English classes were full of fun the last week of April. In preparation for our Spring Festival my counterpart and I were mainly doing dress rehearsals with each class. But I needed some help from my older kids. Metanet teaches most of the younger forms but occasionally gets an older group. This year our kids are in 8th form and they are hilarious. They've stopped being so cautious around me and now we just have a really fun time. So this final week before our big Spring Festival consisted of learning all about spring holidays. We talked about St Patty's Day, Novruz, May Day, Mardi Gras, Easter, etc. But one day we did a little activity to go with our discussion of spring holidays around the world. Coloring Easter Eggs!

The second the dye was brought out, it got a bit crazy. The kids all thought that I was weird carrying a tray of eggs and they didn't quite get why I made them bring in hard boiled eggs themselves. I did a mini demo on how to use the spoons to dip eggs and all of a sudden I was swarmed. The kids were so into it. Oh man and don't even get me started on the magic crayon. Their own pens were soon brought out and many different crazy eggs came out. Since they were so excited I won't lie, a lot of eggs ended up turning brown. But they were equally as excited about their brown eggs, hilarious. We finished up with wearing face masks and beaded necklaces talking about Mardis Gras. I'm told that they would like to have a parade next year to play in a band. Who knows?

Okay I know this is about 6 months late but at least I'm getting to it right?

Just as it was last year, Easter was wonderful and spent with Nona! There was of course a midnight mass that involved a ridiculous amount of Georgians and my jacket getting a new hole and more wax from the mere proximity of all of the candles. Loki joined me and I had an amazing time. Sometimes with Georgian holidays people forget that I still don't speak Georgian so it was nice to have someone to talk to when everyone else was busy speaking noodle.

Outside the church we could see the enormous shadow of one of the altar boys ringing the bell. It was gorgeous. But now that I look at this picture it looks a bit horror film-ish. Just know that it was beautiful.

Georgian Orthodox also follows a form of Lent and the final days before Easter you are pretty much full out fasting. So the feast is EPIC. Every traditional food, wine, cakes, etc. I wrote out some toasts so I wouldn't be lost. After one huge feast we went in a huge group up to the church to pray more, light more candles and give offerings. It was nice to go during the day because it wasn't as hectic and the whole group dynamic was so joyous. Here's Natia, Nona and I leading the gang back home.

Then we landed back home after going to the church and 2 Easter feasts. I held a few babies and spent the better of 24 hours praying and yelling, "He has risen indeed!" in Georgian. Such a big crazy fun experience.

A Georgian PCV invited Löki and myself to hop the border for a day with our Georgian counterparts. He lives right across the border in a region called Lagodekhi. He has a great organization and we were frankly just there for the original introductions. The meeting started and I was rendered useless as Nona and Löki's counterparts jumped right in and began talking in super speedy Noodle Language. When the meeting was over we went to the Azerbaijani Institute and gave a mini presentation on what Peace Corps is as a whole and Tom's environmental project. At the end of the meeting and presentation we had a mini stop in the town center. Here's the gang. Then we headed over to the restaurant where all the counterparts were really awesome and big hams for the camera.We of course had to get back across the border before nightfall. It was a great end to a great day. Nona learned so much and she's been able to bring some of the stuff she's learned with some people in Qax. Great opportunities, done!

That's right America's country code may be #1 but in the Eurovision competition Azerbaijan came out on top! There is a competition in country to choose the singers and then they ship on out to compete. The singers names are Eldar and Nigar but they go by Eli and Nikki. Good move.

Now that we've won, Baku will be creating a big arena to host the 2012 Eurovision and I will spend the next year of my life getting way too familiar with their song. I've already brought the song into my clubs for translation and am trying to get it done before I get annoyed. For now, good song...very few lyrics so it's easy to understand. Love it!

I have a big Spring Festival coming up and there are oh so many things that need preparing. Little visual aid things to accompany the many poems, songs and plays that my kids will perform. This means that pretty much anytime I'm home I'm drawing. If you've skyped me lately, I've probably been coloring at the same time. That's pretty normal as I'm constantly adding posters to my classroom but this impending festival has upped the production needed. I started getting really busy with drawing and it was cutting out the time I would have otherwise spent with friends out guesting. So I took this show on the road. I packed up my little case of markers, pens and crayons (thanks mom!) while carrying a roll of poster paper I began going to my houses again. Now I just pull out my paper and get to drawing. The best part is that I can draw the outlines and everyone colors it in for me. I had no idea that everyone here is just as excited to color as I am. So as opposed to working my butt off filling in a small child sized butterfly, I just pass out the crayons and watch people go crazy. Then we tape it up, cut it out and everyone admires the hard work. This is the great community work I do, I color. Then I spread the joy of coloring to adults that would otherwise consider it child's play. Woohoo!

Azerbaijan takes part in the Writing Olympics (WO) which is a really amazing way for PCV's to celebrate students creative English writing skills.

"Writing Olympics was created in 2003 by a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Georgia. The volunteer sought to give students an opportunity for creative self-expression and to practice their English skills. Azerbaijani students joined the Writing Olympics competition in 2005. The competition initially expanded to Caucasus countries and has since expanded to 11 Peace Corps countries across the globe. Writing Olympics takes place annually during a 3-day period. On these days, students have one hour to compose essays on selected creative writing prompts. The essays are then evaluated by a panel of judges for creativity, originality, and depth of thought."

At the end of March I held the WO at my school and had six students present. Luckily one of them placed. Not only did she place but she got 1st place in Azerbaijan! She has been working with PCV's for a few years now and she is not my student so much as she is a community member who has helped me out a lot with camp last year. She is very enthusiastic about learning English which is how she found me and how she was able to come in for one hour and write a really great essay. After receiving 1st place her essay was sent abroad and she won 2nd place! Congrats Mindy!The Azerbaijan WO will have a ceremony to congratulate all of the winners, giving prizes and certificates. Mindy will be heading to Baku to accept her 1st place prize sometime this summer. WO committee s created a grant that you can donate to:

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=314-080

Take a look and anytime you feel a little giving, head over to the Peace Corps PCPP website and you can find many different projects from PCV's all over the world to donate to. $5 is helpful as is $500, anything is appreciated.

I still don't quite understand what happened on this day. I thought it was a holiday so on my way over to Nona's I saw a cousin and wished him a good day (holiday style). He looked really confused so we stopped to discuss it. Come find out, it wasn't a holiday but more of a day of remembrance of the deceased. I felt really horrible, apologized and continued on to Nona's house. Lazy butt that she is, she was still in bed. Fair play I did get to her house before noon, so I guess it is my fault. Anyways I proceed to tell her she's not cool for letting me make a fool out of myself thinking it was a holiday. True to her form she laughed at me, then got serious and told me I shouldn't tell people happy holiday until they say it first from here on out. We've Lori-proofed my well wishes. After some tea we head outside to enjoy the nice weather. It was a pretty nice day and when the sun was shining, a bit warm. Then the confusing part came. There was a swing in the yard.I had oh so many questions about this swing. The only thing the happy lady in the above picture says, "It's nice, only for today." So I try to make sense of this all. A holiday to remember the dead and happy swing day at the same time. I instantly go to something really emotional. I ask if the swing is symbolizing the freedom the dead get by going to heaven, etc. Trust me this is exactly how people think/things are explained to me. Unfortunately, this time that was not the case. Everyone had the same answer and asked me why I cared, the swing's fun, get on and stop asking questions. So I did!

