply for a job (résumé, cover letter, application, etc.) and also learning a lot from her about being myself in this community. I’ve gotten so incredibly close with all of my three host sisters and my host mom, and cannot even think about what it will be like to leave them when the time comes. One of the things we often do is go to the sea, the Caspian. We go around 4:00 in the afternoon and come home around 7:30 pm. It is quite the experience. I appreciate so much just being near water, it’s easy to block out the “crazy”. The beach has black sand, and there are waves. There’s a lot of trash (food, wrappers, etc.) on the beach. Men and women have separate beaches. I’m not sure what the men do or wear, but many of the women wear pants and shirts, or perhaps a night gown type thing, or any other clothes. Few women wear bathing suits. Kids go naked or topless. My host family and I all wear bikinis. I have had to borrow a friend’s bathing suit because I didn’t bring one. It’s a tankini, and my host family keeps giving me shit about it, telling me not to be embarrassed, and why am I wearing something so conservative!? haha. Another interesting thing is that my tattoo shows when I wear a bathing suit. My fam has never seen it, and the Azi’s are all shocked. Women in this country would never dare have a tattoo so when they see mine, it’s like SHOCK! SHOCK! I’ve tried to listen in, and I’ve heard both positive and negative reviews. My family likes it, that’s all I care about.  What I do here is refer to my sister, saying she has more than me. haha, sorry Sara, I gotta get the attention off of me somehow, and by now they expect you to be a little wild and free.

One more piece of news. After camp, and after the Beer Olympics that my friend is hosting as a Bon Voyage party for the AZ5’s (the group that came a year before my group- they leave the first week of September), I’m headed to TURKEY! I cannot wait. I’m going with my bestie, Johanna and her mom, who’s coming to visit, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ll be there for a week, and plan on relaxing a lot, shopping a good bit, and eating well. Cheers to Turkey! After that, I’m going to my host fam’s cousin’s wedding in Mingechevir (a city in Azerbaijan)! I’m busy and loving it. I’ll spend August and the first two weeks of September getting ready for this school year, making visual aids, writing a grant for an English Resource Room (Inshallah!) and maybe having a teacher training workshop or something. We shall see.

Until next time, I’d like to end with a list or three because lists help keep me sane in life. Yaxşı Yol!

Things and people that inspire me at the moment:

- watching my kids at camp

- erin barksdale

- t.d. proctor

- fans (not the screaming kind)

- water balloons

- the mere thought of sushi that once was and that will again be

- visual aids

- AZ 6

- my dreams, day and nighttime ones

- the introduction of Coca Cola Light to Azerbaijan

Things and people that inspire me always:

- my family, especially my sister, my mom and my aunts

- peace

- driving with windows down, music up

- laughing till it hurts

- Chapel Hill

- katherin mcfarland

- traveling

- ambition without apology

- fearlessness

Things that interfere with me being inspired:

- mosquitos

- insomnia

- addiction

- war

- death

- corruption

**This is an article I wrote for our Peace Corps Azerbaijan newsletter, the Azlander! Enjoy :)

July 6, 2009: Yay Camp, Day 1 (dun dun dunnn)

8:00 am: Jaclyn wakes up in her village home to Jane’s energetic, “morning person” text about camp, reminding Jaclyn what she’s to do today. Jane has been awake since 4:59 am.

8:10 am: A student arrives an hour and a half early at Jaclyn’s host family’s house. Jaclyn sends her 11 year old host sister to deal with this Anxious Annie. Jane starts and finishes calling all 150 of her students reminding them of the camp today.

8:20 am: Jaclyn actually gets out of bed. Jane has already made a trip to the local Lankaran Starbucks, read the newspaper, and finished the NYT crossword puzzle…twice.

8:45 am: Jaclyn has now eaten breakfast and sent some text messages. Jane has woken up the PCVs at her house with the smell of fresh bacon and pancakes, as well as a happy wake up song.

9:00 am: Jaclyn has on clothes and even one eye of mascara. Success. Jane has given everyone in her house makeovers, including Josh. That stache will have a special shine to it today.

9:10 am: Jaclyn receives a call from her driver that he’s gonna be 30 minutes early, if that’s okay. Jaclyn is confused, but gives in hesitantly. Jane is in the middle of a first-day-pep-talk with the PCVs, which includes props and scratch-n-sniff stickers.

9:20 am: Jaclyn, feeling anxious and still confused, takes a 5-minute power nap before heading out. Jane is headed to her school, 7 PCVs in-hand.

9:30 am: Jaclyn arrives at her school in Liman, to a crowd of smiling, excited, scary-looking kids. Jane has set up the check-in, prepared all the classrooms, and even dealt with her apprehensive director and the cleaning ladies.

9:45 am: Jaclyn finally leaves Liman, only 3 kids short. She warned them she wouldn’t wait… what a badass. To make up for the shortage of students, two mothers have deemed it necessary to come as well, complete with picnic and annoying infant. Jane is putting out the proverbial fires, organizing groups, and changing the temperature by giving into Kat’s desire to lead the students and other PCVs in an environmental “cold” dance (you know, like a rain dance, but to bring cold breezes instead)

10:00 am: Jaclyn and her village group arrive at School #10 in Lankaran. Jane is singing the Teetaneec (aka Titanic) song to calm students down, and wow them.

10:20 am: As planned, camp is off to an awesome start. Students are so anxious and excited. PCVs are freaking out about the heat but elated to be surrounded by 100 Azi children-duh. J

Yay Camp, the 2nd Edition, has begun in Lankaran! This year we expect about 180 students (yikes!), both from Lankaran School #10, as well as Liman village School #1. Jane and I are so excited to have so much help coming from every single area of Azerbaijan- Qazax, Zaqatala, Agcabedi, Xacmaz, Goycay, etc etc. We could not be more thankful to the PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) coming; this camp simply would not happen without them. We also have about 15 extremely talented Azerbaijani Student Leaders, who will be invaluable to the camp and the PCVs. The three weeks include an Environmental Week (July 6-9), a Sports/Games Week (July 13-16) and an Arts/Crafts Week (July 20-23), everyday beginning at 10am and finishing at 2pm. During these weeks, we have activities of all shapes and sizes planned- everything from planting plants to building a trash monster, from a Wiffle Ball tournament to a Field Day, from making God’s (Evil) eyes to tye-dye t-shirts, wrapping it all up with a ceremony for the students’ parents, friends, and directors.

Even though Jane is an annoyingly self-proclaimed morning person, I have really enjoyed working together with her planning such an intense event, and it’s so rewarding to see it all finally coming together! Maybe some of that morning-ness will rub off on me, and I’ll at least get used to the fact that I have to wake up in the 8’s for the next three weeks. I have a feeling that anyone who has ever been my co-worker, friend, mother, sister, aunt, etc. is doubting that this will EVER happen! :)

Okay, as of today only $152 left. Thank You all so so much. If you haven't donated and would rather donate supplies instead, email me at jaclyn.gilstrap@gmail.com

Also, here's an informative and somewhat depressing article about the United Nations Human Rights Council that mentions Azerbaijan if this kind of stuff interests you. This is exactly the kind of stuff that gets me going, gets me all worked up and passionate (ooo la laa)...in case you were wondering :)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/opinion/11havel.html?_r=1

ONLY $417 left!!

Please help us out. Tell all your friends. There's so little left to raise.

Here's the link to Summer Camp in Azerbaijan

THANK YOU!

The school year in Azerbaijan ends on May 31st with a big celebration called the "last bell". The students are so excited to not have to go to school for another 3 1/2 months; they're just as excited as students in the US. When I think back to my summer "vacations", all I can remember is that there was something to do every single day, whether that be going to Carowinds, making trips to go see my Grandparents in South Carolina, cookouts, going to Myrtle Beach, church camps, sports camps, or just hanging out at the pool with friends and family. I would imagine many of you remember the same sorts of things.

The children in Azerbaijan do not have any of this to look forward to. Sure, they don't have to go to school, and yes maybe they'll go visit a family member in Baku or make a day trip to the sea, but for the most part, these kids are sitting at home watching TV or playing with their neighbors in the yard. While being lazy is great for about 15 minutes... they quickly get bored!

SO...

My friend Jane and I have decided to do a Summer Camp for these students in July of this year. Let me assure you that the idea of a summer camp is something these kids have NEVER even heard of! And yet...they could not be more excited about it! Jane orchestrated this camp last year by herself at her school in Lankaran (the city close-by), and this year we're working together so that the kids from my village of Liman can participate too! We'll have three weeks of camp: an Environmental Week, a Sports Week and an Arts & Crafts Week.

And here's where YOU come in.

I need your help.

