I meant to write this when I was still in Azerbaijan, but time got away from me.

The last month or so flew by. Between finishing up work, celebrating Thanksgiving with fellow PCVs in Baku and saying goodbye, I barely had time to pack! I tried to spread the goodbyes out, but it was hard to do when I knew that I would see the person again before I left.

A couple weeks before I left I had a big goodbye party with the teenage girls that I worked with. There was a day of food preparation where some of the girls came to help, then the following day even more came (18 at one point) for food, company & dancing (I can't seem to have any girls over without a dance party). I think at that point the reality of leaving started to sink in. I know, it seems odd, but it really hadn't before (even though reports had been written and I'd started applying to jobs in the States). So after that the packing began in earnest, I was eating at friends' houses all the time as goodbye meals, and my belongings were being given away. It's amazing how much PCVs can accumulate in two years!

Leaving was bittersweet. It's definitely different leaving the country I served than it was leaving the United States in 2008. When I left America I knew that I most likely would be returning in just over two years, extraordinary events notwithstanding. But I don't have any dates like that for Azerbaijan. I would like to return at some point (to visit), but beyond that it's kind of up in the air. Locals would ask me if/when I was returning and the best answer I could give was "Inshallah (God willing)." Although in Azerbaijan it's a much more accepted answer than it would be here in America.

Right now, being in America, it still hasn't quite sunk in - it still feels a little like a vacation. So hopefully I'll write at least once more, once I'm a bit more removed from my service and have more perspective (now I'm just happy for the daily shower and washer/dryer).

I'll leave you with a little anecdote that happened during the last couple weeks of my service:

Getting ready to leave my house one afternoon I heard a knock on a gate - maybe mine, maybe my neighbor's. I didn't answer because I was on my way out. So when I left I saw a salesperson in my street (a woman, selling household products) and I greeted her (I think at first she thought I was answering the door). Instead of asking the typical questions - Where are you from? Why are you here? - she asked me to call my mother to the door! Now for those of you who know me, you know that I hate that I look younger than my age. So normally, that would have been my first thought: What?! How young do you think I am?! I haven't lived with my mother in 12 years! But no, my first thought was that she'd asked me a normal question that she'd ask any local Azeri, with no thought/mention of me being a foreigner. Yay! (Too bad I'm leaving in two weeks).

Last week I had the opportunity to host some AZ8s during their site visit. It's their chance to see the real life of a Volunteer as opposed to the bubble that they are in during training (as well as to get some choice in their meals). Staff reminds us to include in our conversations how what we talk about is our own personal experience, everyones' is different, etc.

And this is SO true.

I had a chance a few weeks ago to interact with some other Volunteers and the young adults they work with. It's interesting to see both the work they are doing and how it varies from one Volunteer to another. For example, I can't imagine speaking fluent English with anyone I work with. They can. And that's a huge difference.

I had enough agriculture experience to receive an agriculture nomination, yet I really have no interest in agriculture, so my work with my counterpart organization has focused on conversational English classes, profitability projects and the business side of things. And community projects for youth. But if I had an interest in farming practices there would easily have been an opportunity for that as well.

A Volunteer's preferences and interests definitely show through in their work. I love youth, so a lot of my work has focused on that population. Other Volunteers love drama and are putting on plays at local schools. Or helping to promote cultural heritage. Or doing workshops on preventative health care. And so many other things. While the Peace Corps in Azerbaijan does have three programs - Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Youth Development and Community Economic Development - we are told that we are all Community Development Volunteers, no matter where we are placed. All of the work we do is valued, not just what we do with our counterpart organization. Remember, two of the three goals of the Peace Corps focus on the cultural exchange we have with Azeris and Americans.

And while my service could easily have been very different depending on where I was placed (country, region, city), what organization I was placed with, or any other reason, looking back, I know I ended up in the right place for me. While I can't look back on my service with the same view as I will once I leave the country, or after a number of years have passed, currently I can say that it's been a great, fulfilling experience and I'm glad I took the leap.

I've never...- traveled without a family member.

- stayed in a hotel.- eaten in a restaurant.

- seen a waterfall.

- riden a horse.

- been in a boat.

- gone swimming.

- been to a movie theatre.

- sat in the front seat of a car.

Can you imagine never having had any of these experiences? These are all things that the teenage girls I work with could have said before we went on our field trips. I took a group of 12 teens on five different field trips (the sixth still to happen) to different cities/areas of Azerbaijan. We hiked through a riverbed and had lunch next to a waterfall. We went swimming at the Mingecivir reservoir. We visited the Khan's Palace in Sheki and stayed at a hotel that hosted caravans on the Silk Road. We visited local museums. We explored rock petroglyphs and mud volcanoes. We visited the mausoleum of a nationally renowned poet.

It was an amazing experience for these girls to see parts of Azerbaijan that they had only seen pictures of in their textbooks. And it wasn't just a historical experience. It was also a social experience for them. They were exposed to things that they haven't seen and/or done in our little town of Ujar. Now they can know what a tourism university might teach because they've been to some tourist sites. They know of different employment opportunities because they've seen women working at restaurants, movie theatres, and other places.

One of the things that was done to evaluate the trips was to ask the girls what surprised them about the places we visited. Their answers included everything: how many stores there were in Ganja (the second largest city in the country), the prices of things, the size of the reservoir in Mingecivir, items like skeletons in the museums, the age of artifacts and places, how tall the mountains are, and on and on. While these girls (they're 13 - 16 years old) still have a little time before they enter university and/or the workforce, they have seen and experienced things that most of their peers haven't, and another perspective is always beneficial. But for now, it will be just as valuable to share their experiences with their friends and family.

Even though most PCVs are mostly happy (after all, we can leave if we want to) most of the time, talk about the future seems to be more common in the Peace Corps than it was before I was in the Peace Corps. I think that's because we know our time here is temporary and while our lives will be changed by our experiences the great majority of people do not permanently stay in their host communities and/or countries. I think it's also because we have a very "American" view of the future - meaning it's in our hands and we can make of it what we want - it's not fate or pre-determined by family or social norms.

We started by asking the Volunteers ahead of us (they left last fall) what they were planning on doing when they finished their service and the cycle just continued from there. Now it's us talking amongst ourselves about what we'll be doing and answering the same questions from the Volunteers who arrived after us. The diversity of the Peace Corps is something I have come to enjoy - some people came to PC after working an entire career and have plans with their grandchildren when they leave, others just finished college and will travel or go to graduate school and still others came mid-career and will return to that. And some are even participating in the Master's/Peace Corps joint programs that are available.

And still others do other things. Not all of our time spent here is on things that are specific to living and serving in a foreign country. Sometimes it's just living in general. People learn new hobbies that they will continue at home, study for the GRE test, teach themselves a foreign language that is not spoken here, and so much more.

Me specifically, I've continued a certification process that I started back in the States. It's an eight step process and when I left America I'd only finished the first step. I'm now through five steps. It's a certification that I'm doing as an independent study (there are other options, but this is pretty much the only one available and technologically possible from a foreign country such as Azerbaijan) that when each section is over I take a test. This week (along with last September, December and March) I made a quick one night trip to Tbilisi for it. It's frustrating that it takes two days of my annual leave to take this test (PC does provide for 3 days of professional leave during our service that can be used for tests and certifications but I used those during the first two tests) but it's been worth it. Normally I'd leave my town in the morning, take a bus west (anywhere from 1 - 3 bus changes along the way) for about four hours until I reach the Georgian border, walk across, then take a 45 minute bus into Tbilisi. Unlike our neighbor to the west, Turkey, my Azerbaijani gets me nowhere once I leave the border. So I stay at a place I learned about from other PCVs, grab a quick bite from a place like McDonald's or a grocery store, do some night before review, then walk to the test center the next morning. It's not a quick walk, but it's easier than attempting to navigate the bus system without Georgian or Russian while on a deadline. It'd be kind of fun if I didn't have a set time and place to be somewhere. Then take my computer based test and it's on the way back to the border. I actually waited in line at the border yesterday for a longer amount of time than the actual test took.

As I said, I'm 5/8 of the way there. I can't do more here because the test isn't available in Azerbaijan and we can't travel internationally during our last three months of service. But I can study in preparation for my return to America and a test then. And it's great to be looking at online job listings and see the certification requested...

So, off to update the resume with the most completed results...

Even though I've been here almost two years, sometimes it still surprises me who and how many people know me after spending my entire life in the anonymity that is the States. It can be taxing because that means I'm essentially always on the job - I can't just anonymously run to the store if I need something because I'm guaranteed to see someone I know. But this can also be a very good thing...

The project I'm working on now entails taking a group of Azeri girls around the country. Basically, we're going on field trips to five different places. I reserved a bus and I have another adult going with me - sometimes Azeri, sometimes another PCV. With the leaders and participants our bus is full. Unfortunately this means some girls couldn't get permission to go because I wouldn't let their mother or aunt go along. And I'm okay with that, because these field trips are about new experiences - both new places and new things like travelling without a family member. Actually, the 12 girls who were able to get permission fit perfectly in the bus, so I didn't have to determine how to choose (even better)!