Then hDad hopped on.Finally it was time for some more tea before the sun officially set. Jerry wanted to join and he showed off the mad skills I taught him. Jerry can now balance himself perfectly on the bench. He joins us like a perfect little gentlemen and waits for his sugar cube. I don't know why they give them to him, he's not a horse. But little fatty loves them.I may not have any idea what went on that day, but not from lack of trying. And when I did shut up and jump on the swing, I enjoyed myself very much. They were right. Sadly they were also right about the one day rule. The swing is gone, I guess we'll have to amuse ourselves in another way.

My girl's getting old! Stephanie was lovely enough to come to Qax and help me celebrate Nona's birthday in style. We helped set up the house and I threw Steph in the kitchen to learn how to make surhullu (special dish in Qax). Why didn't I do it? I'm the Qax Star, I can do that no problem. Actually, I've made it lots and it kind of hurts your finger. But I can make it and I have been told I'm wonderful, BAM! Surhullu is dough twisted in a special way and boiled up aka it's noodles. Depending on where you are you can have many different varieties of meat on top. The entire dish is covered in the water used to cook the dish in so it's like soup and pasta had a baby. After the pieces were all flipped and ready to boil we took a little photo op:

With the table set and family coming over it was time to sit down and eat. Coolest part of the day for me was the anniversary. You see it may have been Nona's birthday but it also marked the first time I met the family. I met Nona 2 weeks before her 22nd birthday and she invited me to her party. It's been ridiculous fun times ever since. Good year. Her birthday had lots of food and way too many jokes in Noodle (Georgian). All in all a great evening to celebrate her pretty face.

I love food and Novruz is all about that, ergo I love Novruz! Most necessary part of Novruz is the plate of grass with a ribbon tied around it. If you're going to be celebrating the holiday the right way the grass needs to be in the center of the xonça (Novruz sweets platter thingy). This Xonça has bakhlava, shekerbura, popcorn, jelly beans, hard boiled eggs, cake, pastries and raisins. To make it beautiful you throw on some candles and all of the sudden it's nice and magical. I spend Novruz in the village for one main reason - they know how to really celebrate. In the city people don't really have a sense of excitement about the coming holiday but in the vill it's like Americans prepping for Christmas. Everyone is running around wishing wellness and happiness for the coming year. It's so much fun! At dinner time we had a few guests and here's the picture to commemorate!After we ate, it was off to dance and drink my weight in tea. Then back to the house for more cleaning and drinking tea. There is one thing that I've forgotten to mention. Turan broke 3 teeth. Yup, he was walking and it was dark and his mouth met a metal pole. Boom! Front tooth shot out of his face and the two on either side are chipped in half. Does he go to the dentist? Nope, it's Novruz he'll go in a few days when it's over. Good decision bro. He continued to bleed all night and a poor pillow was sacrificed. But that boy can celebrate! Sure enough the king and queen of the vill were way too worried about their baby boy. They got so ridiculously tired that they passed out on the couch. This is a normal occurrence but during the holiday it seemed cuter. With that, day one was over.

I had the lovely honor of being the Kosa this year in the vill. Who is the Kosa? He's a chubby man with a beard, mustache, pointy hat and a container to hold all of the goods he collects as he sings and dances around his community. How did I land this ridiculous honor? I woke up and villMom said, "Lori today you will be the Kosa, learn the song. I will dress you up later." Ba-da-bing I'm working all day to memorize this song and do a silly little hand snappy thing. Then night time hits and here I am with the crew: Hacı - Keçal Besti - old lady Me - Kosa

After a few lessons in my song I had the approval. I was going to be great and I had dancing lessons. This is the song:

Ay Kos-Kosa gəl sənə

gəlib salam gəl sənə

çom çəni doldur sənə

kosa yola sal sənə

Ay üyruğu üyruğu

Var kosanı göylurğu

Kosa bir oyun eylər

Kəçini qoyun eylər

yığar bayram xonçası

kəçəlin toyun eylər

As is typical, I changed the song into a rap and claimed that the 2011 Kosa is American and this change is necessary. So here's the rapper pose:

We ran out to pick up some new people to make our posse even more epic. We went in and sang to grandpa, then headed out to all of the neighbors houses. It was so much fun and some people didn't even know I was American! That's how awesome I am and equally how ridiculous I looked.

This years Novruz was just as great as the last, events wise. Unfortunately I had an epically sprained ankle so I hobbled around for most of it. But hey, Novruz is wonderful. No biggie.

villMom and I went to the big festival in the center of town. So many people were there singing, dancing and overall just celebrating this time off of school & work. The best part had to have been when a man and woman came in disguise into the celebration. It was so crazy and everyone jumped up to dance with them. Then on their retreat they both ate it and just laid on the floor hiding their faces from the crowd. Soooo good. Then we came back home and had a mini party with all of the neighbors. It's always fun out there and after the tea had been drunk it was dancing time. We weren't going to give up once we got tired so all of the pets were brought out and they had to dance around themselves. Cut to one of teh fatty cats and my little Tuziq. I don't know how he puts up with it but he does, and after he finished dancing he jumped onto my lap!

In keeping theme with posting events about my PCV life in a random order let's jump back to the end of January. I headed on into Baku for the AZ7 Mid Service Conference (MSC). I jumped on a train with about 13 other PCV's, got pretty ill and spent quite some time on the couch in the PCV lounge. Cut to the night before MSC and I tested out a new bar with some friends before we jumped on a bus and made our way to the hotel.

We may have been there the latest but we had good food and this awesome picture to commemorate the occasion. This is the first time all of our group has been in one room since December 9, 2009 so it was a big celebration. The 53 of us were having a great time. I planned a game of Assassins, it was quick and intense. There was also a pretty big group of PCV's who purchased Azeri track suits and we rocked them!Our room was awesome. I was so excited to have people to talk to that I frankly didn't let them sleep. I get lonely in Qax sometimes and they did a great job in making me feel loved. Throughout the 2 days we attended so many sessions about dealing with life here, help with projects and prepping ourselves and our communities for heading out. In one session all of the Peer Support Network (PSN) Members were helping a discussion about supporting the new group. We're all so pretty! That's all of us after the session pretending to talk on the phones that we love oh so much. At the very end of the conference we all grouped together and got a nice photo including the staff present. The conference was really invigorating because it showed me different ways to solve my problems/improve what was already working. It was a great refresher and I was so proud of everyone there. There you have it AZ7 MSC, fantastic group doing fantastic things.

I was in lovely little Goycay in November celebrating Pomegranate! There is an entire festival dedicated to the delicious fruit translated as Nar. I love this word, I never want to go back to the ridiculous English word. Too long and difficult, Nar's good enough for me. I'm going to start this, get ready. Anyways I headed out with a group of about 8 PCV's and we had an awesome time. So many Nar themed things happening. Nar dressed dancers, a big Nar that dancers came out of, karate kids, and all sorts of vendors. Sure people continued to stare at us, but in the spirit of the festival I got kind of lost in the fun of it and wasn't annoyed with the pictures. Many villages were represented with differnt forms of Nar. Fresh, juiced, puree, etc. At many tables we were just forced to cup our hands and then forced to eat all the Nar that would fit. We were on a public street eating like little birdies. I ate way too much but I didn't even care because Nar is my favorite color, sweet AND sour not to mention fun to open, when done correctly. I mentioned that there was a correct way to open Nar to my grandmother and mother and they seemed confused. So here's a news report where you can watch an awesome woman show you how it's done!

http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/international/2010/12/06/wv.pomegranate.festival.bk.f.cnn.html

There once was a pig named Babe.