We need money. We need money for camp supplies, for fans (no A/C here!), and most of all for transportation. I will have to transport my students from Liman to Lankaran (about a 30 minute drive) everyday, and I do not want these kids to have to pay. I don't want one single obstacle to get in the way of these students being able to participate in the camp, giving them something constructive to do during their summer vacation. The transportation will be about 80 cents per day per student, which sounds like so little, but can really add up over a three week period of time. A lot of the money we raise will go to buying arts and sports supplies that just don't exist in Azerbaijan, and to the shipping costs we will rack up in getting them over here. I have already been spreading the word about camp. Believe it or not some of the childrens' parents will not allow them to go, all of them girls. I cannot begin to explain how disappointing this is for me. However, I must say, it makes me want to work even harder for the children who will be able to go. And I need your help with that.

How can you contribute? Good question...

"For it is in giving that we receive" (St. Francis of Asissi) :)

Jane and I have been approved for a Peace Corps Partnership Program grant. This is an excellent opportunity that Peace Corps has set up for PC Volunteers' friends, family members, and other communities back home in the US get involved and support the Volunteer they know doing projects abroad. All you have to do is go to the website that Peace Corps has set up for us and give the amount that you can afford. Now, I know there is an economic crisis going on, but any little bit counts. I encourage you to tell your own friends, family members, co-workers, neighbors etc. about this opportunity.

Here's the link!

PCPP- Summer Camp in Azerbaijan

Let me just say thank you, right now, in advance, for the contributions you will make to this project. I will be forever grateful and so will the students and their families in Azerbaijan.

Check it out! I'm published! :)

http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/enewsletter/archives/may09b.cfm?cid=wwsaskvol

World Wise Schools (WWS) is the program that sets Peace Corps Volunteers up with classrooms and teachers in the US for an awesome opportunity of cultural exchange. They asked a bunch of volunteers about Mother's Day in their individual countries, and my response was one of the ones chosen. Enjoy!

Plov and birthday celebrations are things I really love about Azerbaijan.

Whenever people comment on my blog, they always say I sound so upbeat and like I'm having a great time. Although I am having a fabulous time and enjoy being in the Peace Corps, I don't want to give off the impression that everything is really easy for us here. So, I thought I'd write a list of things I miss to give you a little insight...

1. my family, duh

2. my friends, duh

3. convenience

4. cell phone plans, i HATE pay as you go!

5. sushi sushi sushi

6. fast food

7. hot sauce

8. cooking occasionally

9. exercising occasionally

10. driving (with the windows down and music up)

11. related to driving, i miss my car and its moon roof

12. bagels and cream cheese

13. taco bell

14. going out to dinner

15. going out to a movie

16. going out in general

17. technology (easy access to internet mostly)

18. western toilets

19. real showers

20. going shopping

21. my own place

22. my social and night life

23. hanging out with my sister

24. deep conversations and deep relationships

25. coffee

26. my VICES. yes, I do have them.

27. sitting and talking for hours over wine

28. my iPod

29. my blond hair and good hair cut (and days at the salon with my sistah!)

30. Sunday night stir, Monday night library, Thursday night deep end and every other night topo

31. Mill Creek

32. Sports and women being interested in sports

33. productivity and real work (sadly i do miss this at times)

34. washing machines

35. bad TV and lifetime movies

I have come to appreciate these things immensely, but I also know now that I can live without them. Although I certainly feel empty at times without the people I love and yes sometimes even the things I love, I am becoming a better person having to live without them.

I also want to take this time to thank the people that have supported me up to this point in my life and in my Peace Corps service, and those that will in the future. Your phone calls, letters, emails and facebook messages have meant more to me than I will ever be able to express. Thank You.

Now, go drink a glass of wine, eat Mexican food and talk all night on your phones for me, then go take a nice shower! :)

Cheers!

My nana. She came from Mingechevir to visit for a couple weeks. I love this woman. It's mutual. She thinks I'm hilarious and calls me Nasti (not nasty, but more like nastuh haha), the same thing she calls her 2 year old granddaughter. One month later, she still has not left, that's how strong our bond is. :) Here she is preparing for Novruz. All the families have that little mini table for rolling out dough, etc. I must get one!

This is called a honcha, which means tray. All the families prepare them for Novruz. You put as many candles as their are people, and whoever's candle burns out the quickest... well, let's just say, that's not so good. On it are sweets, colorful eggs, nuts, popcorn, fruit, etc. And in the middle is the semeni, my favorite symbol of Novruz. It's supposed to signify Spring and new life and all that. Isn't it pretty?

My family and I sitting down to eat our Novruz meal. Nana did the cooking- sooo delicious!

Bangs! Fringe! чёлка!

After I went to throw my hat at my neighbor's house, she invited me in to see her new chickies. So cute! They were all piled on top of each other in the box for warmth. Precious.

Jala, Me and Khadija on Women's Day in Baku.It's an international holiday you know... At my counterpart's house, preparing the fires.

Me jumping over the 7 fires! Such an adrenaline rush. Sounds lame, I know, but it was scary!

Me jumping over the fire at my host family's house. This picture is mostly for my sister.

First and foremost, GO TARHEELS! NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, AGAIN! I am so incredibly jealous that I’m not in Chapel Hill to celebrate this awesome time with my friends there, but I’m also so excited for those that are there! It just reminds me of my freshman year at UNC when, only a short time ago, they won that same Championship! J I hope Megan Warren or Johnelle are reading this blog because they certainly remember some of the “affects” of that wonderful night of celebration! It’s been a very, very long time since I’ve written. And I’m happy to say that’s because I’ve been very busy with English clubs, for both students and teachers, as well as so many other activities I have going on in different areas of my life here. One of the most time-consuming but also most important and even enjoyable activities is guesting. I’ve been going to birthday parties, Novruz Holiday celebrations, family get-togethers and don’t forget the tea parties in my school director’s office! I’m also working with an organization here called AzETA (Azerbaijani English Teacher’s Association) that helps English teachers and university students who are going to school to be English teachers improve their English, learn new teaching methods, and just learn about being part of an organization. We have regular meetings, a movie club and a book club that are all associated with our branch of AzETA. We’re even having an Open house in a couple of weeks, celebrating our one-year anniversary! Event planning is an event in and of itself in this country! J Another thing that was keeping me busy for a while is that I was chosen (slash I kind of volunteered and no one else wanted the position) to be Secretary for our Volunteer Action Committee (VAC). That basically means a lot of note-taking, and making sure they’re all correct for when I send them to the rest of my group. However, since we have a new Country Director, it also means a lot of negotiation and conversation with her figuring out how the new boss likes things to be for our meetings and for our group. So far, so good. The thing about communication over here is that the Internet connection becomes overloaded by people dialing the same connection number at about 5:30 pm and stays busy until about midnight. Well, unfortunately, that’s the only time I’m at home and I definitely try to be in bed by midnight. So, internet time gets complicated. Azerbaijan did just recently get calling cards! Congratulations, AZB! So, calling will be a little easier, but still pretty expensive. Send me your phone numbers anyway! Although things with my work are going pretty smoothly, it’s a very slow moving process, and there are definitely challenges. Most of my friends who have been here longer say that their second year is where most of the action happens. One of the hardest things for me is the idea of “permission”. In Azerbaijan there’s a program called FLEX that sends high school students to the US to study for a year. Most of the time, the only ones that pass the requirements for the program come from the capital or one of the three bigger cities in Azerbaijan. I really want to have a small group of girls from my village get together to learn/study/improve their English skills and practice for the FLEX test, but so far none of the girls’ families have given them permission to come to the group, much less to the US for a year. It’s really hard for me to see them so disappointed, and yet see that they knew that’s what was going to happen, and they somehow always walk away with a smile. Another girl came home late from my club the other day, and now her family does not give her permission to come. These kinds of strict rules are very normal for the culture over here, but I have not given up trying to get around it. I will simply need to find other ways to encourage my girls to see the world. One of the biggest things that has happened in the last month or so is Novruz Holiday. This is Azerbaijan’s biggest holiday, and it was so fun! I am told that the best place to celebrate Novruz holiday in Azerbaijan is in the South, so I’m happy I was here for that. On Novruz, everyone cooks a TON of sweets, my favorite of which is of course paklava/baklava. On the Tuesday of Novruz week, everyone jumps over 7 not so small fires made from small stacks of hay (never could find the meaning of this); I swore I was going to burn to pieces. Another tradition is for girls to pull a piece of their hair, tie it around a ring, dip it into a glass of water, pull it out and let it swing back and forth until it stops hitting the edge of the glass- however many times it hits the class is how old you will be when you get married. My answer was 27 (yikes, only 4 years left!). I thought 27 was a pretty good number, but my counterpart’s family was really concerned. They wanted to do it again! But I assured them that I was okay with that, and that I was not going to be an old maid. After eating dinner on Novruz Eve, that Friday, kids and Americans go to their neighbors’ houses to “throw their hats”. This is basically a scheme. Haha. They go throw their hat, the neighbor hears the hat being thrown and puts sweets, nuts, and sometimes even money in the hat! One of my students got 20 Manat (close enough to $20) from one of his neighbors! I got 2 Manat and a lot of fruit and sweets- excellent for keeping my super slim figure. Haha. Another thing they do is they go listen to their neighbors’ houses that same night. If you hear good words being said, your wish will come true; if you hear bad words, well you should just go to another neighbor’s house! Haha. All I heard were the TV’s that are on the same volume as a rock concert, in every single house, no lie. The next few days, everyone is visiting everyone else and it’s just a big party of the neighbor families. Novruz was incredibly interesting to me, and a really fun holiday. Some of my favorite things about Azerbaijan are the ancient ancient ancient traditions and customs, especially for holidays. It’s so fascinating being apart of such an old and rich culture. The next few months will be extremely busy. School will be finishing up, we have several Peace Corps conferences coming up and God forbid I forget… it’s wedding season! The weather’s getting warm. Spring fever is in the air. Tis the time to get married. It’s rumored that some of the people who will be coming to Azerbaijan in September with the new group of PC Volunteers have already been informed! I can’t believe that time is already on its way! My friends and I are trying to plan some sort of a trip to a nearby country, maybe even India (hopefully India!), and planning definitely makes time fly by! I’m sure there’s more I’m supposed to be writing, but I’ll try to be better about keeping up with this blog from here on out! One more very important note… Get a pen. Write it down. My birthday is the 21st of this month. Haha. I’ll be the big 2-3. I’m practically an old woman with cats, except minus the cats. Send my mom tissues, she won’t be with me on my birthday; what a travesty. Cheers to you and yours.