I know many of these girls' families, but some I don't. When I was giving out information and answering questions about the trips, I volunteered to go to their house, meet their parents, or anything that they needed. I understand completely that parents would have reservations about their child going off with someone they haven't met before. But it turns out it wasn't needed. I asked about it and was told that their parents have a relative who knows someone who lives on my street. And apparently that's enough to vouch for me - they see me coming and going, who else comes and goes, how I dress, and on and on. While in my mind that seems odd (because I have no idea who this neighbor is!), it's definitely working in my favor for this project and the few girls participating whose parents' I've never met.

Two trips down, three to go...details on the actual trips to come later!

Earlier this month my group, AZ6, had our COS (Close of Service) conference. It's odd to have something like that so far before the date we'll actually leave. Especially when in reality, it probably was the last time I'll see some of the people in my group. It's just a matter of having a group of 50+ people that live anywhere from 1/2 hour to 7+ hours away. Yet I'll still be here until December.

Overall, it was one of the better PC conferences I've attended - not even counting the great hotel/waterpark it was at... We had various sessions on sharing our PC experience once we return home, job searching, the paperwork and supplies we need to return before our actual departure date, insurance information, and on and on. One of my favorite sessions was the one where there was a bag of questions that people could potentially ask us when we return home, and everyone had to answer a question - everything from "Azerbaijan, where is that?" to "What kind of foods did you eat?" and "Is that a Muslim country?" I'm sure that some of the things that will come up in questions have just become so commonplace to us that it seems strange to be asked about it.

I was talking with another Volunteer last week and she remarked how small the group seemed. Our group hasn't lost very many Volunteers (yes, we're here for a specified amount of time, but people can decide to leave at any time, and sometimes PCVs are unable to stay for medical reasons) but I still don't think that's it. When we first arrived in the country we were a group of 61, faced with 60 people that we didn't know. But now we know everyone - granted, some better than others, but it's a lot different feeling to walk into a room filled with people who are sharing this experience than strangers. And while I know I'll see some after our return to America, the whole group is kind of unrealistic. So it's a bittersweet time trying to make the most of the time I have left with my friends, both Azeri and American, and wrapping things up well in my community.

The whole AZ6 group at COS (less those that left early or are extending for a year) and then me with some friends at lunch.

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that camp had started. By now, camp is over and done with and, as expected, it was a great experience. Now that doesn't mean it was without challenges and teenage drama, but where can you escape that?

It was great to just allow these kids to be creative. School resources are minimal at best, and while there is "art" class, it depends totally on the teacher if there are going to be resources beyond what a student already brings to school - read: paper and a pen or pencil. So to give the girls the chance to experiment with watercolors, construction paper, yarn, feathers, etc. was great. I had examples for what the intended project of the day was, but as long as the girls were participating I was happy - to me it's more about the exploring, trying new things and being creative than making a copycat project.

And my goal for the sports activities were things that they can do at home without a lot of resources - something to keep them active since there aren't community activities. So we did things like bowling with a soccer ball and pop bottles, relays (balloons, pop bottles, toothpicks, spoons, etc.), and an attempt at kickball and ultimate frisbee (those attempts turned into volleyball, which is their default girls' game). Again, I'm happy when they're participating even if they don't 100% get the game.

The last day was a challenge. Last year the girls asked if there would be camp this year and I could say yes. This year I had to say I don't know or inshallah (God willing). Most likely there will be another Volunteer in Ujar when I leave, but who knows if it will be a guy or girl (kind of hard to lead a camp for girls as a guy) or if they'll be interested in youth activities. But either way, they'll have great memories and experiences to remember, just as I will.

Pictured above: water balloons, three legged race, some of the girls with Gunay, my co-leader, and learning a line dance from another PCV

It's amazing to me how fast my service has gone. It seems like just yesterday that I was at Orientation at Aqua Park learning how to count and say "My name is Wendy" in Azeri, but here it is time for our COS (Close of Service) conference next week. No, I'm not coming home quite yet; the conference is designed to take place 3 - 4 months before we leave to prepare us for everything.

One thing that has been a normal of any PCV conversation during the past few months has been extensions. Peace Corps accepts extension applications - anywhere from a few months to a year - from Volunteers who want to stay in the country (maybe they have a big project going on, maybe the they want to stay until closer to grad school, etc.) And honestly, I thought about it. A year ago I never thought I would want to, but it's true - you really do get into your groove during your second year. I have great friends here, I love the work I'm doing, and I have a life. While some people view their lives as on "hold" while they do their service, it's hard to not notice that life goes on without you - people get married, have babies, and all those other life events. And my life has gone on here just the same - I've learned a new language, celebrated my 29th and 30th birthdays, and on and on. There are others from my group planning on extending and it's exciting to hear their plans for why they're staying, what they'll be doing here, etc.

So while the ultimate decision was that I will leave when my time is up in December, it won't make it any easier to leave. Leaving America to come here was not the easiest thing I've ever done, but I knew I would return and see all of my friends and family again (Inshallah). When I leave here I'm not sure when I'll return again.

It's been almost a month, and I haven't made time to write about my trip to Russia in June...so here's a review in pictures.

Starting in Moscow...St. Basil's Cathedral (interior), hundreds of heads at a sculpture park, St. Basil's Cathedral (exterior)

On to St. Petersburg...Church of the Savior of Spilled Blood (filled with thousands of mosaics), the drawbridges at night

The Hermitage at night, Micah and I on the drawbridge boat tour

Back to Moscow...the Circus and dinner with my cousin who lives in Moscow

Lots of nesting dolls for sale, a gigantic (apparently the largest in the world, although it's never been operational) bell inside the Kremlin

It's just a quick tour, but if I wrote a journal of everyday, it'd be a really long entry...and I'm not up for that tonight. It was a great trip with great people, saw a long unseen family member, and places that are once in a lifetime.

Camp was always a big part of my life in America, and it has continued to be so here. While it's a bit different, there are definitely common aspects. But I think it's the uncommon aspects that are the best (low or no cost, day camp, availability of supplies, etc.)

There are not many extracurricular activities here - chess, music school, karate (only for boys, of course). And most of these stop in the summer. But not for the teenage girls of Ujar - there's day camp (arts & sports) to come to. A week has already gone by (three days of camp) and we've had fun making suncatchers and stained glass windows out of tissue paper, playing kickball, volleyball, and all types of relays. And for the most part, these are things that they can easily replicate later with their friends or family (even if some supplies were sent from America).

But one of the best parts of camp happened before it even started. Volunteering is not something that is done a lot - at least not for people you don't know. Here it's all about your family and neighbors. But I was talking about my camp preparations with one of my local friends and she asked if she could help out with camp (not me asking, but her volunteering). While it's great to have an adult role model that's a Peace Corps Volunteer, in my view, it's even better to have a local one. She'll be around after I leave, she understands what it's like to be a teenage girl in Ujar from her past personal experience, and she's more relatable to the girls (I get a lot of leeway because I'm a foreigner).

So while camp continues, it's already a success to me!

While vacation is great, it can be hard to return to site. The contrast between the worlds I've found myself in is striking. Turning on a tap and having the choice between hot and cold water. Being free to go anywhere I want. Having all the opportunities in the world. Air conditioning. Or the exact opposite.

But I have big plans for the summer. Next week my summer camp starts, which will be a day camp - mainly arts & sports - for local teenage girls, 3 hours/day, 3 days/week, for 3 weeks. Then for a week in August I'll be doing a photo camp with another PCV. And my PCPP grant was funded, so I'll be doing some field trips with local youth to help them learn about Azerbaijan. And lastly, I'll still have some work at my organization to fill in the spare time.

So the summer will be busy, but busy is good - it gets me back into the swing of things after a great vacation (a posting about that will come later) and will be a great start to the end of my service.

In America things usually come down to money, especially with the government. While the people obviously have some influence, whether or not things happen is usually more dependent on whether there are funds (or bonds, etc.) available. It's normal to hear how much money has been allocated in a specific year for road repairs, etc.

Here, positive change is all about who. Money from the government is around, but due to the pervasive corruption sometimes nothing happens (well, things happen, but the money doesn't always get to the community, if you know what I mean). For example, the only construction/repair I remember happening in my town in 2009 was the re-spackling and painting of the walls along a couple streets and the painting of the curbs. We had a change in region leadership earlier this year and even I can tell the difference. Roads are being improved and/or paved. The railroad crossing into town has been repaired. A road is being widened. Major construction to put the canals underground/under roads has begun (although the "like Baku" comparison is a bit of a stretch). There are more sidewalks. And numerous other small things have been done that are improving the town.

Here, one person really can make a difference. If one person stops corruption (or even just some corruption), the community members can really notice the difference. Just think what would happen if there was no corruption.

Transparency International calculates a Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which measures the perceived level of public-sector corruption in 180 countries and territories around the world. Azerbaijan was #143 in 2009. Check out the link for the full country list.

2009 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)

A photo tour of the trip my mom and I took to Istanbul, Turkey in late April.