Unfortunately the past tense was actually used because babe has died. My Georgian hDad has been having medical issues and is currently having surgery in Tbilisi, Georgia. They've had Babe for a while now but to pay some bills they had to sell him off. This is the life of Babe:

I named him from the children story/movie when he was but a wee oinker. To keep him growing and pudgy he lived in this little house.

When he was tiny it seemed like an okay amount of space and I assumed he'd be allowed to run around once he got older. Alas he did not. When babe grew hungry you could hear him squeal and we'd pick up his bucket of food, open up his pen and the little sucker would dart out. He scared me every time he ran out because that little punk would buck around and flail about like a mad person. I get it, he's in a little house, but he's still a big porker. With the pen empty someone would head in with a shovel and clean the ground with a shovel, put the bucket of food on the floor and walk back out.

That gave us just enough time to move out of the way before the bucking bull stormed in and chowed down. An entire bucket of food, easily 15 liters would be gone in minutes. As he was eating the lock was put back up on his house. Then you'd see this cute little nose poke up.

Sometimes you'd hear him playing. At first I thought he was going crazy and the hFam was being mean so I went out to see him. As quietly as I could I creeped up to his house and sure enough, just like my dog used to, he was just messing around. I love me some Babe. Anytime I see another pig the hFam asks me who it is and I find some family relation to our good ol' Babe. first cousin, aunt, grandparent, fat uncle, etc. babe has given us a great inside joke and fun all around Qax. It's even more hilarious when other people come up to me and say that Babe just found a new relative. One of my students informed me that Babe's girlfriend from Georgia just came to stay with her the other day because it was inappropriate for them to stay at the same house. LOVE IT! I don't know what I'm going to tell people now that he's gone. Maybe I'll just call the next one Babe. Any ideas?

I headed over to Nona's house for just another day of fun, little did I know I'd be decorating! The second I walked in, unannounced, her mom jumped up "Finally.. let's go." Apparently she'd been waiting for me for a few days. She got a pack of streamers, a pack of cotton and a cup of water as she ushered me into the dining room. Setting all of the supplies down she showed me what to do.

Step 1: Pull out one of the streamers

Step 2: Soak a small piece of cotton in water

Step 3: Wrap the end of the streamer in the wet cotton

Step 4: Throw the cotton as hard as you can at the ceiling

Typically the process would stop here. But since I'm special I get a few extra steps:

Step 5: Yell at Lori and tell her small children can do this without it falling

Step 6: Tell her "it's okay, stop giving me that face, try again, this time not so fast"

Step 7: Breathe, she's laughing, she's your guest, don't mind that she's an idiot and can't make the simplest thing work

Step 8: High-5 her because she likes that and she finally got it

Step 9: Make your son come in and take pictures of her successfully throwing wet cotton at the ceiling

Nona and I throwing the watery cotton

Up close look at the finished product

Sparklers had to be brought out

Here's hMom, Nona, Jerry the dog and me in front of the tree.

The finished room. Happy New Year!

A little late I know but this is one post that HAS TO HAPPEN. In my time in Qax no one has been able to make it to the fated Baths in Ilisu. Oh it's been tried. People have gone in different states of preparation, in different weather and of course different states of mind:

We're totally going to do thisThere is no way this is happeningI don't care if we go, I just want to say I did itI have to do this before I leaveI will destroy this legendThe outcome was always the same. NO way Jose. Sometimes the border patrol would stop people. At that far back in the mountains we are pretty close to the Azeri-Dagestani border. Many times the patrol says it's too dangerous and we'll get lost/eaten by bears/attacked by wolves/fall and die. Each time they take our passport, write it in their notebook and send us back the way we came. Well not this time. Jessica, Sean, Stephanie and I were not about to be thwarted. So we plan to go on the day of election. We figure it would be our best chance at getting past the patrol since most Azeri citizens would be voting (or at home). Our plan worked flawlessly. We all bought galoshes to help us cross the river. I'm sorry did I say all of us, well Sean thought it would be better to wear his hiking boots and then this happened. Little monkey tried to scale the mountain to find a shallower crossing. Then he changed his boots and followed us. Throughout our hike many a thing occurred. We imagined what it was like for our predecesors. Steph and I even re-enacted it and recieved an award for our great impersonations. The random like hut at the edge of one mountain turned into a mystical place where an old woman waited for us with piping hot peroshki's. IN our minds she is there all of the time waiting for travellers, always happy, peroshki's aplenty. A hummer type vehicle came and my instant reaction was to run. Then it disappeared and we still don't know if it was real. Then we came upon the two houses. They're so cute and look like a great place to come for a day (or multiple day) trip. Most Azeri's have a car drive them here. From here on out no more open car road. The mountains are even narrower than before and we couldn't see too far ahead because of how twisty the river bed was. Then I saw it.

I screamed and gave up all hope of staying dry and booked it right on through the river. I looked behind the blue tarp and saw a very dark room with very hot water running through a pipe into a bathtub. I have no clue how the heck that got there. Then I moved to the other tarp a little further up the river bed. Sulphurus water streams down the side of the mountain into a cement jacuzzi. Needless to say we stayed in the second, and we were so happy!

After who knows how long (actually about 2 hours) we decided that we had to start our return hike so we could return in some form of sunlight. I still had issues with narrow bridges so after Steph and Sean crossed Jessica cheered me on as I crawled. She might have crawled too. Almost back Jessica fell and we had a little injury. But you clear the water out of that boot and for the most part she was good. We made it safely back to my house incredibly tired. threw one of those just add water soup packets my mom sent me in a pot and we were all passed out before it was dark. Such a ridiculous tiring day. But oh so much glory. We achieved the dream and we did it with style!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

In honor of Peace Corps turning 50!!!!!! I filmed a week of my service. There's 8 videos, one for each day. I hope it gives you a good look at my daily life as a PCV in Qax, Azerbaijan.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

It's snowing again! Last time it snowed for about 2 days and stopped. I was informed that that would be the last snowfall and I was sooooo sad. Then here I am, walking home from my counterparts at 12:30a (gasp, bad bad Azeri girl) and it's snowing! So much happy fun time in Qax.

Also I sparkle. You probably know this already but I thought I'd tell you this little story just to drill it in. At aforementioned counterparts (Metanet) house I was coloring with her daughter (İlahə), as I am want to, and my counterpart began questioning İlahə:

Metanet: What do you think about Lori?

İlahə: I like her.

Metanet: What else?

İlahə: She's pretty.

Metanet:  Do you want to meet her parents?

İlahə: Yes

Metanet: They are coming soon, what will you tell your mother about her?

İlahə: She's nice and pretty and she always comes to our house and she sparkles.

Metanet: What?

İlahə: Look at her, she sparkles, she is always sparkling. Look right now.

Metanet: Well her mom is coming to take her home, is that okay?

İlahə: No, I don't give permission. I like her I want her sparkles.

There you have it. I sparkle and a 4 year-old will fight my mother for the right to have sparkles in her life. She probably only said that because I gave her a stuffed animal. She named this stuffed black dog, Cyclops. I have no clue why.

http://azerbaijan24.com/cities/city/10-Qax.html

This tourism website showcases many of the different regions in Azerbaijan but the beautiful region of Qax is obviously numero uno so please take a look. The two main pictures showcasing a city street are both from the street that my school is on. The white building with the silver statue are actually directly in front of my school. My kids go to that shop on the breaks to buy food and toys and bring it back to the corridors and cause mayhem and commotion. The other photo is just the opposite side of the same street, you can see the bread shop (çörək sexi) and the cool little shop that sells me my fake cereal! Yeah I'm that hard core.

Check it out, tell me how much you want to visit...then VISIT ME!