My school director in super serious mode (usually he's always laughing!), his wife, me and a neighbor (I think, haha)

My school! This is the view from my house window!The kids are lining up waiting to start their day!

Mud Volcanoes!!!! One of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life.

We had a surprise yard guest the other day! haha. My host family thought it was hilarious that this never happened in America. ha.

Another surprise guest. I walked into the kitchen to get a piece of bread, and got a lovely view of what was to be for dinner that night.

Our lovely Christmas fireplace, complete with stockings and stocking gifts! Jane was a lovely hostess, and a fabulous artist!

My host family in Liman! Leman (11), Rada (mom), Me, Jale (21) and Khadija (19) My host family in Masazir.top row: Mati, Me and Gulchinbottom row: Fatma (mom) and her sis-in-law

My training group learning how to make dolma with Amy's host mom. Notice Josh just chilling on the couch. He was forbidden to help in the kitchen. Instead he was given a hot glass of tea and told not to worry his pretty little face.

My besties here. Me, Lexi and Johanna! This was one of the first days in the country!

Yesterday, 12 February 2009, was a day that will be marked on my memory forever. It was one of my favorite days in Azerbaijan thus far. First, I must give a bit of a background story.

After the last post I wrote, I traveled to Zaqatala, one of the northernmost regions of Azerbaijan, and one of the farthest away places I could have traveled while staying in country. However, about 40 of us met up there to celebrate the inauguration and to listen to Obama's speech, so of course I went! On the trip back (about 14 hours total) my iPod and wallet were stolen on the bus, and my friend Amy's cell phone was stolen. And to add to that, Peace Corps almost kicked me out because I happened to be traveling after dark. My country director had mercy on me, thank God. So, lesson #1: Do not break PC policies. The good thing is, I'm okay and I'm a merciless optimist and I didn't let this situation set me too far behind, although it has been a huge pain in the ass, and I am now accepting donations for iPod's. My iPod was my outlet. boo.

Okay, so yesterday, Amy and I had to go to Salyan (where the robbery happened on a break) and report to the police the theft that occurred, 3 weeks ago. Yes. 3 weeks ago. 1.2.3. That's just how AZB works. I don't question it.

So, we woke up early in the morning and caught a bus to Salyan (about 2 hours away) to meet with Jeyhun, our Safety and Security Coordinator, who is fabulous, and then subsequently the police of Salyan. Jeyhun and the PC driver, Perviz, came to pick us up and we headed straight to the police station in the undeniably recognizable PC vehicle. With Jeyhun at our side, we waltzed right into the police station, completely cocky like. (I was loving this already)

We were then escorted upstairs, well more like reluctantly let in to find the office for ourselves. As we were drawn in by the smell of about half a dozen burning cigarettes and the sound of water boiling (presumably for tea), we easily found the office. We walked in and greeted each other- only the men actually touching/shaking hands- and we could not begin the meeting without having tea prepared for us, complete with sugar cubes and chocolate covered sunflower seeds.

Anyway, the meeting began and continued. There were three men from the Salyan PD, Jeyhun and us. As they began to write the report, I noticed that the room was pastel pink. On the walls were two pictures of the past and present Presidents and a TV played some foreign movie dubbed in Azeri, for our viewing pleasure.

Back to business.

It began with the Chief of Criminal Investigation writing my version of what happened and then Amy's version after that- they were the exact same. It was hand written, and pretty straightforward. It took about 2 1/2 hours total, and the best part of it all was the conversation that happened in between all the writing business. The other two men, observers, I suppose, were asking us all about the US, our families, our sites here, about our Azerbaijani wedding plans, why we didn't move to Salyan to work and live...everything! Then, after everything was over, we were invited to lunch (!!!!), something we culturally could not refuse. They asked what we would eat and Amy had to break it to them that she was a vegetarian, to which Jeyhun replied, "REALLY!?!?," in a response I will not soon forget. When the Salywan PD people found out they were instantly worried, fearing for her health, and maybe even her life. But the subject was dropped... for now.

We finished up at the office and left immediately for lunch at a roadside restaurant. the Chief of Salyan Police, the Chief of Investigation, 2 other investigators, Jeyhun, our driver and us were shown to a private room where we had lunch, all the time acting like it was a totally normal business practice for women to eat with the high ups in a public-ish restaurant! It just does not happen. Period. Jeyhun had to remind them again that Amy doesn't eat meat to which they replied (in Azerbaijani) "don't worry, we have a beautiful turkey for her" HAHA! No, no, really she does not eat any animals, "but it's qeshenq (beautiful)!" Finally they got past the not eating meat idea, but were stumped as to what to give her. So, eventually I just listed things she could eat to which they settled on making her a big-ass omelet with greens and a TON of small grilled potatoes. People in Azerbaijan think vegetarians must always be starving since they don't eat meat. They also swore she wouldn't have to wear glasses is she would just eat meat.

After lunch, one of the policemen drove us to the bus station, found us a bus and even payed our way. They were incredibly hospitable and helpful, and made sure we knew to find them any and every time we came through Salyan.

Although i don't think anything will ever come of my wallet and iPod , I can say (almost without cringing) that yesterday's incredibly unique cultural experience was totally worth the material loss!

**On a different note, I have 2 English Conversation Clubs starting on Monday! I'm so nervous, but equally excited. I have been meeting with some of the teachers at my school to practice speaking English and to review some of the basics. Things are happening, and there has been an awesome response to anything that I have offered so far. More to come later on! **

I hope no one else was thinking this after my last blog, but I do NOT NOT NOT need toilet paper. I know where the store is to get it. Also, I live in the South so we are the region that has fruit, even though it's a bit expensive. I eat an apple every day.

I. AM. FINE!!! (in both meanings of the word)

hahah

The first 30 things I could think of:

1. There are no lamps in Azeri houses.

2. A woman's honor is in her eyebrows; you may thread and pluck on your wedding day.

3. In the winter, fruits and veggies are either non-existent or extremely expensive.

4. In school, they learn British English.

5. They do NOT use t.p. You have to know the right stores, even, to be able to find it.

6. They believe you can freeze your ovaries.

7. They usually only put sugar in their tea in the morning. Otherwise, they provide you with chocolate (and maybe a sugar cube) to hold in your mouth while you sip.

8. During the winter, they all sleep in one room, the one where the gas heater/stove is.

9. Women, especially teachers, wear scrunchies like they're going out of style! (got news for ya, the 80's are waaay over)

10. The "th" sound is quite difficult for all English learners to pronounce.

11. In some regions, the hijab is worn more for fashion purposes.

12. Usually, when a couple marries, they go to live with the son's family, and stay there.

13. I'm told this is regional, but most people in Liman eat with their hands, especially rice, which is quite a talent.

14. Every house, every family ALWAYS has one pot of hot water and one of really concentrated tea. For a cup of tea, you pour a little from both.

15. I am always hearing some of the most preverse and explicit English songs as background music on TV, sometimes not so background, and also in public places. And I am always asked if I have Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Beyonce (pronounced beeyons) and/or 50 Cent on my iPod.