An entrance to the Grand Bazar, fishing on the Galata Bridge, Mom and I at a cooking class

Musicians on a pedestrian street, an interior wall of the Hagia Sofia, the street view from the Galata Tower

At a Whirling Dervishes show, a room in the Harem section of Topkapi Palace, Mom and I on a boat ride in the Bosphorus

Some discarded speakers at a local mosque, inside the Blue Mosque

Last month I was lucky enough to have my mom come visit me in Azerbaijan for a week. We had a great time; while we didn't have/make time to visit what others would consider the "touristy" (quotations because it's a stretch on the word touristy - tourism is not a highly developed industry here) parts of the country, she saw Baku and experienced life in my town.

Due to a late arrival (the suitcase later than her) we explored Baku on her first day in the country - walked the Old City, climbed Maiden's Tower, and even rode the metro (subway). After picking up the delayed luggage at the airport we headed to Ujar from the bus station, experiencing the normal patience building transportation schedule - "We will leave when the bus is full."

In Ujar it was a busy week. We had meals with my tutor, with the family who had me over for Novruz, with my Director and another co-worker, tea at multiple other places, and my cooking club made a full meal at my house. In between all of that were trips to the bazar, a tour of town and all my regular stops like the bank, post office, work, hair salon, etc., and the continual explanation of who the new foreigner was - although apparently it's pretty obvious we're related.

It was great to get a fresh perspective on my town and my experience here - things that a new Volunteer just arriving in the country notices are things that I don't really notice anymore, but she did. So the animals roaming the street (she may live on a farm in America, but that doesn't mean the animals roam free!), the trash and the lack of women on the street are just a few of the things that seem different to an outsider. She was surprised by how many cars are on the street - both in Baku and Ujar (apparently I made my town sound smaller than it is?) and by how bundled up people were - still layering clothing when we were wearing short sleeves (although if it gets to 110 degrees, I guess 70 is still kind of cool).

We returned to Baku via train since I was trying to give her as many different experiences as possible. It's a slightly different route into the city and you can see a lot more of the oil industry that dominates the economy here in Azerbaijan. We stopped by the Peace Corps office, did some introductions, saw a little more of Baku and then the next morning we flew to Istanbul, Turkey for a week of vacation...

One of the things that we, as Peace Corps Volunteers, are required to do on a yearly basis is to complete an annual living allowance survey. This is then used by the country office to determine if our living stipend is enough to live at the local level, and then if it's not they can request an increase from headquarters.

So just this week I compiled my survey, and I thought it might be interesting for you to see a random sampling of what some things cost over here:

226.20 AZN is our monthly living allowance, which equals $269.53 USD. (Can any of you live on that?)

.50 AZN, .60 USD 1 liter Coke

.10 AZN, .12 USD 1 egg

.30 AZN, .36 USD 1 loaf of bread

5.00 AZN, 5.96 USD bus ride from Ujar to Baku (about 3.5 hours)

6.90 AZN, 8.22 USD 1 kilo* cheese

1.30 AZN, 1.55 USD 450 grams laundry detergent

15.00 AZN, 17.87 USD 1 month DSL internet

2.00 AZN, 2.38 USD 1 kilo* tomatoes

.70 AZN, .83 USD 1 kilo* potatoes

.20 AZN, .24 USD 1 bunch of cilantro, dill or green onions

.50 AZN, .60 USD snickers bar

1.50 AZN, 1.79 USD 4 rolls toilet paper

1.40 AZN, 1.67 USD 1 liter milk

.15 AZN, .18 USD subway ride in Baku

1.60 AZN, 1.91 USD 1 liter vegetable oil

1.00 AZN, 1.20 USD 1 kilo* flour

50.00 AZN, 59.58 USD 1 month rent (definitely one of the cheapest)

*1 kilo = 2.2 lbs

One of the things that I've enjoyed the most during my service here is the time I've spent with teenagers. While there are definitely cultural differences between Azerbaijan and the US, there are also things that don't vary between countries - the desire to spend time with their friends, travel, listen to music and talk about celebrities, etc.

Last year I did a summer camp with my sitemate and it was a great experience. From a one day trip we took with the girls to another region of the country I had the idea to expand it this year. For a country that's the size of the state of Maine, it's amazing how little these teens have traveled. So I wrote what's called a Peace Corps Partnership Program grant - this is a grant that gets posted on the Peace Corps website and people back in the US can make a tax deductible donation.

Some basic information: there will be five trips (four day trips and one overnight trip), the funds from this grant will cover some of the following costs: travel, one hotel stay, various admission fees, and a few meals. The girls themselves (approximately 15 of them) will be paying a participation fee and providing sack lunches for four of the five trips. They will be visiting a UNESCO world heritage site, a city on the silk road, and a city embracing their history of metalworking, among others. The textbooks they use in school will be coming to life for them, and they will return to their homes and families with an experience they will be sure to share with many others - from stories about the cities to something as simple as eating in a restaurant, which is something that most of them haven't done before.

So how can you help, you say? Any donation, from $1 to $100 (or whatever your heart desires), would be greatly appreciated. Below is the link to the site where donations can be made. And feel free to share this information with your friends!

Click here for information about the project and how to donate...

If you have any questions about my project feel free to email me at wendysuewalter@gmail.com.

I'm comfortable in my life here. I know my way around town. While I'm not fluent I can communicate in my daily life. I have some work to do. I have local friends who, while they may not know me as well as my American friends do, they are definitely friends and not just acquantainces.

But one challenge lingers. America is a very scheduled, ask permission type of environment, and it has been ingrained in me from a young age. You should ask before you just stop by someone's house. You should be cognizant of the time before you call someone on the phone in case they might be asleep. And on and on.

Those thoughts don't exist here. It's completely normal to just drop by someone's house and end up staying for a few hours - chatting, drinking tea, or even staying for a full meal. Or for the phone to ring at 1:00am. And that's been hard - I have to push myself to stop by people's houses "uninvited." Because to them, I'm not uninvited. When I see someone in town that I know, they'll ask me: "Why haven't you come by?" It's not a proper response to ask when I should come, because the invitation has always been open. I could go anytime.

Cultural acclimation is not instantaneous. I'm still working on it, but I think I'm happier being in a continuous state of learning and growing instead of being fully conformed to Azerbaijani culture. I'm still me, still an American, and that cultural exchange and learning is part of what makes the Peace Corps experience a valuable one.

Last week was my birthday. My 30th birthday. It was quite nice to spend it here - it's definitely not as big of a deal here as it is in the States. Although I don't know which birthdays are big deals here. But I'm beyond it - the majority of people my age already have kids and have had kids for quite awhile.

So I've been to a number of birthday parties during the past year for the girls that I work with. They wanted to return the gesture, so last week we had a birthday party for me. Now I don't have a fully functioning Azeri kitchen (no meat grinder, no supply of grape leaves, no accessories to make sure the table looks presentable, etc.), so reinforcements were called in. The day before the event we had a meeting and everyone left with their assignments: bring your own plates and glasses (I only have a set of 4, 12 girls were anticipated), one person was assigned the mixer, one the fruit bowls, another the grape leaves, and on and on. They determined who lived closest so they could just run over there and use the meat grinder and not have to bring it over. And I had my shopping list and the assignment to get a couple chairs from work for the day.

So the day came and I had a full kitchen. We had bowls of fruit, paytaq salad, dolma, cutlet, veggies, and finally, cake, complete with candles and sparklers. It was a full day that started with preparations at about 11am, eating around 3pm, then clean up and some games, with everyone heading out about 6pm. It makes me tired just thinking about it - both because it was such a long day and and because it was an overwhelming amount of activity in my normally quiet house. When we were eating cake I was even surprised with a present of a stuffed bear.

It was a great day and I'm so happy that I have girls that love to celebrate and have a fun time together...

The actual day of (the day with the girls was earlier in the week because of their school vacation) I had some PCV friends over for enchiladas and cards. Perfect way to bring in the next decade!

The Novruz 2010 experience was different than the 2009 experience. Last year, during the holiday, I was still living with a host family. This year I'm living on my own and I chose who to spend the holiday with and how much time to spend there.

During the week(s) leading up to the holiday the women of the household are busy baking up a storm. Now not being a typical Azeri woman I didn't have all this preparation to do on my own. But they are some tasty treats, and I wanted to learn how to make them! So I spent three afternoons at my tutor's (and friend's) house baking with her and her mother.

Day 1: şor cörəyi (sweet bread with sugar & nuts inside)

Day 2: şəkərbura (pastry with sugar & nuts inside)

Day 3: paxlava (baklava)For those days, I was her substitute daughter. My friend is in her early 20's, but she doesn't really like to bake (or cook, for that matter) and hasn't learned. So I was the Azeri daughter, learning to cook from her mother - for preparation of having a family of my own, of course! Here are a couple pictures of our days.

Now I just have to try these recipes on my own before I leave the country. But first I have to translate a couple spices that I couldn't find in the dictionary...