So apparently my blog is noteworthy enough to go on this website for volunteerism, who knew? I had a comment on my last post and it informed me that I was on this website (which I thought was spam). But, as I'm currently lying in the Peace Corps lounge, because standing up is not an option in this day of intense illness, I thought I'd check it out. Sure enough I'm on it! Some fellow PCV's from Azerbaijan and other places are also on this site. So if you want to learn more about other people's volunteering experience head on over to:http://www.onlinedegrees.org/top-50-volunteeractivism-blogs/

Oh My Goodness, the cheating on tests is out of control!

I was on facebook and saw that my 8th grade English teacher (Hi Mr. Hayes!) was grading papers. He was noting that he had already found 8 students who had copied their book reports off the internet. When I read this I instantly thought, "How dense are those kids? Mr. Hayes tells them numerous times that he will be checking and with all of the problems it's just plain smarter to read the lousy book?" But then I thought about my classes and how the children are not only expected to cheat but it's encouraged. With the education system and bribes and blah blah blah it's simply expected.

During my tests that I give the students I try my hardest to split the students but then they just yell across the classroom at each other and the teacher laughs. I thought this was pretty bad but I was recently witness to the most intense cheating EVER. It's time for Country-wide testing. All 9-11 form students come to school on a Saturday and take a test that can last for 1-3 hours ranging on all of the subjects they are enrolled in. A student asked one of my counterparts for her cell phone number for the test and she gave it to him. I didn't even bother asking why, it was one of those days. I didn't care.

That Saturday brought me to my club in the village. Since the older students were getting ready for the test I was just waiting for the younger kids to come. A group of 10th form girls came in and asked for my phone number.

Me: "Sure, but why?"

Them: "For the test."

Me: "What do you mean, you'll be in the test?"

Them: "If I don't know an answer I'll text you and you'll send the answer."

WHAT? This was completely normal. When I explained that I wouldn't do that they all got pretty angry with me and said that this is Azerbaijan not America and I live here. I stood firm with my no and they stomped off complaining about how I was rude and they would fail. I began asking just about every teacher I came into contact with this week and found out that they all do it. I was in shock, no wonder I can't get honesty out of my kids in class. Cheating is expected of them.

This made me cut back to America and I was even angrier with the students who cheat there because they are given these opportunities and are throwing them away. Uh oh, cut to 12th grade where I didn't study, cheated, got caught and was terribly embarrassed. After seeing this intense cheating and with that watching the learning opportunities slip away from these kids, I'm truly ashamed of that time.

My new goal is to calm down when the kids cheat because they're taught to do it. To use these new emotions and realizations to do some good and to push integrity even more than before. This is the new goal...integrity.

Well for those of you who are wondering who would be so silly as to doubt me, I will fill you in.

Around last March Mr. Big Daddy J and I were discussing food at his hFam's house. I say that surhulu, xengel, girs, qutab and mostly all dough-based azeri foods are all from the same dough. Sure they end up getting cooked in a different way but the dough is exactly the same: flour, water and salt (in the exact same proportions). Well Mr Chef (that he is), disagreed. I give in assuming I know nothing, but every time I eat any of those foods I get into mini arguments. Now it's just within my head as opposed to across the table at Big Daddy.

Well I went over to my counterparts house and made some delicious pumpkin qutab (more or less a quesedilla but with pumpkin instead of cheese). Normally food is just served to me but I've been complaining about this so she taught me. As I was standing there making the dough, that re-occurring argument I have with myself popped up. So I ask, and you know what......I WAS RIGHT! Boom!

So for your pleasure you may now watch me prepare Pumpkin Qutab using the same dough as every other dough based meal. PS Note how awesome it is that I get pumpkin qutab! It is so delicious.

The dough balls, pumpkin, flour and rolling board

Me getting the perfect thin dough, you wrap it around the rolling pin and it is super easy.

Freshly filled and pressed qutab's ready for frying.

Fry the qutab and then coat with butter!

As I have promised when something goes well for me I will develop it. As this has been haunting my meals (this is a no no folks, food is sacred) I decided merely posting developed wasn't good enough. So it's branded. Will he kill me...probably but I'm in Azerbaijan - try and catch me now!

Bayraq Günü - National Flag Day

November 9

The Republic of Azerbaijan had freedom from the Soviet Union for 2 years beginning in 1918. In this time they adopted a flag and the national holiday to celebrate this freedom. It's three colors represent:

Blue - Heritage relating to the Turks

Red - Europeanization

Blue - Loyalty and relation to Islam

Then Azerbaijan was once again a part of the Soviet Union until 1990. At this time the 8-pointed star and half crescent moon of Islam were added.

Konstitusiya Günü - Constitution Day

November 12

There have been roughly 4 Constitution of Azerbaijan but this final one was accepted in 1995. So on this day Azerbaijan celebrates their constitution and yet again their freedom.

Qurban Bayram - Festival of Sacrifice

November 16-17 *rotating

This holiday is rotating but this year it fell on November 16-17 (Which meant I also got Monday the 15th off!) Each year it is 10 days before the last. This holiday is just what it says a Festival of Sacrifice. Sheep are killed and given to the poor and those who need it. This holiday is about being good to your neighbors and keeping God in the front of your mind.

"The religious rite of sacrifice appeared after the case with the Prophet Ibrahim. Ibrahim dreamed that Allah ordered him to sacrifice his son Ismail to test his faith. As a true believer, Ibrahim was ready to execute an instruction of Allah. Ismail himself was ready to become a victim. However, according to Quran, Allah sent a sheep and it was sacrificed. "

-http://en.trend.az

Müqəddəs Giorgio Günü - St. George's Day

November 23

That is my own translation as it is a Georgian Holiday. It is highly important as St. George is the the St. of Georgia. This holiday is celebrated twice a year. The first being on May 6th (his birthday) and this one representing the day he slew the dragon. I celebrate this holiday with the Georgians. How awesome is that? We will eat pork and drink wine to honor the Saint who slayed a dragon. Awesome!

The day began with Stephanie and I going up to the working church in Qax to welcome the heads of church from Georgia. It was a full ceremony, absolutely gorgeous. I spent the entire service filming, per the priests request, the beautiful decadence of a full blown religious service.

Here is a woman lighting her candle during the service.

After the service we hopped in a taxi and made our way out the festival site. It's about 30 minutes out of town and the church is on top of the hill looking over the valley of Qax and Şəki. The other, 13, Americans had already made the pilgrimage. So we went to go eat. At the festival grounds there is a wrestling match and a cock-fight. The winning wrestler gets the prize rooster. This part is added by the Azerbaijani's but some Georgians also take part. Wine, pork kebabs and lots of Georgian bread make for a delicious meal.

These are some burning candles you will find on the large rocks (Temple ruins) just outside the church on the top of the hill.

This is what the church looks like a bit earlier in the day when it is pretty populated. You have to walk around the church 3 times, kissing each corner before you enter. Once inside you find a place on the wall to place your 10 candles. The Georgians have 10 candles, each representing a different person: St George, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, etc. I did a few of the Georgian ones and then added some of my own.

These are our beautiful kebabs. My Georgian hDad made them for us out of hazelnut tree branches. he is so talented! Then he stuck around to teach us how to properly kebab because we're American and we need to know how to do it right. I kept telling him to go back to his friends because he looked bored but he was in crazy Dad-mode and wouldn't leave until it was all over.

Stuffed and ready to go to the church Stephanie models the skewers. They look awesome!

Final games, making friendship bracelets and picture frames brought us to Saturday. It was a nice wrap up day and I think the kids agreed that 6 days was plenty. We ran through all of our favorite games, relaxed and some new friends spent a bit more time together right before school began.