16. Titanic is their signature, maybe even national, song. Oh Celine.

17. Satellite dishes are called "Sputniks".

18. On buses, if you're standing, the ladies sitting down yank your bag(s) or your baby(ies) from you, and hold them in their laps.

19. One of the national dishes is ground-up cow stomach wrapped in dough and fried.

20. Their equivalent of Bon Apetit is said after meals, Nush Olsun, and is sometimes shortened to just Nush (which I love!)

21. Privacy does not exist.

22. Pets do not exist.

23. They sweep their yards (and the highway) with what looks like tumbleweed. And the broom thing must have a short handle so they must bend down??

24. They often mop the rugs in their houses.

25. Gold teeth are more common than roosters or hanging animal carcasses for sale on the side of the road, which is really saying something.

26. The layered mullet is quite popular.

27. Often times they have patent leather slippers.

28. Crossdressing on TV is more common than not....

29. In a country with muddy roads and walkways, they are obsessed with having clean shoes.

30. Sucking your teeth: for men, a great wooing tactic. for women, a good way to express your disapprovement of...pretty...much...anything.

Enjoy!

Where to begin… First, I would like to say hi to Mrs. Flegal! She is my friend Jane’s mom, and I’m told she’s a fan of my blog! J So, hi Mrs. Flegal! I love your daughter, she’s pretty wonderful. Oh, and I always love when you send Jane packages, she’s a really gracious sharer! Since I last posted, a new year has rolled in. Happy 2009. My New Years was one of the best I have ever had, if not the best. Although, Rachel Zwaicher, if you’re reading this, you know what I was missing from this New Year’s celebration, haha. And Melinda, if you’re reading this, my New Year’s Day was quite different from 2008. J I arrived in Baku on the 30th and spent the night with my old host family. They were so excited to see me, but I must admit, I was equally as excited to see them. The next day, I woke up to a snowy morning. Little did I know that snow would define my New Year’s celebrations! I took a bus to the center of the city, trying to pretend the entire time that we were NOT driving on icy roads. We made it safely and I met up with my other Peace Corps friends for what was sure to be an interesting time. We went to our hotel, cheap but sketchy at best, and caught up with each other about how our first 2 weeks at our sites had been. After a glass of wine or two, we headed out for dinner at a semi-American style restaurant, where we had nachos, chicken nuggets and burgers. After hanging out there for a while, we met up with about 50 other Peace Corps Volunteers at the bar where we would spend the rest of the night, dancing to the live music being played. The best part was, the New Year’s countdown happened, not once, but twice. After reminiscing, everyone is still a little unsure as to why exactly we did it twice, but it happened. Such is life. The next day, most of us were planning to head back to our sites, but we were woken up by phone calls from our Safety and Security Coordinator (who is wonderful by the way) saying we were not allowed to leave because too much snow had fallen and the roads were not safe. As you can imagine we were all super depressed that we were stuck altogether in a charming capital city covered with beautiful snow, especially since we had to extend our vacation time. The funny thing was, our hotel’s pipes froze so we couldn’t shower or anything. I think we were starting to make that entire hotel smell like a hangover. Oh, and the heat was more like a fan blowing around the stale air that was already in the rooms. So we were cold, bundled up and smelly. During the day we walked around in the snow/ice and managed to find a real coffee shop (there’s usually only tea or fake coffee aka Nescafé) and eat lunch at McDonald’s. That night, we all stayed at the hotel playing Apples 2 Apples, a fabulous game for all size groups of people. We had about 20 people playing, and about 10 watching. The 10 watching included a group of Russian business men who were trying to figure out what in God’s name we were doing, while drinking copious amounts of Azeri vodka and talking to us like we were fluent in Russian. The next morning, we were allowed to travel provided it was after 11 am. I had to go back to my host family’s house to get all of my things first, and since that was an adventure, I ended up staying ANOTHER night with a few people that couldn’t get back to their sites because buses weren’t running to the extra snowy places. However, that night, we all stayed in the Peace Corps lounge, sleeping on the floor with sleeping bags that are at the lounge. It was one of the most fun nights I have had so far. We played games and watched movies and just cracked up laughing the entire time. Early the next day, I was finally on the way back to Liman, and when I arrived I was exhausted! The week after New Years, I was in such a funk because I had had such a good time in Baku; kind of like when you come back from an awesome vacation and Monday rolls around and you have to go back to the real world. Tuesday, January 6th was my first day of “teaching”. There was no heat, so the students didn’t come, so the teachers did not teach-logical but extremely frustrating. The 7th was a holiday and extremely entertaining for me. I went with a bunch of teachers to what they call the village; mind you in Liman I am more in the village than I ever thought I’d be in my life. So, we go to the village and walk for about 30 minutes (cars can only go so far in mud). At this point, I have no earthly idea where we’re going, but I just follow faithfully. It’s important to know, too, we are all in heeled boots and skirts, tromping through the mud. We finally arrive at a house where we are served lunch, while sitting on the floor around a blanket floor cloth (later they tell me it’s one of the teachers at my school’s houses, but I would have never known because when you go guesting, the actual hostess stays in the kitchen cooking, and her kids serve the food). After lunch and tea, we went to the village mosque where there was an old xanam (busybody lady, is the best way to translate that word), but she probably wasn’t so old, just looked it. This xanam was putting mud on everyone’s forehead, kind of like ash on Ashe Wednesday for Christians. I still am not exactly sure why we got it put on our heads, but I thought it was pretty cool. Although, we did pay the xanam for the forehead mud, and there was tons of mud all over the roads?! After getting mud-ded, I went with the teachers inside the mosque and said a prayer, they prayed to the prophets, I just prayed, we drank from a community cup of water (yikes!) and then were on our way back home. That night I spent the night at my counterpart’s house with her family, fun times, and the next morning we were back at school, the teachers, that is. This week has been better in terms of attendance, thank God. I guess the students just weren’t ready to come back? It’s their world; we teachers just live in it. Haha. As for the rest of my time, I am trying to plan and start up my first English conversation club, while lesson planning, guesting and things of the sort. School is fun. I have little friends that follow me around. One boy in particular is my favorite. He’s in the fifth grade and cracks me up. I swear he spies on me; wherever I am, there he is. The English teachers tell me he is a “naughty boy” (in British accents), but I just love him! Everyone always yells “ell-o” at me, so I’ve taught my classes how to say “Hi” and “What’s up” because that “ell-o” can really get to a girl’s head. Co-teaching, which is how Peace Corps encourages us to teach, is really quite difficult [understatement], but we are working through the kinks and frustrations. Time is a miraculous thing, and patience doesn’t hurt. So, yeah, that’s a day in the life, I suppose. What do ya think?

First things first, my address has changed. If you would like to have it, email me (jaclyn.gilstrap@gmail.com) because I cannot post it. Lo siento.

Second, Christmas time has come and gone… and New Years is coming quickly! Although it was a sad time to be away from family and friends, we made our own Christmas celebration over here something to remember! My friend Jane hosted a total of 8 people at her little apartment in Lankaran, which luckily for me is only about 20 minutes away. Others traveled from far away places, some traveling for 12 hours and more! We spent two days in Lankaran watching movies, sharing some fabulous conversation, cooking delicious meals and making Christmas the best it could possibly have been (which wasn’t half bad!) However, on thing cannot go without mention. Although the cooking and convos were excellent, one of my favorite things we did was when we put on a performance of Shakespeare’s, The Taming of the Shrew. One of the girls brought a souvenir she had bought from Germany, called Shakespeare in a box, complete with props, director’s notes and shortened versions of The Taming of the Shrew. Our version definitely rivaled the ever popular, Ten Things I Hate about You. Oddly, I played Catherine, the helpless little shrew who became tamed after just a bit of lovin’ from her determined suitor! I wanted to gag. Haha- kidding. As for Christmas back home. My mom made Sara call me while she opened up my stocking- so lame! How much cornier can you get?! But I loved it. I cannot wait to receive the Christmas gift package; Inshallah it will come quickly and without passing through curious hands. Speaking of being cheesy, I wrote a poem for my family and made Sara perform it; she said everyone was laughing and in tears. Give me a break family! Haha J I hear it’s been recorded, so that’s another thing I’m looking forward to getting! The big news from Liman is that I have been filling empty time by going to the New Years parties of 8th and 11th graders. My cool points are definitely racking up, at least among my students! Haha Who knows what the parents are thinking about me? But it gets even better. One of the parties I went to (I’ve been to 3 so far, and 1 more tomorrow) was 8th grade girls and their homeroom teacher, who is one of the English teachers. The teacher asked me at one point if I knew many English songs. I’m definitely a music person, so I didn’t hesitate but to answer yes. Well, to my chagrin, that would come back to bite me in the ass. Not 10 minutes later, the girls circled around me and were all chatting and smiling back and forth with the teacher, who then translated and asked if I “could please sing an English song”. Excuse me, I hastily replied. “These girls want you to please sing a song with English words.” Wow. Imagine my shock, embarrassment and just overall thought of, Am I really in this situation right now?! I knew I wasn’t getting away from it so I decided to just go with it, warning them that my singing was NOT GOOD. All I could think about was how hilarious Sara would find this, and I couldn’t stop laughing, true2form for me! So finally, after the laughing subsided a bit, I burst out with the first song that came to mind, which I am proud to admit was Celine Dion’s, “The Heart Will go On”. I sang one whole verse and then burst out laughing while the girls and their teachers burst into applause. One of the girls said in Azeri, to which her teacher translated, “English men may not like her singing, but we like it”. Haha. Success…. I still can’t believe that actually happened. Anyway, all is well. I will be going to Baku on Tuesday to celebrate the coming of the New Year there with several of my Peace Corps friends here! I’m really looking forward to it. And not only that, but since there’s a break from school, I will be able to spend a little bit of time with my old host family too while I’m there! So, from me in Azerbaijan to you wherever you may be…Happy New Year. I hope 2009 brings great things for all of us! Cheers!