The actual day of the holiday I spent with the family of a couple of teenage girls that came to camp last summer, are in my cooking club and are my neighbors since I moved a couple of months ago. While I could have gone many places, I chose to go one place and spend the entire day there. I received instructions on how to cook our meal, looked at tons of pictures, played catch with the kids, helped one of the girls write a letter in English, ate a ton, and much more.

Like last year, there was a fire. And fire jumping. And dancing around the fire. But this celebration had the added excitement of fireworks! And I remembered just how jumpy I am to loud noises. After dusk, when we had the fire festivities, we headed inside for our gigantic meal - plov, dolma, compot, and more sweets. Then the kids and I went out for papaq atmaq - literally, to throw hats. We knocked on neighbors' doors, left our hats, and then ran away before they came to the door. Then the neighbor would fill our hats with candy and fruit. While these are traditional ways of celebrating Novruz, it can vary a little from family to family just depending on the ages of the kids, etc. - for example, with my host family the two girls were older, so they didn't throw hats. But the meal was mostly the same - just like how most Americans have turkey as the main dish for Thanksgiving, plov is the main dish for Novruz.

It was a great day, with a wonderfully welcoming family, and I'm glad that they invited me into their life and shared their holiday with me.

Maybe you're reading this because you know me. Or maybe because you're interested in Azerbaijan. Or the Peace Corps in general. Or living in any foreign country. Or you just randomly stumbled on to this blog and really have no reason to read this except that you already started and don't want to waste the time you already spent getting this far...

Well, if any of those are true, here's a link to some other opinions you might be interested in - you can read other Volunteers' blogs who are anywhere from Albania to Zambia, including other Volunteers serving with me here in Azerbaijan.

Note: the link above will take you to the Azerbaijan page. If you want to explore other countries, just click on the "country" tab and select the country of your choosing.

On a typical day in Michigan I would drive by any number of gas stations, check the prices to see how they've changed overnight (or even during the workday) and what the difference is from the gas station across the street, and decide if I need gas that day or if I can wait for a potential price drop. Here it doesn't exactly work like that. First of all, as Volunteers we're not allowed to drive. But we do obviously need to travel. I've been on my share of roads in Azerbaijan and stopped at gas stations for the marshrutka to fill up, and at first I didn't notice the phenomenon. Then I began to pay more attention and began questioning it - do the gas prices not change here? Really? Really. The picture here is indicative of the past 17 months that I've lived in Azerbaijan - the prices have been exactly the same throughout the whole time. In the States we're lucky if they're the same for an entire day!

The other interesting aspect of this is that I always thought that living in an oil-rich country would produce some benefits - namely, gas would be a better deal here than in places that require long distance shipping. But using the A-93 gas as an example: 0.55 AZN/liter = $0.685 USD/liter 1 gallon = 3.78542 liters so, 1 gallon = $2.59 USD

Price of gas in Michigan last week: $2.59/gallon.

Last week my Volunteer group (AZ6) had our Mid Service Conference (MSC). It was a chance to reflect on our first year + of service, talk about our current and future projects, and start to think about life after the Peace Corps. I think I gained a few things from this: an increased motivation for my projects, the realization that I can’t compare my service to anyone else’s since everyone’s experience is unique due to their organization, community, resources, etc., and that what I see in my experience is but a small portion of what I’m doing. We had a guest speaker who had been taught by a Peace Corps Volunteer in Turkey in the 1960s, and it was incredible to hear his reflections from something that happened over 40 years ago.

The conference was officially over on Thursday evening, and Friday was supposed to be our travel day. Well, we all woke up to text messages saying that we weren’t going anywhere at the pre-arranged time, and to stay tuned. At some point during the night it had started to snow and Baku was pretty much at a standstill. So the Peace Corps put us up in the hotel for another night, arranged for our meals, and we finally left late Saturday morning. I don’t think there was a line item in the budget for that cost…but since we were in for a conference (and not just for a weekend away) it was their responsibility to make sure we were safe. That’s a BIG thanks to the Peace Corps for being flexible and working on their snow day (the office was closed because of the weather). Once we all determined we were in for the day, it was a lot of fun – good food, games, movies, time to catch up with friends, etc. (and no meetings) – but I think we would’ve gone a little stir-crazy if it was for much longer.

The weekend was wrapped up with SuperBowl XLIV, showing at the Hyatt bar at 3:30am local time (someone knew someone who knew someone who arranged the place). There were probably about 30 PCVs there – some still up from Sunday and others with short naps keeping them up. It was a very American feeling experience – minus the commercials. Then everyone dispersed, and we won’t be together as a whole group until our Close of Service (COS) Conference later this year.

Different no longer seems that different. I’ve been here long enough that things I would’ve noticed a year ago I no longer notice – they’re just part of the normal, everyday environment that is my life. That is, until I see something that before coming here would have been normal, but now the absence of it is normal. A few days ago, I saw a woman driving a car. Not only was she driving a car, but she wasn’t alone, and her passenger was a man! Shocking! In my town I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen a woman driving a car. So many people are surprised to learn that I know how to drive a car, and that I did so on a daily basis in America. Here driving is a man’s world. I’ve never seen a female taxi driver, and there are as many taxi drivers as there are men standing on corners eating sunflower seeds (and that means a lot). Even when I do see women in cars, the majority of the time they are sitting in the backseat, even if it’s a family member’s car. It’s just tradition, how it’s done. When I go somewhere by car, sometimes I get put in the front seat and it’s odd how I can feel people looking at me – granted, I’m probably being put there so I don’t have to sit next to a man I don’t know, but observers don’t know that. It makes me wonder what else I’m no longer noticing…

(As time goes on, interesting blog entries get more difficult to think of for the above reason – if you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to let me know!)

I am not normally a spontaneous person. Things like moving, finding a new job, adopting a pet, etc. are usually fully researched so I can know what I’m getting myself into. When I arrived in Azerbaijan, one of the things that I decided I would not do was to adopt a pet. It takes away some freedom to travel because they need to be fed, there’s the problem of what to do with it once my service is over, and many other things. If you can’t already tell where the point of this post is going…well, read on. So last Saturday I moved. Later that day I made a quick trip to the bazaar for some extension cords (my outlets are located in the most inopportune places) and as I turned down the road, I saw a little fluff ball on the corner. Now, I should have known better and not even gone up to pet it. But I did. Now, it’s at my house, eating a random diet of things like apples, bread, leftover chicken, etc. and following me wherever I go. It seemed like it was meant to be – I’m finally in a perfect place for an animal and there’s even room for it to live outside (I really don’t want to housetrain a dog). Just look – how could I have refused this face?

As I mentioned in a recent post, I had to find a new place to live. My last landlord, when I moved in, asked me how long I would be staying. I said that I would be there until December 2010 and he seemed fine with that. A couple weeks later he went to visit family in Iran and came back with the news that they will be coming to Azerbaijan in March and living where I lived. The one good thing that I can say about this is that I had plenty of notice, which is not always the case for Volunteers. Being in a country where much of its population works outside of its borders (usually in Russia) it’s not uncommon for Volunteers to be living in a house whose landlord is living in another country. It’s not even uncommon for them to return and need to have their house back within the week. So for the notice I was very grateful. You may ask, but it’s only January, why did you move already? Well, housing is a precarious situation – there aren’t exactly rental communities with apartments that are always available – what’s available now may not be available next week or next month. So since a place was found I decided to move immediately – both because of availability and because knowing that I’d have to move in the future is unsettling, and it’s nice to not have that uncertainty about not knowing where I’ll be living. Not to mention that it’s a better deal than my last place! So I packed my things up Friday evening, my Director and a co-worker came Saturday morning with a car to help me move, and an hour later everything was unloaded and sitting in the middle of the floor. A day later everything had been put away and mostly organized. I still have some things to learn, like how to pump the water (apparently a part needs to be replaced), and my borrowed refrigerator will arrive sometime this week, but the moving process is over. Now my only question is how I’ve managed to accumulate so much stuff in the small amount of time I’ve been here…

Shopping here is something to adjust to. There aren’t many supermarkets and grocery stores like in the US. It is not self-service. Most stores are small and are pretty much an open area with counters and shelves behind them. You just talk to the salesperson and he/she gets you whatever you want (too bad they don’t deliver). And it’s the same in the bazaar. So while the freedom to choose what you want is definitely limited, it cuts down on the spontaneous purchases. It’s hard to stand in front of someone who has multiple customers and not know what you want, so it’s easier to go prepared. At first, it was just necessary to explain that I was looking – unlike the familiar grocery stores; here the options can vary greatly from store to store. So now that I know what’s available at each place, I can plan. Shopping can be time consuming – the bazaar for fresh fruits and vegetables, a certain store for chicken, another store for cheese, etc. And since most foods are not available frozen or packaged, it’s necessary to go much more often.

In my town we do have one “American style” grocery store – complete with aisles and grocery carts. The selection isn’t much different than the rest of the stores in town, but when you don’t want sales pressure or want the feel of home (not to mention the air conditioning in the summer) it’s where I go. But I also enjoy the local shops. I have one place that I go regularly and have come to know the two storekeepers. Different than I’ve ever experienced before, it’s nice to have a conversation with them (as opposed to massive amounts of continually changing employees at American grocery stores). We talk about what I’m baking (since most times it’s different than Azeri food), work, and just general conversational things. It’s also nice to be known in the bazaar – the more known you are, the better chance you have of not getting ripped off with the foreigner price, and instead getting the local price – and on a Peace Corps living stipend, that’s a necessary thing!