Here I am looking all Peace Corps like with the kids, getting ready for a new game.

This is a picture from Day 2 as the lovely France's were heading home to get ready for a conference. Everyone is completely exhausted since we just finished our sports day.

Final Day, They all have certificates, candy and are ready to go home. I'm dead tired as are all of the wonderful PCV's who came to help. So many lists of things to do differently for next year. The kids all promised they'd come next year and said they would be on the look out for my flyers.

I've decided to start a new theme, I will stamp any success as "developed". Not to be cocky because I know I have not developed anything, it's more or less mocking myself. So as opposed to a success stamp, I will give myself little jab and write developed. So, Qax Düşərgə 2010 is officially:

Just as Flag Football was a success, Relay Races quickly became a go to activity. We set up a course with cones and had many variations including: running, hopping, crab-walking, spider-walking, piggy back, wheel barrow, criss-cross, skipping, linked elbows, holding hands, and all of these in reverse.

Baton races were a part of these many races. They look so intense. So much screaming and look at her face. She is in it to win it.She picks up quickly. I teach them how to brag well. The winner of one of our many races.

Representing for tiny Georgians everywhere. Megi hops along to finish out the race.

Unfortunately this wheel barrow was too heavy for the operator. It made for a great round.

We needed something for Surprise Day and as the Russian, Georgian and Azeri's all have their own National dance, I decided it would be a great time to share cultures. It ended up having an abrupt end with some slurs being said and some campers asked to leave. But before it got that far most of us were having a great time. I even had a chance to teach them the basic steps for salsa!

The tiny ones getting their latin grooves on.

Brother and sister bonding time. She slows it down for him so he feels included.

Teaching teh basics with my little dancing queen.

Random group dancing

For theatre day we played some games and made sock puppets. Everyone paired up and either by hands or hand to face we mirrored each others movements. Then it was time to make sock puppets and do little performances. My favorite was the girl who discovered her mom wasn't her real mother, met her mother the gypsy, the dad left his wife for the gypsy and the girl meets her brother. Such happiness.

Here are the girls stretching each others limits all the way to the floor.

Stephanie testing out this kids spine. Pretty flexible, he probably does yoga just like Steph.

Hey Romiko! Way to make that kid flip around.Diana spent most of these games laughing and barely being able to keep up. It was just so funny that she was doubled over laughing.

Socks on hand, imaginations and markers at the ready.A Turkish drama of love.

A re-creation of a Russian fable. I was so proud of this group. The only group to combine Russian, Georgian and Azeri kids. They even chose themselves.

Here they. The Drama King and Queens present The Gypsy Drama.

The whole group showing off their art.

Guys we have a problem. There a big fire and all of the chickens left their eggs. We have to sell those eggs at the bazaar tomorrow. But they have to be dropped from very high up. You have to make very secure box to protect these eggs because I have to thrown them before they cook.

Thus ensued the egg drop. 4 girls teams and all of the boys ganging up together for the 1 boys team.

2 boys team representatives holding their pride and glory. Unfortunately it was the only one to break.

One of the girls teams looking very proud and ready to win.

Looking sassy and posing with their winning Egg Drop Box.

Finishing up the last minute touches on a very sturdy, parachuted piece of equipment.

Jessi and I dropping the kids creations off a ledge from about 2 stories up.

Expectant faces! So much excitement.

It was the perfect day for a hike. With food and kids in tow we headed off through the valley, as the mountains had too many branches and dangerous pokey's to lead a group through.

Here's the first shot of the day, leaving the village to the trail at the foothill of the mountains.

Quite a few stops occurred so we could see all of the frogs, and the boys even attempted hitting them with rocks. Oh joy.

Our big one hour in break. It took a good 10 minutes to get everyone together, as the girls were happier strolling as opposed to actually hiking.

Re-juvenated and ready to see the river. We are already in Qum but have about 6 more kilometres to get up the hill.

Break on the road. It's a slow incline but it takes it out of you.

Sweaty but happy to be sitting.

The boys did not want the break so they found a friend to give them a joy ride while we all took a break.

In Qum at the river. We just finished eating. The boys are all swimming in the river. We are pretty far away from them as they all stripped down to their tighty-whiteys as soon as they saw water. We ran ourselves to this beautiful little sitting area and ate away.

After lunch we went to the Georgian/Albanian Church ruins. Here's a shot of just the PCV ladies. At least those of us who were present on Wednesday.

Last up, a group shot of the troopers who worked their butts off. The return trip had a bit more drama. It was the longest amount of time we were together so it was expected. Luckily we all look happy here. This picture is how I remember that day.

Flag Football became the theme of the camp. It was requested everyday and I gave the kiddles what they wanted. The kids got crazy competitive and everyday, try to explain as I might, they couldn't get it. So much shouting and going on as if each game was life or death. It may have been a tad annoying at the time, but it's hoot now!

Here's us being poor examples to being a team player and encouraging showing off and mild smack talking.

The cutest player on the field! He's 4 and had to come to camp otherwise his older sisters wouldn't be allowed. I was helping him but frankly he was holding me down!

The sprawl. We have all been freed from jail and are booking it to our side so we can return for the counter attack.

"Okay... we're in the safety zone, we have the flag, now when I say go you run for your life."

Jess played a bit nicer than I did. She slowed down and played all cutesy. Good thing she did.

This is my game face. In case you were wondering, yes I always play with my game face on.

Unfortunately my intense game face and smack talking led to many arguments. Every time I was surrounded by a group of shouting kids, I looked over to Stephanie and saw this. I have a game face, she has a "you're too much for me right now" face.

Gakh Summer Camp 2010 was a lot of fun. I had help from about 10 other PCV's who came out to help me blow these kids minds away with summer camp fun! It was at the end of August for 6 days from 9a-1p at the Kids Sports Stadium in Gakh. The days went as follows:

Monday - Welcome Day: loads of games

Tuesday - Sports Day: Capture the Flag, Kickball, Soccer and Volleyball

Wednesday - Hiking Day: Group hike to Qum (the closest village)

Thursday - Theatre Day: Theatre Games, Sock Puppets, etc

Friday - Surprise Day: Water balloons, egg drops and dancing

Saturday - Carnival Day: Think 5th grade Field Day

First off we played games...lots of games. Here the kids took my grossly over-sized clothing (2-3 sizes) and relay raced in teams across the field. It was hilarious. The clothing was bright and fun which made the kids excited and made the Americans laugh even harder when the kids thought they were clown clothes. Thank you Target PJ's!

Then we played Red Light Green Light, Simon Says, What time is it Mr Fox?, Sharks and Minnows, and many other classics. Here are the kids waiting for the green light to come.

So much happiness up front - that's because she made it. However in the back those girls were a bit terrified. This game was taken way too seriously.

Now they're asking permission to advance. Aren't they adooooooooorable?Now we can see Stephanie overseeing Mr Fox himself. The kids cheat so much we had to have at least one judge to keep every player honest. I love the looks on their faces when you catch them and they're deciding whether or not to argue. Last up, Ninja! I love this game. Everyone gathers in a circle and one by one you get a chance to karate chop another players hand (you can move if you're being attacked). It's a very quick and intense game beause people can be coming at you from all sides. Here you can see the Qax Star (ME!) and Romiko battle it out for the win! If I remember correctly, he kicked my butt.

I came up to Zagatala with some friends and a super awesome competition ensued. 30 minute watermelon eating contest!