Since things have just calmed down and my computer charger finally arrived I have returned from my hiatus in honor of the Christmas holidays! Last time I wrote, I was almost finished with training and was getting ready for my big overnight stay in the grand city of Baku. However, since so much has happened since then, I will write a quick summary and then play a fun little game. Towards the end of training was Qurban Bayram (the Sacrifice Holiday) for Azerbaijanis. We celebrated it with my family by having a huge feast with all their wonderful relatives. The men grilled lamb kebab while the women made a sort of potato salad thing and set the table…deeelish! I feel so much apart of that family, it’s kind of weird. Then, I finished my 11 week training and had my final language proficiency exam, which, let’s just say, I passed. ;) That same day, my friends (Johanna, Lexi, Charlie, Josh and Jake) went immediately to Baku for our once permitted trip (during training) to celebrate and let loose a little bit. We had a blast exploring the city a little more, meeting some more sketchy expats, and listening to some Irish men sing Beach Boys and Beatles songs in a random “expat” pub. It was quite an entertaining trip for us and a great get-away! The next day I had the opportunity of going to the Baku Entertainment Center with my host family. One of the uncles works for BP, and since oil companies are so valued in this country, all employees and their families get to go to the Baku Entertainment Center for free, which is otherwise quite expensive (so they say). At this lovely establishment, my host sister and I, and some other relatives, partook in two lovely games of BOWLING! I couldn’t stop giggling when my host sister finally asked what was so funny. I told her I never imagined myself bowling in the Peace Corps. Haha The last couple of days with the trainee group was full of nerves and excitement. We did all of our finishing up and logistical things (I was voted by our group to be one of the representatives to the Volunteer Action Committee J, where we talk with the higher ups in Peace Corps about issues for the volunteers in country). I’m very excited and honored to do this!) And the last couple of nights with my host family were sad, but uneventful. We just hung out and shared a few tearful hugs. Then…Swearing In! Swearing in was the event of the century. There were several cameras there from the various news stations in Azerbaijan, local and national. There were representatives from the US Embassy, from the Education Ministry, from the Youth Sports Ministry, along with all 61 of our group, some of our host families and other community supporters. Several speeches were given, a lot of clapping was heard, kids looked in through the windows and finally we took our oath and became official Peace Corps VOLUNTEERS! It was a proud moment for all of us, and for most of us a once in a lifetime thing (we have 2 PCV’s who are serving for their 2nd time). From swearing in, we had our little mini, except not so mini, celebration and then the next day were off to our sites! We all woke up to a rainy day, perfect for traveling with huge suitcases all across the country. I’m not sure how exactly, but I finally made it to Liman! The bus dropped me off and I didn’t know how I was going to get to my house with all my stuff by myself, until a man from the corner store came out, didn’t say a word, took my bags straight to my house and then walked away. I thanked him, but not as much as I wanted to! I was welcomed by a warm cup of tea and a lot of smiles and excitement! Since then, I can’t say it’s been much different. I have drunk endless cups of tea- in the director’s office, at my house, at other people’s houses and in the school little cantina room! I have met hundreds of people who just stare and stare at me, telling me I’m so “kok ve gozel”… fat and beautiful. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or what, but I’ll take it! I have observed many classes, different ages and personalities abound! And mainly, I have spoken a hell of a lot of Azerbaijani! Everyone here is amazed at how quickly I learned it having only been here 3 months, when really I only have a few key words/phrases that I switch up… and I have a really good I-know-exactly-what-you’re-saying face. J I love being in Liman and I have learned so much already! This is a stressful time with some big decisions to make (choosing classes and teachers, deciding which activities I want to begin to plan, etc.), and it’s also very important. Adjusting to a new community is a tiring and rewarding experience in Azerbaijan. Okay, so enough of that, more details later! Onto the game: Cool and Not Cool. Cool: I’m a celebrity at my new school. Kids follow me around everywhere and love me even though they know nothing about me! My favorite is when they ask… “Jaklin, Jaklin, what is your name?!” haha Not Cool: Snow outside and no heat in the school. This leads to numb feet and a freezing body, despite the fact that I was wearing 3 layers of pants, 4 layers of shirts, a winter jacket, hat, gloves, and 3 pairs of socks. I have no doubt that I looked ridiculous, but so be it. (Since the snow, one of the 10th grade boys decided he would write a letter to the President himself about how cold his school was, and turned out the President cared, and we now have some sort of heat!) Cool: Watching the Azeri version of American Idol, where such fabulous performances as Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will go On” and Christina Aguilera’s, “Candyman” were performed. No need to comment on the legendary Titanic song, but for those of you who do not know, “Candyman” references such wholesome phrases as “making my panties drop”, “making my cherry pop” and refers to men as “one stop shops” (pardon the explicit words). I thought I was going to lose it. Not Cool: Watching shoes being thrown at George Bush a million times. While I couldn’t help but find it funny the first couple of times, it has since become a clip I abhor. Also, hearing that someone paid 10 million dollars for them, or would have or something like that, I was thoroughly depressed for all the poor people in this world. Cool: Snow is really pretty in Liman. The window in my room looks out to snow covered mountains in the distance! Not Cool: Having to walk to the outside toilet at night in the snow, repeatedly, due to… what’s the phrase they use so often, ahhh yes… “Loose bowls”. Haha That’s all cleared up now, thanks be to God. Did I mention that they don’t use toilet paper here? When in Rome… Wasn’t that fun? Hopefully there will be more where that came from! For now, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Christmas is a really hard time to be away for me, especially being in a country where they have never heard of Christmas. But it definitely makes for a fun time explaining it all!!! I even taught one 7th grade class “Jingle Bells,” which they then performed with a beaming director! They told me I was a “really good singer”- looks like the next thing we need are some hearing checks. I’ll be thinking of you all during this holiday season! Enjoy being with your friends and family- every minute of it!

This is my group in Baku, Azerbaijan!Josh, Amy, Marina, Sara, Me and our teacher Polad!These are good people.

I'm really excited to announce that I have added the links to the blogs of people in my language cluster! They have some awesome pictures on their blogs for you all to look at. I have not been able to add pictures because my computer won't turn on because I don't have my computer charger because I forgot it and my package which supposedly arrived on the 22nd of October has actually yet to arrive in my hands... go figure. Just my luck. Okay, so go look at these blogs and ENJOY!

Okay, so actually I'm going to try to upload some photos from Marina's flash drive for your viewing pleasure, but if that doesn't work, go visit their websites!

My Thanksgiving this year was one of the best I've ever had. We had a huge dinner at my host family's house with a total of 20 people, half Azerbaijani's and half Americans. We each cooked a dish and brought it over to make one of the most beautiful buffet's I've ever seen. The Azerbaijani's were extremely impressed with the buffet style of eating and wondered why us girls weren't serving everyone. haha It was truly one of the most unique experience of cultural exchange that I've ever been apart of. Before we ate, each person stood up and told one thing they were thankful for, even the Azerbaijani's! My friend, Tony, who speaks Russian translated the English into Russian for the Azerbaijani attendants, and then the Azerbaijani's spoke in Russian so that he could translate that into English. Then, we sat around eating and conversing about differences and similarities in holidays for both cultures. It was such a special night, one that will forever be written in my soul. Not only was their great company, but delicious food too, quite the international setup.