Who knows? I may just seek out those small little mom and pop shops when I return to America – that is, if there are any left...

Does it ever seem to you that some people look back at situations they used to be in with rose colored glasses? In Azerbaijan many people are poor and many people are unemployed. But when they talk about their standard of living, they say that they would gladly go back to living in Soviet times. In my small town alone there was a cotton factory, a milk factory, and a fruit preserve factory, none of which are currently operational - they all closed down about the time the Soviet Union dissolved. That is the main comparison that I hear - people had jobs then, and now there is nothing. Utility costs have also skyrocketed. The family that I was talking about this with earlier this week is currently employed, but would be considered underemployed. For example, the father drives a motorcycle/cart like vehicle that makes deliveries from the bazar, from house to house, etc. I don't know if this is a common view throughout Azerbaijan, or one that only exists in my town due to the tremendous loss of jobs over the past 15 - 20 years. But it is something I've heard from more than one family. When you compare Azerbaijan today to what people experienced in the Soviet Union - the corruption, the laws, etc. - the common citizen doesn't feel better off. They still have corruption. The press is government owned and run. Were there things back then that weren't that great? Probably - I think most people in most countries would say that there are things about their government they would like changed. But what tilts the scales in the favor of one time over another? How can it be improved? Is it enough to just have a job? Or does it have to bring in a certain amount of income? Or personal satisfaction? And how do you empower people to make these changes themselves?

As Americans (well, any nationality that is not Azeri) Peace Corps Volunteers stand out and are noticed, especially if they are in smaller towns. I’m not it in a village, but even in a smallish city I’m definitely noticed, and more people (by A LOT) know who I am than I know who they are. Here’s just a small example of that.

The distance between my house and my work is about a half hour walk. Yesterday I was in the midst of this walk when a man that I did not know stopped me. He asked me if I need a house and I responded that yes, I do need a house (that story will be saved for another posting). And he replied that he had a house. So while I didn’t have time at that moment to discuss it (along with the fact that I didn’t really want to be standing in the middle of town having a conversation with a man that I knew nothing about – social appearances being everything) I did get his name and number so that my Director and I could follow up with him. How he knew that I needed a house is mystery, as much as anything can be in a place where someone I don’t know asked me how my recent trip to Baku was or how I barely have to explain where I work because they already know – I’m a discussion piece.

So while I have yet to see if his extra/empty house will be the house that I move into (fingers crossed for the house hunting search), it’s just one of the many stories from the day in the life of a PCV.

The 2009 holidays passed much differently than the 2008 holidays. In 2008 I was living with a host family and worked on Christmas. Then I spent New Year’s with some American friends (in a snowstorm). In 2009 I spent Christmas with some American friends as well as some other foreigners that I just met. Then I spent New Year’s with an Azeri family, one of them being my best friend here in town. And it was about 60 degrees (Celsius, of course) and sunny.

It was great to celebrate Christmas, even if the traditions weren’t the same. There was a Christmas movie (Elf) on Christmas Eve and gingerbread for breakfast. There was a hike in the morning in the hills outside of Ganja. And there was turkey and potatoes and stuffing and pie. And part of the group we were celebrating with was a British family, which meant we also had mince pie (ok) and Christmas pudding (yum). So while it’s hard being away from the normal traditions, it’s exciting to experience and make new ones.

New Year’s was quite uneventful. It was enjoyable to spend it with a local family, enjoying their company and eating good food. I think it was a little different than normal, this year was the first time in a long time that matəm fell over New Year’s (the calendar is lunar, so it shifts about 10 days each year). Matəm is the Islamic mourning period that lasts for 40 days. So I have a feeling there would have been some drinks and/or dancing had that not been the case. But it was, so we watched a concert and fireworks on tv, ate a huge meal, talked, etc. I spent the night there and then left in the early afternoon – I had another holiday meal to eat! My Director invited me over so I went directly from my friend’s to my Director’s and ate more of the same. It was fun to be with locals on the holiday and see how similar it was to what I probably would have been doing at home in America. One of the only differences was the lack of New Year’s resolutions, which I’ve never really made anyway.

So in a country that doesn’t celebrate Christmas: two Christmases down, none to go. See you in December!

A few days ago I was invited to School Number 3’s Alphabet Party (the English version). Now I had absolutely no idea what this was (I’ve had very little exposure to the schools), but I was available so I went. It turns out that it was an event to demonstrate the English that they’ve learned so far. Other teachers, the School Director, mothers, grandmothers, a musician and cameraman were all in attendance (but no fathers or grandfathers). Apparently they learn some basic English before 5th form (grade) but 5th form is when they start learning the alphabet and grammar. So I heard the alphabet, the seasons and months, and then some songs, poems, and a story, all in English, performed by the 5th form class. I’ve never been to a school program before, but it was definitely more elaborate than I was expecting – props and multiple costume changes included. Near the end people began to speak – the School Director, etc., and then all of a sudden I was asked to speak. And while the rest of the day was entirely in English, everyone else was speaking in Azeri, so that’s what I did. Off the top of my head I said thank you for the invitation, how it was interesting to experience Azerbaijan’s culture because we don’t have a day like this in America, and that if you want to learn English the basics are important. Apparently it was mostly correct – but I kind of wish I had known ahead of time so that it could’ve been better. Oh well. Then the day concluded with tea and cake with some of the other teachers – one of whom I’d actually met before through my sitemate. And while I have a feeling that some of the speaking was just memorized, it was still a neat experience to see what they are learning and doing in class.

We’re now halfway through our actual service (the two years didn’t actually start until training was over and we were sworn in as Volunteers – December 10, 2008) and the mid-service things (like dentist and doctor appointments) are starting. Last Friday when I was in Baku I had a dentist appointment scheduled. In general, I don’t like dentists. I’ve had a lot of dental work done and some of it left me with bad memories. So suffice it to say, I did not have great hopes for this dentist. Other Volunteers had said good things, but in my head I was trying to be overly pessimistic, so that hopefully my visit would exceed my expectations…

And oh my, did the visit exceed my expectations! When I walked through that door I may have well walked through a portal to America. America in the future even, as this dentist was more modern than any I had been to in the States. I was greeted in English (although I did hear both Russian and Azeri during my visit) and asked to complete a form in English. I heard other patients speaking English in the waiting room (and they were not other PCVs). The cleaning room I was taken to was spotless, and while part of the cleaning seemed familiar, part of it also seemed new and high tech. Then I was taken to an x-ray room and when the technician took the x-rays they immediately showed up on the computer screen in front of me. No lighted box with the developed x-rays in front of it, but on the computer screen with the technician saving them to a disc to be included in my file. Then the dentist came in and reviewed everything, and I was on my way, discarding my plastic shoe covers on the way out. And while yes, I do have a cavity that will be filled later this month; I am definitely at ease with the thought of going back there.

Disclaimer: This is the service that PCVs receive, and it is not representative of the general population. While we do live at the level of our communities in terms of our living stipend, our medical care isn’t included in that. The PC Azerbaijan office has two doctors on staff and when dentists and hospitals are needed, they are generally the same facilities that Embassy employees and expats use.

http://en.trend.az/news/politics/foreign/1596971.html

Today was moving day! Yesterday 64 new Volunteers swore in (see the local news article - sorry, I couldn't get the link to work; you'll have to copy and paste) and today they lugged all of their stuff to the regions to meet their new host families and organizations. No one new came to Ujar, but I have new neighbors in some closeby towns. PC Azerbaijan is now 119 strong!!

Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a training session for the AZ7s, the Trainees who arrived in October and will swear in as Volunteers next week. The session that I helped with was called “What To Do When There’s Nothing To Do (Problem Solving)” and I was there along with another Volunteer. We brought very different experiences to the session – she had almost too much work to do right from the very beginning while I definitely experienced a lot of downtime in the beginning. We talked about our experiences – what our challenges were/are, how we solved problems, what we did upon moving to site, and much more. It was almost more interesting to just answer their questions. They all have their permanent site assignments and are getting an idea of what their next two years are really going to be like. Before receiving site assignments it all seems a bit hypothetical – there’s really no way of knowing how they’re going to use all this information that is being given to them. For example, the other Volunteer that I presented with lives in the second largest city in Azerbaijan, has multiple English speakers at her counterpart organization, and very rarely uses Azerbaijani, whereas I’m just the opposite since I’m in a smaller town, without English speakers at my counterpart organization, and I rarely use English. But that’s something that is specific to each Volunteer, the city/village they are placed in, the organization they will work with, and the community projects they will undertake.