Once we arrived at Jessica's we figured out all of the rules:

One 8 kilo (17.6lbs) watermelon One spoon30 minutesAll liquid must be drunkSeed spitting is okayWe left Jessica's and headed out to buy said watermelons but we could not find anybody nearby. Fortunately we live in Azerbaijan, so when we saw a car drive by full of watermelons we flagged him down and bought them right there in the middle of the street. All measured we headed up to the school where we planned to compete. Upon looking at the school we decided that the curb on the side of the street would be better...so we did.

Since I was involved there was trash talking. The best part was that all of the people who passed us were really cool about it. We were told "Nuş Olsun" (Bon Apetit) many times and the laughing was with us not at. Great day for Joint PCV and Host Country National fun times!

Note this second video has a bit more pain in all of our eyes.

By the end a winner was determined, here are the results:

6th Place: Clarissa - 1.1 kilos (2.4lbs)

5th Place: Jade - 1.5 kilos (3.3lbs)

4th Place: ME - 1.7 kilos (3.7lbs)

2nd Place: John - 2 kilos (4.4lbs)

2nd Place: Sean - 2 kilos (4.4lbs)

1st Place: Stephanie - 2.1 kilos (4.6lbs)

It was totally worth it even though for the next hour we all had to lay down to prevent the watermelon from returning. As we were all in different states of horizontalness we were discussing Ramadan. Many Azerbaijanis are following this year (no eating and drinking for most of the day) and some PCV's too. Stephanie being the intelligent one realized that we sat on a street eating a watermelon in front of everyone. We all immediately felt like idoits. Luckily up north things are not so conservative so we are in a general consensus that it was not too offensive. Plus with the inability to eat and drink, walking about in this heat would not be so probable thus hopefully these people would not have seen us.

All in all, good day.

All around Qax there are ditches allowing the water from the mountains to flow cleanly through the city without me having to step in the water. For these ditches Jason gave me a rule with two options.

#1 - If I'm going to fall in the water road thingy he must be present.

#2 - If I can't make number one happen, I need to push an ogling boy into it.

Well my friends Friday night neither of these two situations occurred, thus I broke the rule. I was over at Nona's and we were chatting our lives up and doing push-ups and crunches for quite a few hours. The sun had set and I needed to do some laundry so I said goodbye and headed home. Very few people were on the street and the w eather was perfect for my little stroll. The arc of my right foot was already aching. I had dropped a freakishly heavy glass artificial maple flavor on my foot earlier in the day. Thanks Alicia. By this time a nice big bump and a bruise is already showing so the only shoes I could wear were my flip flops. I'm down the hill and can see my door from the road so I decide to cut across a road to make a diagonal. You know the shortest distance between to points is a straight line, I paid attention in 6th grade. Unfortunately I did not pay attention to my dad's many warning to pay attention where I was going. I cut across and as opposed to walking in a parallel direction with the water ditch I am now nearly perpendicular to it and rapidly approaching it. Unsuspecting of my impending doom I walk freely and my right foot plunges in scraping my shin fairly deeply about 3-4 inches as my left foot plunges right on down to the knee scraping mildly. My flip flopped feet are now in the water as my toes cling to t he strap while I am doing everything in my power not to scream out in pain. I lift myself out of this stupid water road thingy and limp to my door whimpering and telling myself not to look down knowing I'll freak out if I see how bad it is. As I'm limping I'm remembering again how grateful I am not to be living so far down the hill and I open my gate. Standing with my legs under the cold running water I get the soap and clean out my battle wound, It's a battle I'm in a form of US Corps in a foreign country and I'm claiming this. It's pretty deep and even though I still can't walk 2 days later it's slowly healing. BTW thanks to Ruth for my extra little medical kit, totally helped! This is why you should always listen to your dad and follow Jason's rules, also this is why I now have a new nemesis. These are my battle wounds immediately after cleaning the gravel out.

It's a good idea to have your parents come to Azerbaijan. Reasons being:1 - They now will understand half of the crazy you have been sending home in emails.2 - They won't be so terrified of this crazy thing you signed up for.3 - There are some wonderful friends I've made here, they see I'm well taken care of.4 - You're a Qax Star and now they can see it (as if there was any doubt).5 - Ego! You've been speaking the language for 9 months and daily progress is mostly noted by you alone. Throw your parents who meekly say hello and thank you and you are more or less fluent. Aka use your parents to make you look oh so good!6 - It's easier to see how happy I am when I'm laughing with Nona rather than sitting at home skyping about worries.7 - To all of the host country nationals who still don't quite understand how or why I left home for this commitment, I'm a real girl. These are my real parents and this is our real love that passes over half the world every day. 8 - Also for host country nationals, if you have been taking care of me...my mommy will bring you things!So many more reasons, I'm still counting them...you don't have to read them.

Last view of Qax waiting on the train platform. We may look serious but about one second after this was taken the sarcastic punch line was dropped and it was all smiles. Qax is magical, it does that to people.

Beca and Doodle preparing for the Lekit trip.Eventful times in Lekit this round. When we arrived Turan seemed nervous. Besti Ana was as usual ready to entertain and had a full meal placed before us in minutes. After we ate it was time to rest on the balcony with Turan and then a new twist, swimming. A young cousin, Elşen was over and he was really excited to see me for some reason. Once he went up to swim he found a turtle in the nearby area, somehow remembered that I not only liked them but I have quite a few at home and brought it to me. So I had to go see it. We all headed up to the pool and after pretend searching Beca and I joined in the swimming. After swimming I witnessed the sheep being slaughtered and prepared for the following day of kebabs and fun. Vagif Ata even let me help him hang it up on a post to drain the blood. I almost lost my fingers but it was an experience. Next I took my parents on a hike to the river and Doodle and I continued to the waterfall. He got some good shots but said it was a bit too far out of the way for his liking.When we returned the house was buzzing. Dünya had 3 friends from university over, and Turan's old university friend brought his family up too. There were Turks, Azerbaijani's, Americans and who could forget that Vaqif Ata is a rockin' Tsakhur! Food was eaten, Vagif Ata's "compote" was drank and love filled the air for two of the dogs. The next day was the big day. Everyone was to head out to have a brilliant time in Kotuklu. Unfortunately the weather looked pretty bad so plans were changed to an area nearer the waterfall. The party ended up in two groups, Americans on one side and everyone else on the other. We were with a cute little old man, who runs a little tea house in the summer for all of the tourists. He was so excited to talk to my parents and he took such good care of them, politely taking my father aside to explain where the toilet was as to not offend anyone. Here he is with his Samovar, that stuff makes good tea!What happened next was truly magical. Turan finally found someone who could withstand hours of questioning and still be completely transfixed with the conversation. In fact I was worried, for the first time, that the guest I brought might out talk Turan. I saw that look of admiration and love coming out of Turan for my father just as it had whenever Jason would pick up his guitar. Enraptured. But then I got to see how cute Doodle was when he finally had a student who really cared just for the sheer knowledge of it, no grades would be given here. It was adorable. Besti Ana, my mom and I just watched and giggled at how cute they were. Doodle started telling some jokes and the best one by far:"Turan, what noise does a 500lb canary make?"I don't know.""CHERP!!!"When he yelled that into Turan's face, which by that point was only one foot away, Turan had to hold on to his seat. He was laughing so hard that it took a few minutes to recover. Precious. Alas it was time for us to go and with a quick picture we were off. Left to right, Vagif, Doodle, turan, Beca, Mommy, Me, Besti Ana

The day started off with the few of my Georgian students who stayed in Qax for the summer at my conversation club. The girls are pretty advanced and even the ones that do not speak too much were still very eager and grasped just about everything that was said. We mostly did introductions and asked lots of questions. I love having guests at clubs because it is good for the students to hear a new voice and practice speaking, but it is also brilliant for lazy bones like myself because there's practically no prep! These are my girls.This is me teaching. We're discussing how to form the correct sentence in asking my parents how long they're been married.This is Beca showing her mad dancing skills after she made a deal with my kids about dancing. After club it was off to the Georgians! Nona, Misha and Julietta wined and dined us keeping a hefty amount of watermelon on the table. I could say plenty of beautiful nice things about this family but I will settle with they are truly kind to me and make my time in Qax seem like a vacation rather than work, I love them. Misha cut the watermelon in a different way and all of us American folks were enthralled. This of course made him laugh, which I had to mimmick and force Nona to laugh even louder. I just really like the way he laughs but I guess I'm the only person who ever makes fun of him. Later on in the evening Vaja returned from a boys day out of drinking and waterfall fun and with him comes the dentist! My parents were taken to see the wine storage and a little tour of Misha's garden. All in all a good day. From left to right Misha, Julietta, Vaja, me, Doodle, Beca, Mommy and the dentist.