Yesterday we had a cultural day that was set up partly by the Peace Corps, partly by our group. In the morning, my language group went over to Amy's host family's house where her mom taught us all how to make Vegetarian Dolma, which over here is called "yalanchi dolma" or lying dolma because it doesn't have meat! haha. I say all of us, but I forget that Josh, the only boy in our group, was forbidden to help cook. He sat around watching us while drinking a nice cup of tea... not quite so unreluctantly. ahah. Then, the Peace Corps had set up a concert for us at the musical school in Sumgayit (our training city). We were there for about 3 hours, listening to amazing children musicians and singers and watching the dancers. It's something I imagine Meemaw would LOVE! It was very impressive and a nice cultural day event.

As for this week, the countowns begin. From today, I have 11 days until I officially swear in to the Peace Corps Azerbaijan. I have 12 days until I move to Liman and my 2 years officially begins! I have 1 week of Azerbaijani language class left, and 1 week until my official language test! yikes. I cannot believe my training is almost over.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I'm sure you are all participating in some lovely celebrations with your families from all around. I, too, am celebrating with my "family" here that includes my host family and a ton of US friends in the Peace Corps. We have planned a huge potluck dinner and couldn't be more excited. I am definitely thankful for these people being in my life. I'm cooking mashed potatoes and I'm going to be thankful for that, too!

What are YOU thankful for?!?!

p.s. I had the Iranian version of Snaps today, you know the kind of stale tasting cereal with the frog mascot?! It was a snack I found at the store next to our school- I had that along with a pack of Strawberry Yogurt flavored Mentos. I appreciate the randomness.

At this point in time I cannot think of a creative way to start this post so I'll just get right to it.

This past week I visited my permanent site, Liman, for a few days and fell in love. After initially meeting my coordinator from Liman on Monday and Tuesday at a conference put on by the Peace Corps, we made the trip together from Baku to Liman, a 5 hour ride on an old school style bus on a bumpy bumpy road. It was dark when I arrived so I didn't have much of an idea of where I was or what the town was like. My new host family was very welcoming, with food on the table, just waiting for me to arrive. After we talked for a bit, I was off to bed, exhausted and sore from traveling.

The next day, I woke up bright and early, to ensure that I could have a full day at my new school! My host mom, who is a Russian teacher at my school, suggested that I wear pants because she swore I would be cold. Pants was FINE. BY. ME-- skirts and tights have quickly become evil to me. My 11 year old host sister walked me to the school, which consisted of walking out our gate, turning the corner and walking through the gate of the school, which is called School #1. How original. I am very pleased with how close the school is... I was already adding up all the extra time for sleeping this would provide me :) My coordinator was waiting for me at the front door and immediately ushered me to the Direktor's office (principal). I walk in the office, and to my surprise the Azeri version of a Danny Devito-Robert Dinero mix of a man is sitting behind a desk anxious and excited to meet and greet me. We sat in the office for about an hour while some other man made tea and served us all tea, 5 cups of tea each, to be exact. In Azerbaijan, it is important to know that when you drink tea, it must be accompanied by something sweet to eat. In our case, we had Sneechers (snicker's) cut up into little pieces. The man originally cut it into 3 pieces for 3 people- makes sense right?...but then the direktor instructed him, in Azeri, to cut it up into smaller pieces because "there are women here".... I found this to be pretty funny, but little did I know there was more to come from this man!

After we had our initial meet and greet session, and allowed for enough suspicion to build up throughout the rest of the school as to who this blue-eyed girl was going into the direktor's office, we began our tour of the school. First, a few little fun facts: the school consists of about 1,000 students, which is pretty big, even in Azeri standards. The 8th-11th forms (grades) meet in the morning from 8am-1pm, and the 1st-7th forms meet from 1pm-5pm. There are approximately 10 English teachers. It's a one story building in a U-shape, with a huge soccer field (made of cement) outside. It's brand new, 2 years max, and is really really nice. I feel extremely priviledged to have such a nice school.

Okay, so, back to the tour. First stop: Teacher's Room. I walk into the teacher's room and there are chairs lined up on two of the four walls, facing each other, and then a big desk in the middle of those, kind of off to the side. Women are on one wall, while men are on the other. The direktor takes me and my coordinator and sits us on either side of him at the big desk. Basically, I have walked into a staff meeting, which may or may not have been the first in their history. He gives a very long speech about me and about speaking English and about conversation clubs and maybe even about the weather that day. I was beginning to lose focus because all I could see was everyone staring at me with huge smiles on their faces :) Then, the room fell quiet. I just continued to smile, not knowing what was going on. Finally after what felt like 2 hours, my coordinator said, "May you speak a few words?" Needless to say I was caught off guard and had no idea what to say to a room full of adults who speak Azeri, Turkish, Russian, Farsi and probably some Talysh (the regional language) but definitely no English or Spanish. All I could muster up was that I was so thankful to be there and thank you for letting me come to your school and I'm really excited. So profound, Jackie. But honestly I could have said anything and they would have still loved me. Azerbaijani's are great like that.

Second stop: meeting the entire school. This portion of the tour would last from approximately 9:30 am until 4:45pm with a 45 minute break for lunch. The direktor was so patient with me, but mostly just excited and proud to show me off. We walked into every single classroom and my direktor would greet the classes with a loud and proud, "Good Morning Childrenssss" I got the BIGGEST kick out of this and almost lost it, literally every time he said it, that and the many "Sank Choo's" he said to the teachers for allowing him to interrupt. Again, in every class, he would ask me to say a few words. By the end, I'm pretty sure these kids knew my entire resume, all about my family, my hobbies, and all my friends, by name. Their favorite name was "Liza" for it's sheer unfamiliarity, and "Sara" because that is, of course, an Azerbaijani name. I felt like a celebrity. I felt they were so thankful for me. And most importantly to me, I felt so energized about being there. I feel as though my direktor was supporting me already just by showing the students that no matter what level it was, he was using English to speak to them. It seems as though he truly believes in the importance of learning English and is hoping that my being there will encourage the students to realize the benefits of learning English as well.

After I had finished up my business at the school, I went with my coordinator, her two sons and one daughter to her house where she cooked me an elaborate, traditional Azerbaijani feast including plov (rice), toyuk (chicken), tursh xiyar (pickles), and even levengi (a regional delicacy that consists of cooking nuts and onions together, forming a sort of sauce/paste... I LOVED this so I'm excited to have it more often), among other side items. I was stuffed and exhausted, so after dinner I returned to my host family's house and went to sleep with pleasure and ease.

Everything was wonderful about Liman. It's a quaint little town with about 14,000 people, trees everywhere (pomegranate, persimmon, etc.), a park, very few cars and lots of friendly people, who all know each other. I'm glad to be in a small town because I feel like I will be able to have more valuable relationships and more wide-spread support for events/clubs/ideas I will have in the future (Inshallah!). **Note: Inshallah is the most common phrase used here. It means "what God wants" literally, but is also used to mean "hopefully". It's not just an Azeri word, but is used in several Islamic countries around the world, I believe. I love this phrase and will add it to my lifelong vocabulary. ** Although the town was great and my host family extremely welcoming, there is one thing that outshined the rest of the experience. Laney, you will be proud to know that I have gained a new skill. My 20 year old host sister, who works at a bank in Lankaran and who is just awesome all around, taught me how to KNIT! I am so excited about this because I have a feeling that there are going to be several winter days where I'll be sitting in the house because it's so cold outside! Azeri people are not fans of cold, wind or snow in general so they expect the same value from us, and yes it is a value. I just got an idea...

List of skills I have gained since being in Azerbaijan, that I can think of right now:

1. squat toilets. end of story. nuff said.

2. i know how to make lavash, basically Azeri tortilla.

3. I can knit! I'm not good yet, but i still have time.

4. Azeri language proficiency

5. bargaining. I'm a pro at bargaining at the bazaar.

I think that's pretty *&$@ good for 2 months in. Oh yeah, today is my 2-month anniversary of being in this country. Yay Azerbaijan!

So, Thursday is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I'm sad to not be with my family on this day. However, to make up for it a group of us is getting together. I've organized a potluck dinner, without turkey so far. There are a lot of vegetarians among us and personally, the sides are better anyway. I am obviously making mashed potatoes since my fabulous aunt taught me how to make such a difficult yet coveted item. Other items on the menu include mac-n-cheese, green bean casserole-ish, stuffing-ish, homemade apple pie and the ever traditional coconut curry vegetables. :) Thanksgiving in another country has to be a little out of the ordinary! We are thrilled about our Thanksgiving gathering, but not as much as my host family! They have been looking forward to this meal ever since I told them on the first day it was my favorite holiday.

Okay, this is getting a little out of control so I will wrap it up. My last thought will be a quote to think about. I am reading an intriguing book called "Salam Pax, the Baghdad Blog" which is a compilation of blog entries by a young man in Baghdad circa beginning of the US's war. It's revolutionary and begins with this quote which made me really think, so hopefully you will have the same reaction.