It was kind of surreal to be back in the familiar environment of Sumgayit – going to the same internet café, eating at the same restaurant (even recognizing employees from those places), etc. But there were obviously new things there too – different Americans, a new bus station, and of course, I understood much more of what was being said. Due to the travel time necessary I stayed in Sumgayit for two nights, which made it a great time to get to know the new Volunteers. I stayed with one of the Trainees (at her host family’s), chatted with the Trainees before and after the session, had tea with one who wanted some more discussion because he’s going to an organization that’s very similar to mine, and even went to a conversation club that a couple of the Trainees were participating in. It was a great addition to the Thanksgiving weekend (I went to straight to Sumgayit from Baku) and I’m excited to get to know these Volunteers once they move to their permanent sites and they’re in the “real” Azerbaijan out of their training environment. They are super excited to move to the regions and get to work, and hopefully that will help to reinvigorate the rest of us as we, the AZ6s, move into our final year of service. Due to the time it takes to integrate and increase language skills, most Volunteers say that their second year is much more productive than their first…so let’s see what we can do!

This past weekend was Thanksgiving for the Azerbaijan Peace Corps Volunteers. We all gathered in Baku, staying with hosts from the US Embassy and USAID, and had our Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday afternoon at the American Embassy's Deputy Chief of Missions' house. I arrived on Friday and got to know my host – she actually went to my college’s biggest rival, small world, huh? Saturday morning we did some walking around town as she just came to this post in September, so we all learned new things about Baku. That afternoon we all gathered, and I think everyone but 3 or 4 people were in attendance. It was great to see everyone, some of whom I hadn’t seen since we swore in almost a year ago! Our dinner was potluck style and it was fun to have a combination of American classics like apple pie, turkey and stuffing along with Azeri salads and vegetable dishes. Following dinner we had a talent show which included everything from lip synching to air guitar and drums, push-ups to singing. That evening was filled with a free phone call to America and a Wii tournament. The next morning we went to a Christmas exhibition at a German center downtown – there was everything from children singing Christmas songs to gingerbread houses. It was our own little Black Friday :) Then it was to the staple of every Baku visit: CitiMart, an amazing grocery store where you can buy things that you can’t get in the regions, even if it is super expensive. So I picked up a few things, had lunch, and headed out of town. And even if there was no football to watch it was still a great day filled with friends, food, and lots of things to be thankful for.

So this was the first time I had stayed with an expat in Baku. I rarely come in just for fun and when we come in for official Peace Corps business we’re put up at a hotel. All I have to say is wow! There was really no difference between her apartment and facilities in Baku and what you’d find in America. We live as Volunteers with just our living stipend and it becomes hard for us to remember that Baku is actually in the same country we’re serving in – it’s like another world – but that’s partly why no Volunteers are placed there (there’s money, thus development, in Baku). So many things that Volunteers don’t have, things that can easily be taken for granted in America, were right there in her fabulous apartment (you know, things like flushing toilets, showers and amazing heat). While I could never live like that in my region it was a nice break from the reality of life for a couple days. Now if only I could’ve taken her washing machine back with me…

My patience has grown by leaps and bounds since I arrived in Azerbaijan. Here's an example of that from last week.

Last Thursday I had an errand to run. I'm working with some youth who want to plant some trees at their school and I arranged through a fellow PCV to get 75 free trees. The only thing was that I needed to go two hours west to pick them up. So the Director of my organization volunteered to take me/go with me (he has a friend with a car) even though the project isn't affiliated with my organization (how amazing is he!). We left the office at 10:30am and travelled as planned to Ganja, two hours west. There we picked up the trees and headed back east. We stopped quickly before we left the city for doner, a cheap sandwich-like meal that is sold on the street in the larger cities, and then headed for home. We travelled great for a little while, until we came to a road block. So we followed the detour. Now, there are not many main roads here, so we went very far out of our way for this detour - at least 45 minutes. Then we came back down on the east side of the city where the detour began. Unfortunately at that point the road was still closed. So the driver and my Director were out talking to the road patrol, and we were eventually allowed onto the road. By this point there is also car trouble; the car I was riding in had to be jumped to start. So we thought we were ok - we had gotten on the road. But after we drove for a short bit we were diverted into a gas station parking lot, where we sat for at least a half hour while they cleared the road so the presidential motorcade could pass. This was why the road was closed. I would guess that at least 15 - 20 kilometers were closed at a time. When we left the gas station the car had to be jumped again, and nothing electrical was working (lights, wipers, etc.) so we stopped by a service station. This was another long wait - at least 45 minutes - while we waited for the correct person, while he checked out the car, while he searched for and found the part we needed, and then finally while he installed and tested it. From there, we were finally able to get back to my office, unload the trees, and be done for the day at about 6:30pm. Have I mentioned that it rained all afternoon? I also got a call that I had a package waiting for me at the post office and I didn't get back in time to pick it up. But these things were out of my control and I just sat in the backseat patiently waiting for the issues to be resolved. There was nothing I could do and being impatient wouldn't have made a difference, except for maybe making the time seem even longer. This is just one of the many changes I have noticed in myself since I began my time here...

One of the social activities for women here in Azerbaijan is cooking – they love having guests and feeding them. And apparently this starts at a young age. They cook much more than I did as a teenager. I have a group of girls that comes over every couple of weeks and we cook together. We have made everything from mashed potatoes to salad and pizza (an American version and an Azeri version) to cake. And I love it! I’m exploring new food (I’m growing!) and giving these girls a place for social interaction (and I thought there was nothing to do in Northern Michigan). There’s no special focus on English, we just spend time together and speak whichever language they want – there’s one girl who knows a decent amount of English so she usually speaks it with me, while the others know very little English so we speak Azeri. We spend a couple hours preparing everything, we eat together, clean up, and then end the day with tea. And thrown in the midst of all that is an insane amount of picture taking. I love the fact that the more time I spend with these girls the less I think of them as Azeri and more as just teenage girls. Everyone has their thing, but it’s not related to their nationality – there’s the one who’s always in charge, the one sneaking a bite before it’s ready, the one trying to escape the work, the one taking pictures, and the one who goes along with everything…. Now if only I could get them to try the American food that I bake…

Being that I am 29, single, and living in Azerbaijan, a question that I am repeatedly asked is if I will marry an Azeri. While I’m not so close-minded as to rule out the entire Azerbaijani male population, the odds are quite low that this will happen. First, I haven’t become fluent in the language or met a man who is fluent in English (at least in my region) and I think that’s kind of important. Also, the division of family work is very different here. Women do pretty much everything related to housework, cooking, family rearing, etc. (even when they also work outside of the home). The parts that I have seen men participate in are house maintenance (plumbing, electrical, etc.) and farm work. So this means I have very entertaining cultural exchange conversations relating life in America to life in Azerbaijan. What, men cook in America? Yes, men cook in America and they also clean and do laundry and help with the kids. By saying that I would like to marry someone who will share those things with me has brought some Azeri men (co-workers in their early 20s) to laughter. But it’s true – I remember being a kid and my mom would mow the front yard and my dad would mow the backyard. My mom would cook some vegetables and my dad would cook the meat and that would be dinner. If my dad was in town and my mom needed something from the store, he’d stop and pick it up. If my mom was busy and there was something involving me or my brother, my dad did it. So while this is all true, there is also an ulterior motive behind these conversations – afterwards people are not quite as insistent about trying to set me up. (Herein lies some of the pros to being a married Volunteer, no set ups attempted and the locals can see these things in action.)

In the past couple of weeks I’ve been to two different birthday parties. They were both for teenage girls (cousins, in fact) and were great fun. They were something that the girls pretty much organized themselves – everyone (five guests including me at each party, to the second one I brought another PCV that was visiting me for the weekend) arrived in the late afternoon, we had tea (of course), cake and fruit (and “pizza” and salad at one), and then we had a dance party. And then we were each home by 7pm. This wasn’t a family celebration but a celebration with their friends, and they had a lot of fun. So as far as traditional Azerbaijani birthday parties, I’m not sure what qualifies – I think it would be different with the rest of their family present. These parties also weren’t exactly the same as each other – there was essentially a meal at one as well as candles on the cake that the birthday girl blew them out. And both birthday girls made their own cakes. (Check out the picture below – there’s glitter and everything!) Their friends brought presents for them, things like figurines, jewelry, and a jewelry box. So I guess my point is while there is a little difference between parties in America and Azerbaijan (although it’s been awhile since I was at a teenage girl’s birthday party in America) they’re still teenage girls who just want to spend time with their friends.

Sometimes as Peace Corps Volunteers we become so accustomed to our lives here that we don't really realize what we're missing until we experience it again. I had one of those experiences this past weekend. (Yes, I'm still in Azerbaijan.) Being a primarily Muslim country, there is not an abundance of churches to be able to attend here in Azerbaijan; in Baku there are only a handful, and even less that are in English. But this past weekend a friend had an apartment in Baku, so I and a few others came in and stayed with her and then went to Baku International Fellowship Sunday morning. It was like going home - familiar music, friendly faces and the commonality of the English language. There is a large population of expats living in the Baku area because of the oil industry (other reasons too, but that's the big one) and this church initially grew out of their desire for a religious environment for their kids and themselves. It has since grown and there are Azeris attending along with foreigners. It was truly one of the most diverse places I've been - locals as well as people from pretty much all of the continents - Asia, Africa, Europe, North America...Azerbaijan isn't the first place I'd think to hear Spanish, but that I did! This environment is something that I miss incredibly. Church has always been a second home to me and while I feel comforted by having a group of friends here that completely gets that, it's still different than not having the familiar environment of a church body. It was so nice to worship in this place that seems so secular and to realize that I'm in the country for the same reasons as many of the other people that I was worshipping with: to serve others. And while I've been here for over a year now and it was the first time I was able to attend, it definitely won't be the last.