We had to hit up the Heydar Park, which in summertime is hoppin'! Here's me and my lovely parents.

Vaja re-appeared from some unknown waterfall and refused, as always, to smile in the photo. The second take with Beca's help was much more successful. My Baly gals with Beca, Vaja and I.

Nona wasn't in the family picture because of a certain rendesvouz but fortunately I found her walking to the store with her mom. The Hello Kitty shirt was a recent purchased. We bought it together deciding white was a much better alternative to the green because of her bag. Nona = best friend in Qax. She's fabulous.

My mom and I went to buy train tickets, good experience. We waited for an hour to be told to came back a few days later...I think it's important that my mom saw this, it might make some of my frustrated emails a bit clearer. When I returned home Doodle was sitting in my garden and my renter was shouting fruit names and asking my to translate. He tells me he is feeding my father and giving him tea, Doodle turns to me and says, "I don't know what's happening but he brought me out her and gave me tea and is getting all sorts of things from your trees." It was awesome. Mom and I ended up joining them and spent a lovely hour discussing remedies and different ways to utilize the many things growing in my yard. Here's the lovely set up.We headed up to my xala's house in our guesting extravaganza. She is a brilliant cook and her cakes are to die for. It was a nice afternoon with Xala and her three daughters. Xala's motto is "Why do you need badness? In this world we only need goodness." She lives by this every day and with that kind of warmth and optimism she raised her girls. I love these ladies and here they are with my parents.Of course we had to stop by Mindy's, that's not her real name of course but she loves America and out of the M names I listed Mindy stuck! She received her gifts of a book, USA t-shirt and a USA headband in true Mindy fashion...beaming and trying not to squeal like the 5 year old she felt like. The shirt was promptly pulled over her head and she even paraded it around the street for a bit. Here's my little wanna-be AmericanHer mom was very excited to not only meet my parents but prepare a meal for them. She made some plov and though my parents had already eaten two different kinds on their trip this chicken-eggy goodness was a first. Here's Mindy with her mom and sister Nigar.

How could Qax exist without my lovely Russians. Almaz is a lovely woman with three stricking daughters. Unfortunately the eldest was in Baku, but she was there for a university test and education is number one so she is pardoned. Mindy came over to join in the festivities as my parents were eating some more dolma and not seeming too surprised at the cocker spaniel which makes my Russians all the more unique in Qax. Almaz kept the conversation flowing in her English-Azeri-Russian mix as usual, never forgetting to fill her yard with as much laughter as possible. When my mom handed out the scarf, 13 year old Konuş was elated, rarely get a bigger smile out of that girl. Nothing could beat the markers and princess coloring book my mom got for Diana. She's 8 and very shy, it took me a few visits to even get a hello. Of course with my parents it was the same game but the second the coloring book appeared she couldn't contain her excitement. I can't wait for a new painting to put on my wall. This is us with Mindy, Almaz and her two youngest girls, Konuş and Diana. They are all so pretty!

What would Qax be without a trip to my hFam? After trying to give my parents a little break from so much Azerbaijani and translating I told them to suck it up and get in the cab! Off we went. The yard is now a little wonderland. I thought it was beautiful before but Ata kept his word by blowing me away. truly gorgeous and a light brought outside so there's really no need to ever use the house. It's beautiful. The conversation kept flowing as my parents had me translating their views on education and "those kids nowadays" to my extremely intelligent Ata. He was then questioning my father on chemistry and biology using so many crazy words that I ended up just explaining ideas rather than the simple sentence he said. He even knew about Kaiser Steel, quite a few Americans aren't even aware of that. He's seriously just so smart. That was one of the first comments my parents made, this was repeated a few more times throughout their visit. Here's me with my American and Qax sets of parents!

My hSis was also there and when my mother so kindly gave her the teddy bear she brought a tiny child came out of her. I love my cute little Gülçün and when she acts like a kid it's even cuter! The bear was tossed in the air, spun in circles and copious amounts of hugs and kisses were laid upon the bear before he was ceremoniously placed on her bed. This is the cute little thing pre-teddy bear.

Best picture ever! Ata kept calling Doodle "my friend, my American friend" with one of the warmest smiles I've ever seen. He always greets me so kindly but having my dad there sent him over the moon. My goal is to get a hug out of him before next Christmas, he might be buttered up enough!

After so much Azerbaijani, and loads of confusion on my parents part I gave them a little break with my counterpart. Nailə's English is pretty great so no translation was needed. The education talks resumed and after about an hour Nailə realized that she was holding her own in English and didn't seem so shy to respond. It was great watching her realize her own strength in the language she taught herself a mere six years ago. She's quite impressive and as always her dolma was delicious.

I know it sounds like the beginning of a bad post, but it's actually quite hilarious.

My parents came to visit me in Azerbaijan! It's great because I officially have made a sizeable dent in Peace Corps Goal #3:"Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans."

Mommy and Doodle learned quite a bit in their whirl-wind tour. First day I tuckered out my dad with a quick jaunt around Baku to buy train tickets. Then I dragged my parents to Ceyranbatan. The house was very made up and drinks upon drinks were laid out for the esteemed guests. Super Mama even told her boss that she would have to be late after the lunch break because, as she said it with a flourish, "she has guests from America." This worked out pretty well. My parents were thoroughly confused and were told to continue to eat more once they had their fill. True to Azerbaijani customs Ata Bomba asked me why my parents did not enjoy the food. Yet again I explained that Americans don't eat six heaping plates of food and our measly three would have to do. Literally have to, ask my tummy was protruding and my dad looked at me like I had personally shoved it all down his throat.Unfortunately Super Mama had to leave for work but not before a quick picture. This is where it gets good. The two dads got all ready, and right in on the side hug, but Doodle seemed to think that he needed to extend this gesture to Super Mama. So what does he do? Reaches right on out and pulls her into a big old side hug. She was so tense and the girls were staring at her wondering what to do. She played it off laughing so the girls wouldn't say anything, but she was uncomfortable. Ata Bomba looked quite impressed and had a cute little grin that I almost caught on camera. Here is the picture of the family with my dad still not knowing he should not be holding this woman and her trying to politely keep her distance.

After this picture another hour or so passed where Doodle and I taught the girls Go-Fish and then it was time to leave. Here's the picture my own personal paparazzi (otherwise known as my mom) took of my dad and I waiting for the bus on the side of the highway.