"The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do." - Samuel P. Huntington

Thoughts??

It's a beautiful Sunday here in Azerbaijan. Usually I would write a long post, but today I'm feeling a little apathetic. I want to be outside experiencing this awesome day. Quickly though, my site visit was awesome, I'm so excited about Liman. I miss you all! I'll write more later!

A lot has happened since I last wrote!

The US has a new president, my sister survived her 21st birthday (thanks be to God), I went to my first Azeri "toy" aka wedding, I received a package from Scottie and Lindsey, I learned how to play and subsequently became obsessed with nard, helped cook gumbo, had my first highly anticipated trip to Baku with a sleepover at my host family's house to follow, and I found out my permanent site!

Quickly I will say a bit about our newly elected President. I think most know where I stand personally, but mostly I just want to say that this is historical. I'm proud of our country and anxious to see what will happen over the next 4 years. It's very interesting to be apart of the international community at this time in history. Let me just say that Azerbaijani's and others on this side of the world are very happy with the outcome of the election. It's nice to have a positive image to the rest of the world, and makes me proud to be serving our country right now.

About my permanent site: I will be heading to Liman village right outside of Lankaran in the very southern part of Azerbaijan on December 11th, so soon! I'm so excited about it! My school is evidently brand new or recently renovated, it's hard to know, and the director and english teachers are excited about having a Peace Corps Volunteer. Liman means "port" in Azeri so it's pretty close to the Caspian Sea, which if you know anything about me, you know I'm pumped about being close to the water. Lankaran is known for having excellent cuisine, hot summers, and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables most of the year round. I've also heard that they have a dialect of Azeri that I will not understand. When I told my host family I was going to Liman, my host sister started dying laughing. All I could do was laugh with her and then try to figure out exactly why she was laughing- evidently it was the language factor, but I'm never really sure :) haha For now that's pretty much all I know; however, next week I get to meet one of my counterparts I'll be working with and make a 4 day trip to visit my site and my future host family! My entire group is really excited about our sites. I'm relatively close to most of the good friends I've made sor far, and those that are farther away will make a nice vacation every once in a while. Public transportation in Azerbaijan is widespread and pretty easy. Finding out my permanent site was an emotional experience, and honestly makes this whole experience that has thus far felt kind of camp/study abroad like, more real. And I couldn't be more happy about that. I feel at peace with that fact. I feel that I am ready for the many challenges I know I will face in the next 2 years. Bring it on! (Sara, what are you thinking is the appropriate response here?!)

The Azeri wedding was priceless. Although extremely different from American weddings, quite possibly the exact opposite of, I had an absolute blast! The afternoon leading up to it was the most stressful thing I've experienced in a long time. My dress failed the "you can wear this in Azerbaijan" test, I saw a fight between some marshrutka drivers in the middle of the road, we failed to find a hair salon to do our hair because I was looking too much like I was wanting to spend the big bucks or something, and my host family was shocked when they saw me in make up for the first time! When we finally got in the car there, I was exhausted. Have no fear though, once I arrived to the wedding hall, 6pm sharp on a Thursday night I was willing and more than ready to partake in the wedding traditions. I ate a ton and danced even more. My entire host family, extended relatives included were in attendance and were showing me off to all who would listen and stare. They thought I was an expert Azeri national dancer, and continued to ask where I had been trained... my moves must be pretty sick, in a good way, that is. The food was delicious. Any time you would take a bite, the servers would bring more food and a new plate; a sip of orange Fanta, and you were sure to get a refill. I have several pictures, and if I can ever figure out how to upload photos, they will be the first to make it.

Nard. oh man. Nard=obsession. My friend and site mate, Josh, recently invested in a nard set/board thing and his host family taught him to play. He, then, taught me and I have become obsessed. It's funny because the first couple of times you play, or maybe forever, if there is a single Azeri person around, they are standing over your shoulder, "advising" you on the moves you should take. AKA: if you think for 2 seconds, your piece has already been moved for you. But once I got the hang of it, I couldn't stop playing. One night this past week, my language group got together and cooked gumbo for my friend Amy's host family (and ourselves of course). Afterwards, I played nard with her 11 year old host brother, who has clearly been playing nard since he was conceived. There were two priceless moments during our game. Frist, you all should know that I was getting killlllled before we even started playing. Then, I started noticing his face becoming worried, but with a smile. He rolled the dice and then didn't move his pieces. I decided to question him and he was basically like, "don't ask, you need this, I'll let you catch up with me for a second", to which I replied with a boisterous laugh that distracted him from the obvious sign I was wearing on my forehead that read "Stupid" in black, bold letters. Then, nearing the end of my ass-kicking, pardon my french, he slyly moved 6 of my pieces off the board (finish line) and then proceeded to make a shoo-ing, waving motion like "can't you make anything interesting here?!" but did it with the most innocent little smile that just made me, true2form, giggle, and remember why I love these people so much. So, the moral of the story is, nard is great, and even if you don't learn by watching typically, you have to run with it here.

Other exciting things: my package from Scottie and Lindsey was so fun to receive- it had all the girly things and "necessities" one would ever need in AZ! :) Last night, my friends Johanna and Lexi spent the night after an eventful trip to Baku, the capital, which involved some interesting ex-pats, a gorgeous and surprisingly European-like big city, some delicious tex-mex style nachos!, and a much un-needed McDonald's meal that felt like Heaven and then quickly turned into something my body was nooooot having. haha Later today, we're making pizza, the dough is rising as we speak.

Overall, I am very happy over here. I am pleased with the timing of everything and proud to be in such a great country, with amazing people (US and Azeri). It's very exciting to be in a country that is quickly becoming a big player in the International scene, and to see firsthand how that affects different populations and regional areas of the country, not to mention the financial status of everyone here. Peace Corps is a great organization and is well respected here. I cannot wait to get to my site where I can begin forming more meaningful relationships with people that are anxious and willing to act to create change. I will be writing more about that in the future, and more specifically about my site when I get back from my visit next weekend!

I just have to add in the fact that 3 flies are on top of each other right in front of my face on top of the computer I'm typing on, and have been for a solid 15 minutes. One keeps leaving and coming back. Quite the distraction, but somehow I've made it through.

Vessalam. (That is all)

So this is a big month, beginning with an even bigger week. Presidential Election on Tuesday, my sister Sara's 21st Birthday on Thursday.... God help us all.

This past week I began my teaching Practicum, which will continue into this week, finishing up this Friday. Everything went as smooth as could be expected, which is really not so smooth here, but nevertheless keeps us on our toes. The schedule, nearly 2 months into school, is still not set. We found ourselves planning for classes that were non-existent. Eventually, I stopped planning until the hour before class began. The children are, for the most part, awesome. They are so eager to learn and participate in the activities we planned, even if they have no clue what they're saying in English! Tic-tac-toe, where you have to say a sentence to put an "X" or an "O" for your team was one of the craziest, but most fun things I have ever done with a group of kids. Overall, I love teaching, I knew I would. I feel like it's something I was born to do... now, if only I can muster up enough energy every day to do it! It really makes me appreciate the awesome teachers I've had in the past.

My host family continues to be awesome. I feel so priviledged that I get to live with them and that they let me in to their lives. Southern hospitality "ain't" got nothing on Azeri hospitality, that's for damn sure. Yesterday my mother memorialized her father's death, God rest his soul, with a huge dinner. Almost all of her 9 brothers and sisters were there, with their children and grandchildren! It was crazy and exhausting but so much fun. If you ever think you need a confidence booster, you should go anywhere in Azerbaijan where there are older women.... "ayyy, gozel"... "Ayyyy geshengdir"... "Ayyy buuteefuul". Anytime I say anything in Azeri, even if it's just "Salam" they are super impressed. I'm pretty sure I'm going to come back with a huge ego. There are worse things I suppose.

I knew yesterday would be a good day though, let me tell you why. As I was leaving my house to go to school, I shut the gate behind me. I glanced around to take in my surroundings as I saw an old man shuffling by. He looked at me for a while as I tried to pretend I wasn't looking at him (nothing unusual), but then the best thing happened. As he turned his head, he confidently and loudly said, "Goot Morning"... I laughed not so quietly and all I could give him was a giddy "Good Morning." Then I continued walking, listening to my Ipod. Usually I listen to Alanis Morisette or some angry rap (you know to get ready to face the world with a straight face, something very hard for me!), but that man had put me in a good mood so I switched over to Celine Dion's version of Feliz Cumpleanos.

Other things that happen this month:

1. I find out my permanent site on November 14th. I'm anxious but somehow not nervous. I know "que sera, sera". Good lord, I'm so lame. Don't hate on my cliches! Sometime later in the month I get to visit my site, which I cannot wait to do.