As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, AZ7s, the new group of Volunteers, have arrived. They arrived on October 1st and have been in training since then, and will stay there until they swear in as Volunteers (now they’re considered Trainees) in mid-December. Well, with the exception of the past few days. They had their Volunteer site visits and I was lucky to be able to host two new CED Volunteers (this is a great change from last year, where we visited random Volunteers instead of Volunteers in our same sector – CED, TEFL or YD). They arrived on Sunday afternoon and left on Wednesday morning, and the purpose of the visit was to see what life is like as a Volunteer in the regions, outside of their training “bubble” where they can still speak English everyday and have a set schedule. And while there’s not much to see in my town (it’s not one of the few tourist locations that Azerbaijan has) we had a great time. We had social time with Kevin (my sitemate) and the Trainees that came to visit him, explored the bazaar, made normal PCV visits to places like the bank, post office, multiple stores, cooked non-Azeri food and they also came to work with me on Tuesday. I know one of the main things I came away with from my own site visit last year was how much I would really use Azeri once I moved to site, and I think that’s true for them too – I only use English for a couple classes that I teach and then every other interaction I have is in English – at the bazaar, the post office, with my Director, etc. They also bombarded me with questions about my experiences and got answers that will hopefully help them as they prepare for their service. Some of the questions were the following: What/who helped you when you moved to your permanent site (learning your way around, starting work, etc.)? Can you buy peanut butter anywhere in Azerbaijan? How much do you communicate with the Peace Corps staff once you’re at site? What’s your money situation – is what you’re given enough? What are the conferences that happen later in our service? What’s your favorite and least favorite thing about Azerbaijan/your site/Peace Corps? How can I influence my site placement? And on and on. But that’s okay, my group was exactly the same way last year. Now they’ve returned to their training environment and I’m sure they’re all comparing notes on what they learned and experienced on their site visits (along with where they want to end up, I’m sure)…

And while this site visit is mainly for the benefit of the Trainees, it was great on my end too. The Trainees really re-energized me as I look towards the remainder of my service and what I want/need to accomplish by then. It was kind of surreal today to talk to my Director – he had an application for a Volunteer (a different organization that he knows the Director of) that was too late for this year, so it will be considered next year, and while I was telling him this he told me that we’ll want to apply for his organization next year too – and if approved that person will replace me when I leave! That kind of brought it home for me how fast this time has gone and how quickly the rest of the time will go…I better get back to work!

#1 A hotel just outside Baku for the first few days after arrival in country.

#2 PST (Pre-Service Training) host family until swearing in in mid-December.

#3 Permanent Site host family for the first four months of living in Ujar.

#4 Finally able to live independently; so I moved to what I thought would be independent housing.

#5 Due to unrealized expectations in #4, moved to another house last Saturday.

Housing can be a challenge (an understatement) in this country. Once we move to our permanent site the only involvement that the Peace Corps plays in this is working with our counterpart to determine our host family and approval of independent housing should we choose to live on our own (some Volunteers stay with a host family for the entire two years). And living independently is not as easy as you might think – there’s no rent.com or classified ads. There’s the old saying of “it’s all who you know,” and that pretty much sums it up. Both of my “independent” housing arrangements have been found by my Director/counterpart (partly because he’s wonderful, partly because it’s very helpful because it’s a male dominated society). The first was supposed to be great. The landlord was going to be moving to Moscow within a month of me moving in, so it would be exactly what I wanted, which was to live alone. Well, that month came and went. I heard a few excuses and delays and then it was time for me to go to America on vacation. I tried to have my landlord teach me about the house because she would probably be gone when I returned (the gas, the water, etc.) – every house in this country works just a little bit differently – but she said she would still be around when I returned. So I went on vacation and tried not to think about it. But when I returned she finally gave me the definitive no, she wouldn’t be going to Russia. Very frustrating, since that was why I moved there in the first place. I thought I’d try it out and see how it was with her still there, but that didn’t last too long. Once I found evidence of her going into my room when I was gone (amongst other things that I’ll leave out of this) I was ready to find a new place. So my Director and I went looking (and he went talking to his friends). Found a great place and had it approved, it just took awhile to finally move in. And last Saturday was finally the day. One of my co-workers came with a friend and his car, helped me pack it all up, cart it to the other side of town, and drop it in my new doorway. I am now on the first floor of an AMAZING house and eventually there will be someone in the second floor, but right now it’s empty. And even though it’s a house, there are separate kitchens on each floor, which was my main goal – a kitchen of my own. Yay! So I have a kitchen, bedroom, living room (with a tv my landlord left that even has an English channel!) and bathroom facilities. I’m at least settled in the kitchen, and slowly getting unpacked in my bedroom. Let’s just hope this is my last move…

In the Azeri alphabet, there is no W. And, as suspected, this makes life quite interesting for someone whose both first and last names begin with W. It invites double takes and long looks at my passport, with local officials trying out different ways of saying my name. And once they know how to say it, everything is fine (it’s a lot easier to pronounce than the “th” sound, which also does not exist here), but that doesn’t solve the problem of how to write it with a keyboard that doesn’t have Ws. And due to my location in the country and its proximity to the train, that’s how I usually travel going to and from Baku. So my collection of names from my tickets is as follows: Vendiy, Vendy, Venim, Vendu, Vendi & Vende. Which unfortunately just prompts more looks, because now my ticket doesn’t exactly match my name in my passport. Oh well. Life with a different alphabet.

Other Volunteers also have their own stories. Sue chose to go by Suzanne while here because her name means “water” in Azeri. And it must take forever for Kim to explain her name, which means “who” in Azeri. This is my friend Kim. Who? Kim. Who? Kim? But that’s the nature of the world, interacting with others and learning about their cultures through the names used – whether they are American names and how they rarely (in my experience) have other meanings or Azerbaijani where names routinely have other meanings – flower, kind, child, we found (finally having a boy after multiple girls), enough (girl after multiple girls), truth, dream, etc. Interesting, huh?

This past week I took a neighborhood student to a test in a nearby region, one of the six test locations offered throughout the country. This test was sponsored by the FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange) Program. It was the first step in their selection process to spend the 2010 – 2011 school year attending high school in America and living with an American host family. The first step consists of 16 multiple choice questions. The next step, which occurs the next day, is a pre-TOEFL/essay test. Next is an official application and individual/group interviews, followed by the final selection. Each step must be passed to move on to the next step. From previous years’ participation it’s estimated that over 2,000 students took the first test – and only 45 students will end up as exchange students.

My student, Fidan, did not pass the first round. She was definitely disappointed but seems to have bounced back a bit since the test a week ago. The eligible age range is a span of about 2 1/2 years, and she’s young enough that she’ll be able to try again next year. I think taking the test was a good experience for her, and now she’ll know what to expect next year. Hopefully this will also provide some motivation for throughout the year; this year was kind of a last minute decision. Now more preparation can be done on a regular basis, increasing her English knowledge and confidence. And while the odds will probably be about the same next year, the opportunity doesn’t stop there. There are undergraduate and graduate exchange programs available. And English is becoming increasingly important in the business environment, especially in Baku. So her thirst for English will hopefully only help her in the future…

I’ve said to many people that I have a new favorite fruit after living in Azerbaijan: the pomegranate. And I get the same quizzical look from most of those people, the look that means how do you eat a pomegranate? They’ve recently become popular in the States for drink flavors and bath product scents, but not so much for eating (at least I had never had one before I came to Azerbaijan, and I know many other people that have never had them). Pomegranate season is in fall/early winter (unlike most food in America that you can buy during any season, I couldn’t find them when I was there in June). So here are your directions:

Step 1: Buy/pick the pomegranates. According to Azeris you know they’re ripe when they’re big and make a hollow sound when you tap it (kind of like checking a watermelon to see if it’s ripe). Step 2: Tear the top (the stem) off – it will leave a small hole.

Step 3: Cut two shallow lines extending from the hole made in Step 2. Make the cuts deep enough to cut through the skin but not so deep that you cut the fruit inside.

Step 4: Place pressure near the top (near the hole) with your hands and then pull your hands apart, thus breaking the pomegranate in half.

Step 5: Pick out the pieces from the inside and eat as many as you want at once. Enjoy!

This week marks one year that I’ve been in Azerbaijan (along with the rest of the AZ6 group). While the experience as a whole is definitely different than my expectations, it’s still a great experience that I wouldn’t change for the world.

Here are some highlights:

- Meeting and interacting with all of the other great American PCVs who are also here to give of themselves.

- Sharing a Thanksgiving experience with a local family.