You heard it first, I'm having two girls and a boy. Here's how I came to this conclusion:

On my way into Baku to pick up my parents (woo hoo!), I stopped at my old hFam from training in Ceyranbatan. It was great to see them and yet again it makes me feel like a rock star. My first day here I knew about five words and they were so kind to me and loved me like their daughter anyways. So now when I come back and I can actually understand them it's shocking all around. I find out new things about their personalities and how they came to live here. hDad still dances about like a fool while hMom does all the work and the hSis's watch TV. Yet the dynamics have somewhat changed, they even tried to argue while making their body language look relaxed. Apparently that used to work but now I got it all, snaeky punks! I get so much praise that I think my ego will fly off into space. It's always nice after being surrounded by the same people, who sometimes ask me why my language is still so poor (I mean come on I've been here for nine months I should be fluent), to come back to this house and feel welcomed even if I couldn't even say one word.

Well anyways I was sitting outside with about 10 girls and 5 women all going around and around asking the shiny American questions. For the most part I got it all, which is a definite improvement for me. Everyone started talking about my hair and next thing I know it's being taken down, and one hair is plucked. This hair is then threaded through a ring of a married woman. Unfortunately my thin hair broke. Have no fear, they just took out a little chunk next time. With quite a few hairs freshly passed through the ring I put out my right hand and the ring was placed in my hand. The married woman pulled the ring out of my hand and dropped it back 4 or 5 times by the hairs. Then the ring hovered over my palm and depending on which way it turns I have either a boy, girl, or none. Through a few more spins I find that I will have two girls and a boy. When asked if I believed this to be true I had to say yes. By then all of the girls were tugging at their ponytails and exlaiming they wanted the same as the American so how could I say I didn't believe in it? So I guess I'll have 3 kids, feel free to start spoiling them now.

June 15th - National Salvation Day

This is the day when Parliament invited Heydər Əliyev to Baku in 1993. Azerbaijan officially left Soviet rule in 1991 and they had a President for two years. So on this day in 1993 Heydər Əliyev returned to Azerbaijan and it is memorialized every June. This is a picture of the sitting Heydər statue in Qax's city park.

June 26th - Army and Navy Day

Pretty self explanatory yes? This is the day when you remember and respect all of those who have and who will be serving in the Azerbaijani Army or Navy.

June 30th - Lovers Day

Neither February 14th or June 30th is truly celebrated. I have heard mixed opinions about February 14th being a Christian based holiday which is why Azerbaijan has a separate day. However no one truly celebrates either of these days, it is more or less realizing that the 14th and 30th are here. I have my opinions on this day being "celebrated," keep on reading and you'll see why.

On January 20, 1990 Baku was invaded by Soviet forces and over 180 Azerbaijani citizens were killed. A young couple, İlham and Fərizə, were destroyed by this invasion. İlham died of multiple gun shots. Upon hearing the news Fərizə more or less went into a depression and poisoned herself. So on June 30th we remember their marriage and celebrate the anniversary that would have been. This is the picture of İlham and Fərizə on their graves.

Since becoming a PCV I have a surprisingly large amount of conversations discussing bowel movements. Whether it is about my first squat experience where I stuck my hand in a mound of another person's poo or calling the doctors with other "issues." One thing that caught me off guard is how much the other PCV's discuss toilet situations. It's getting to the point where instead of saying how are you some people prefer to inquire about your bathroom schedule. A group of PCV's are even re-writing songs to be all about poo. It has been said that you're not a Peace Corps Volunteer until you go in your pants, so I guess this discussion should be expected.

I'm telling you all this to tie into a lovely conversation I had with my Russian, Almaz, the other day. You see I thought that bathroom discussion were taboo in the AzerCommunity. While Almaz was not actually discussing bowel movements...it sure was gross advice. We were sitting in her garden and her daughter, Diana, came out to play with me. Diana is named after Princess Di. No joke she didn't have a name for 2 months and one night in Almaz's dream Princess Di came out of a painting and told Almaz to give the baby girl her name. So whenever Diana doesn't want to work, we call her a bad princess. Anyways, as we were talking she noticed that Diana had a wart on her hand. Being a pharmacist I asked her if she was going to bring home some medicine for her. This is where the story gets interesting. Almaz informed me that there is medicine but it burns and you have to apply it five times for it to work. I figured this was normal, but when she was a young girl she and her sister recieved some better advice. This is the recipe for wart removal given by an awesome Russian grandma to a young Almaz:

1 - Wait for a full moon.

2 - Before you go to bed, go into the bathroom and pee on your hand.

3 - Come outside and let your hand air dry in the full moon's beam.

4 - Once it's dry, just head on in the house and fall asleep, you know with your hand smelling of urine.

5 - In the morning wash your hand and go about your day as if nothing has happened.

6 - 10 days later, they will all be gone.

Almaz swears this works. She even showed me that she had a wart and said that she herself is waiting for the next full moon because she's done it before. Diana looked like she was going to vomit if her mom didn't stop talking about peeing. So there you have it. No need to go to the hospital, just wait for the full moon.

The Coach, Big Daddy J, D-Rig, Qaçmaq and I spent a day and climbed to the top of a mountain in Qax! We beagn in Ləkit and climbed to Kötüklü (a little village about 7 kilometers north of Ləkit. That hour and half trek drenched us.

The mountains in the horizon was the goal for the morning, that night only about 30 minutes left.

I packed 3 liters of water but Turan, the robot shepherd, seems to think that only tea is necessary. Once you finish a hike, nothing while actually physically exerting yourself. So as I was zipping up backpack he decided to pour out half of it, punk. At one point Jason, Derek and Turan huddled under an umbrella while Josh smoked solely under the protection of his poncho. Classic.

Up in Kötüklü we stayed in an empty village house. The American boys yelled about politics outside while Turan and I translated Fizuli with one of the cousins. You can always count on Turan to be reading poetry and trying to teach me some meaningful lesson. You would think this is ridiculous enough but no. Derek fell off the balcony into some ginger type plant and had itchy marks all on his back. Great way to prepare for an uphill hike. Some would sleep but Derek is better than all the rest. Next morning we went to the top. This is us about an hour north of Kötüklü. A few more hours and a few walking sticks to find.

As was expected the boys were all far superior to me in hiking ability so I'm going to say it took us about twice as long to do the hike because they were all nice enough to wait for me. Towards the very end it got really hard for me to make it up, thin air and such but we made it to the top! First thing I did was lay my fatty behind down after panting my way up a mountain, word.Derek looked like a pretty princess at the top. This was the mountain we climbed and behind him is the ravine with more villages and more mountains that would get one to Daghestan.This is the view of where we came from, right where the two nearest mountains meet is Kötüklü. So that was our morning walk.

It was EPIC! We ate loads of bread and eggs and chicken. The boys hit rocks off the mountain with our walking sticks, had a fake sword fight and the dog stayed with us the whole time.

Speaking of the dog named Topuş(chubby), he's a punk. As the boys are continually waiting for me to hurry up Topuş ascended about 5 times. He kept reappearing with a look on his face that was truly mocking me. Just me, not the others. I swear that dog just had mocking eyes for me. Good thing he went the other way down the mountain otherwise he would have seen me win The Lori Award many times. The Lori Award is only given to those select few who deem their backsides too clean and decided to butt slide down a mountain as opposed to simply walking down. I.E. you fall you get my award, the boys all got it too, even Mr. "Country" Boy himself - Jason.

Here's The Coach perched on a cliff, he decided to go there at some point during our descent. I don't really know why but he's kind of a mountain goat so I just go with it. We all ended up joining him anyways.

Finally this is Derek's video of us at the top of the mountain. Note me lying down because as I said, I needed to after that hike just so I could breathe.