2. November 15th I get to finally go to Baku. It's been built up so much I have to wonder how great it will actually be when I get there. I'm hopeful...

3. November 6th, although I don't get to be with Sara to celebrate what she sees as this world's biggest holiday since Jesus was born, I do get to go to my first Azeri wedding. Oddly enough the word for wedding in Azeri is "toy"... they seem to agree with my thoughts on marraige. This is a big deal in this culture, so I cannot wait! I'm going with my family who thinks I'm an expert Azeri National Dance dancer... this could be disasterous.

4. November 17th I hope to go with my 16 year old sister and her friends to some play in Baku. I don't even have words for what this will be like.

5. Thanksgiving. My favorite American holiday. I've informed my host family about this holiday and about the fact that it's my favorite so they have graciously invited everyone from my group over to do whatever we want to. I think burritos and apple pie are on the menu.

Well, that's all from me this time. I'll be watching the elections on my friend's family's satellite TV on Wednesday, hopeful for our country and its relations with the rest of the world. Until next time...

So tomorrow marks my 1 month anniversary of leaving home, and Wednesday marks 1 month of being in Azerbaijan! I cannot believe it has gone by so quickly, and yet so slow. I think all the changes I have grown accustomed to makes it seem long, but the fact that I've done so much and learned so much in so little time makes it seem short.

Yesterday, our entire group of 61 people (no one has left yet!) went to visit Gobustan and the mud volcanoes. Gobustan was alright, there's a ton of history there! The mud volcanoes were awesome! They were basically these little hills of mud that had methane gas pushing up from the ground, making cold mud bubble up. It was like they were talking to each other in blurps, so fun. It's always nice to be with the whole group, too, because mostly I'm with my small cluster of people for daily language training. My cluster is great, definitely, but it's fun to compare stories with the rest of the group. After returning, Johanna (my good friend and sitemate, luckily!) and I cooked my family a delicious dinner of spaghetti and garlic bread. They loved both, to our pleasant suprise!

Since I last blogged, it's been pretty much business as usual. My host family is great, I am really going to miss them when I have to leave in December to go to my permanent site. They have really taken me in, and I've grown close to the 23 year old, Gulcin (jewel-cheen).

So, Paulette says I should give you a kind of "day in the life" type thing, so here goes. I wake up at 8:00am every day (except Sunday) and get dressed, brush my teeth and eat breakfast all in 30 minutes before I leave to catch the marshrutka (kind of a minibus/van type public transportation thing) to go to language class. I am usually wearing a skirt with tights and a conservative shirt, topped with a scarf and my Northface jacket, and my flats, which are usually muddy by the time I get to school, just like everyone's shoes. Somehow the locals manage to keep their shoes clean, but we still haven't figured out how/why. But yeah, we all pretty much wear the same outfits over and over, we've learned to embrace that fact. We have a cluster of 5 people, 4 girls and 1 boy, and we have language class from 9am-1pm. During class, the kids of the school where our class is are constantly knocking on our door and screaming to us through the crack in the door during their breaks. "Allo, Allo. Wat iz yoor name? My name iz." Somehow we never actually get to know their names, just "my name iz." haha. Then, I return home for lunch, usually soup or some meat and potatoes type dish. Lately in the afternoons, we have had TEFL sessions where everyone who is here to teach gets together for our job training in Sumgayit, the closest city (about a 20 minute marshrutka ride away). The marshrutkas cost 20 gepik (cents) for one way, cheap! Then I make it home for dinner and some quality time with my family, and then it's off to bed usually around 11:00 pm. So wholesome :) I am loving life here, and truly feel like this is where I'm supposed to be at this time in my life. I feel very happy and content with Peace Corps Azerbaijan- yay!

Thursday, we begin our Teaching Practicum! We observe a class for 2 days and then we teach it for 10 days! I'm nervous and excited to get started. I feel like I don't really know what I'm doing, but that anything will be appreciated. The kids at school are extremely energetic and I think excited for us to get more involved with them. Any teaching advice/activities/materials would be helpful and MUCH APPRECIATED!

Now, anyone of my family members or friends who is reading this: I am extremely disappointed in your letter writing skills! :) haha. The emails are AWESOME! Please keep them coming... but come on people, have you lost faith in the snail mail system?!? I love getting mail and I have yet to receive a single letter... get on that! The postal system is so much better in the US, take advantage of that! :) Love you guys and girls, and miss you all!

So, I've been in Azerbaijan for a little over a week now (I think, haha). It has been a whirlwind of a week! After a lonnnng plane ride, we arrived to a town that starts with an N that I can't remember to a hotel called AquaPark, complete with 4 water slides and its own discoteca...welcome to Azerbaijan I suppose! haha We were there for a few days learning policies/theories/practices of the Peace Corps and also some beginner Azerbaijani, the language not to be confused with the person (cough cough Rebs).

On Saturday, we loaded up and headed to our training sites. Mine is called Masazir, which is actually very close to Baku, the capital, where we are not permitted to go for at least a month. We don't want to be getting too Westernized! It was incredibly awkward arriving to our host families initially because they don't speak English and we sure as hell don't speak Azeri. And if you know me, you know I was pretty much giggling the entire time! haha. But, it was so nice because I'm basically treated like a goddess here. They wait on me hand-in-foot, or hand-and-foot, whichever it is. I have my own room with two twin beds, a mini closet and a desk. The food is... umm... interesting. It's good, it's just not anything I would actually cook for myself. Also, the more grease/oil, the better... pardon my english, but i guess it just helps it to all come back out as smoothly as it went in. pleasant, huh?! hahaha. And we eat a ton of bread, which is good. Overall though, my house is really nice, way nicer than I expected. I took my first bucket shower the other day, we bathe probably once every 3-4 days, and in the Winter it will be less. I actually did not mind the bucket shower.

My town (Masazir) is new and under construction which means it is quite muddy because its been raining pretty much since I got here. One of the girls in my group lives with one of the town's leaders (=mansion) and he deemed his house the HQ for our group! "Guesting" is a common thing here, which is something I could definitely get used to. This basically means going to visit your neighbors. Everywhere you go, you will have tea and some type of food. One of my friends ate 3 dinners the other night as he was "guesting". Another friend of mine saw her family cut up the sheep they had just slaughtered in their back yard on the table where they eat without any plates... appetizing.

My family is made up of a Mother (ata), Father (ata) who is only home at night, and 2 sisters (baci), one is 16 and giggly like me, and the other is 23, she is so helpful and great to me. The 16-year old is a dancer for the Azeri National style dancing/team and she was showing me some moves, and then declared me an expert dancer of that style. haha :)

I am so happy here, but definitely feel as though I'm on a trip or at summer camp. The reality of 27 months has definitely not set in. My host family almost died, literally, when I told them I may not see my family for the duration of this time.

I miss you all and hope all is well in America! Please write emails/messages because I love reading them when I have some time to get on the Internet.

As for now, Salamat Galin (see you later!)

Hello Hello Everyone!

First and foremost, let me say: "The contents of this website do not reflect any policies or positions of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps."

Now that that's out of the way... this website is where I will be documenting my adventures in Azerbaijan so that you can keep track of me, at least as much as I want you to :) I've never blogged before but I figured now would be a good time to start.

As for the basics- I accepted an assignment to serve for the Peace Corps in Azerbaijan (what am I thinking?!) and I could not be more anxious/excited/nervous! I leave September 20th for Philadelphia for pre-training (Staging- 2 days). Then we take a bus to NYC and fly out of LaGuardia to Frankfurt on the 22nd, and from there to Baku, Azerbaijan! We will have 11 weeks of "Pre-Service Training" in communities outside of Baku before we go to our actual sites. I will not know my site until sometime during training. A lot of the training will be learning the language, a nice common, easy-to-learn language: Azerbaijani.

My job title is "Secondary School English Teacher". If you're familiar with the TEFL program, that's basically what I'll be using. If you're not familiar, TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. It is a program used all around the globe for English teachers. Other than that, I don't really know exactly what my job will consist of.

As of right now, I only have my address to be used during my time spent in training. I would love to get anything from pictures to candy to letters anytime!

Jaclyn Gilstrap, PCT

AZ 1000Main

P.O. Box 77

Peace Corps

Baku, Azerbaijan

I hope to use this site to answer any questions that come up so let me know if you have any! Let me also take this time to say Thank You to my family and friends for supporting me throughout this entire process- I could not have gotten to this point without every single one of you! Also, in case you're wondering, my favorite thing I'm taking with me is BY FAR my head lamp (thanks Rebs!)...picture coming soon. :)

Here is the link to the Peace Corps website on Azerbaijan- you should take a look! Also, I am posting a map of the region because if you're like me, I had no *&$^*! idea where Azerbaijan was!

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.wherepc.easteurope.azerbaijan