- Having our entire group of 61 Trainees survive training and swear in as Volunteers (apparently this is extremely rare).

- Trying new foods (if you know me, you understand that this is an accomplishment).

- Demonstrating how there are multiple ways of achieving the same result – I may cook differently than you, but in the end it’s still an edible meal…

- Surviving a summer where it’s above 100 degrees on a daily basis (and that’s considered mild).

- Being able to carry on full length conversations in Azeri without help (granted, some hand gestures, drawings, and synonyms are used).

- Celebrating new holidays like Women’s Day (Anyone need some perfume? I have plenty!) and Novruz (Why don’t we have a holiday in America that includes jumping over a fire?)

- Making do with what’s available – no take out, no delivery, and no pre-made meals.

- Not having to go through a summer without a camp experience.

- Appreciating inventions that I never really appreciated before – like long underwear, my -20 degree rated sleeping bag provided by PC, and water filters.

- Taking an amazing trip to nearby Tbilisi, Georgia with even more amazing friends.

- Meeting people who are challenging the norms and traditions of the local culture.

- And finally, knowing that I am truly making a difference. I know that I have touched people’s lives just as they have touched mine, and even though it may not always be in a concrete way, it’s still just (if not more) as valuable. And there’s still over a year to go…

And laundry is one of them. The majority of people don’t have washing machines, and the few that do usually just have agitators (an electric machine that essentially just moves the laundry around – no spin, rinse, etc.) that they only sometimes use. So here’s the process:

Step 1: Determine what laundry is actually dirty (no use washing something that’s only been worn once).

Step 2: Fill a tub with water and add soap. Swish it around until it’s bubbly and add the laundry.

Swish the laundry around so the soap is mixed in.

Step 3: Let the laundry sit for awhile.

Step 4: Return to the laundry and wash any stained clothing in the exact spot needed.

Step 5: Rinse and wring out the laundry.

Step 6: Hang the laundry on the line to dry.

Before I left the States to begin my service in Azerbaijan I was bombarded by paperwork. Lots of it. Some was required paperwork, of course, but there was also a lot of paperwork on what to expect as a Volunteer. We’re told all about the "fishbowl" experience, something that we’ll feel like we’re in because of the constant eyes on us. And now, after almost a year of service, I’ve determined that I don’t feel like a fish. Fish belong in a fishbowl. I feel more like a bird or a rabbit in a fishbowl. It’s almost like the accident phenomenon – why is traffic moving so slow if the accident is on the other side of the highway? Ahh, yes, everyone has to try and see what happened. I’m something strange, something new and different to look at and talk about. And it doesn’t go away. I live in a big enough town that I won’t know everyone and I’m continually seeing people I haven’t seen before. In a town where up until last week only four foreigners (and now there are two) lived, heads always turn when I walk. More people than the one I’m talking to listen to my language skills. And definitely more people know who I am than I know who they are. Now I’m not saying that it’s necessarily a bad thing. Statistically speaking a PCV is much safer when they’re known in the community than when they’re not. And it definitely helps the PCV’s work in the community when people know who they are and what they’re doing. But every so often it can be overwhelming and frustrating. It’s the complete opposite from the anonymity I could experience in America. I want to be able to go to the bazaar and back without being stared at. Without being asked what Azerbaijani food I like. Without being asked if I need a taxi. Without being asked if there is a certain food in America. Without being asked if I know a previous Volunteer that left before I arrived. And on and on. But it will pass. Over time I’ve learned what I can and can’t deal with depending on my mood, and I adjust accordingly. I choose more carefully what to do and who to interact with and the rough patch will soon be behind me, and I can move on in my work and life.

Just a glimpse into the not always perfect life of a Peace Corps Volunteer in Azerbaijan…

This past weekend I left Ucar and went to a village in the mountains called La Hic (pronounced La Hij). La Hic is a town known for its metalworking, especially with copper. We went up Sunday afternoon by bus – it was about an hour and a half from Ismayilli, and you have to go to Ismayilli to get to La Hic. It’s amazing, but I think that this weekend was one of the first times in this country that I’ve actually felt like I was “in” the mountains. In other places I’ve been near or in the mountains, it just didn’t feel the same – I felt like I could see the mountains but wasn't in them. Part of that is probably related to the narrow, winding road that we took to get there (good thing it’s decent weather right now, there are definitely times in the winter and/or heavy rain/fog that the road would be impassable). We wandered around the town area, and walked all the way to the mostly dry riverbed at the other side of town. We also wandered through the shops, the museum, and watched some of the metalwork being done. It’s a beautiful place with stone roads and fresh springs throughout. It’s one of the few places outside of Baku in Azerbaijan that tourists go, and that’s apparent by the spattering of English you hear by the shopkeepers as well as the fact that there are decorative items for sale. We also hiked out to a little waterfall about 2km from town. It was an interesting walk – the path is the riverbed, so we navigated rocks and jumped from one side of the water to the other. Without the path being labeled we missed the big waterfall, but it was still a beautiful place to wander around. It was a great little retreat, both to get away from the normal routine and the heat (lots of people in Azerbaijan go into the mountains in the summer to get away from the heat as well). Now it’s back to normal!

Once a week throughout the summer, and all of this week, I’ve been participating with a girls’ summer camp here in Ucar. We met at a local school every Wednesday from 9am – 12pm and then every day for this week, the last week of camp. The camp is open to girls in 6th – 9th form, which means the girls are about 12 – 16 years old, and my sitemate, Candice, invited them through her contacts at the local schools (she’s an English teacher).

So the girls come when they can – about 25 – 30 on a regular basis, with 6 girls having perfect attendance – and each day of camp consists of three components. First, we have a lesson, and the lessons cover topics like role models, diversity, leadership and creativity. We talk about what these things are and have discussions that hopefully expand their thinking on each topic. Then, we have an art time, and we made things such as pencil holders, yearbooks, collages and picture frames. The majority of the items we used are available here in Azerbaijan so the girls could continue to make any of the projects they want at home. Lastly, we have a sports/activity time. We played volleyball, did yoga, had a dance party and finally a water balloon toss.

Early in the summer one of the girls came to Candice and me with the idea of taking a trip somewhere together. After looking at how much time we had and the transportation available, we decided that a day trip to Ismayilli would be do-able. So we left Ucar at 8am, traveled to Goychay to change busses, and then went the rest of the way to Ismayilli. We were there by 10am and made the park in the center of town our base. We ate our sack lunches in the park, wandered around the bazaar, bought ice cream and basically just had a nice relaxing day. It was great to see the girls in a new environment, one where they don’t have to be as concerned about the community that they’re in because they don’t know anyone. They were just themselves, teenage girls, not someone’s daughter, granddaughter, sister or niece. We stayed in town until about 2pm, then we headed back home. When we got to Goychay (where we needed to change busses), we made another stop. There is a Volunteer in Goychay who recently opened a girls only internet club, so we stopped there. It was our goal to give these girls exposure to a place that they can go, and it’s an easy trip for them, only about 20 minutes from home. There are many internet clubs in Ucar but it’s not socially acceptable for girls to go there. I’ve been a few times, but I’ve never seen an Azerbaijani female at one. So this gives them an option – most people don’t have computers or the internet at home – of where they can use and learn about the internet and computers.

Camp has been an incredible experience! The majority of the girls that attended participated in the lessons and activities and had a lot of fun, and I had a lot of fun with them. I love that age group and since I don’t work in a school I haven’t met that many youth. The girls have already been asking for most of the summer if there’ll be camp next summer (my female sitemate leaves at the end of the month) and I’m definitely going to try. I’m excited to make it my own and see what can be done for these girls. There aren’t many social activities in the community and this gives them a chance to get out of their homes, meet other girls and learn and experience new things. And I already have a list of ideas started for next year…I can’t wait!

Below are pictures from camp: a group shot outside the school, craft time, our day trip to Ismayilli and the girls only internet club, having a dance party, playing volleyball, and the water balloon toss.

So since I’ve returned from a trip to America in June I’ve noticed a change in the social schedule in Ucar, and it’s mainly due to one thing: the heat. It is consistently over 100 degrees where I live (80 degrees while walking to work at 8:30am is pretty refreshing)! In May and June there were many people walking around town in the afternoon – visiting with friends and neighbors, doing errands, etc. It now looks like a ghost town from about 1:30pm – 5 or 6pm, when the heat begins to subside. Everyone hibernates inside – some people are at work while others are at home sleeping or surviving in front of a fan. And those that must be out are staying on the edge of the street, as close to the shade as possible. Then in the evening normal life resumes.

My own personal schedule hasn’t changed too much, but because of the heat there hasn’t been any interest in afternoon English classes at work. So I have morning classes, do some computer work, and head home sometime around mid-afternoon. A nap usually follows. Then I’ll do some work at home once it’s cooler. Meals are also dramatically later in the heat – who wants to cook over a stove when it’s that hot? If there’s even cooking happening in the first place – watermelon is really popular and in season now, and it’s not uncommon to just eat fruit and veggies all day. Now if only I could buy my watermelon a little closer to home…