“Thank you for your service.” This is my last post from Azerbaijan for quite a while. As of today, I’m no longer a Peace Corps Volunteer. Over the past month or so, I’ve been wrapping things up in Lənkəran and preparing to end my Peace Corps service with all sorts of personal and administrative closure. [...]
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After giving it a second go, Ryan has finally made it to Azerbaijan. Last time, it went down that the Azerbaijani government changed the visa rules without telling anyone and Ryan had to turn around mid-flight and head to Beijing instead of Baku. This time, he got through and we spent our first night in [...]
It has been just over a week since my friend, Steve Hollier, passed away. Eli and I had been in a car on our way up from Lənkəran to Baku, looking forward to meeting up with Steve and his partner, Sandra, staying in Baku for a few days. We didn’t learn until later that day [...]
It’s been a rough week, so the posts this week have been few. We’ll start the new week with a poem from Bakhtiyar Vahabzade (Bəxtiyər Vahabzadə), called Speed (Sürət): Speed Time was, we would sit in the compartment of a train Three days and three nights Counting the miles Baku-Moscow For lack of anything else [...]
I don’t really understand what it means to be a Sister City, but that’s apparently what Lənkəran and Monterey, California are now. Wikipedia tells me that sister cities form agreements “in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.” However, it doesn’t really go into what that practically means. Ideally, yeah, cultural [...]
This past weekend, The Guardian‘s Comment is Free article by Mary Fitzgerald had some pointed words about Azerbaijan and its free speech record. She attended a reception in Westminster City Hall held by Azerbaijan that night, headlined by Ell & Nikki, the Eurovision darlings. The evening was packed full of typical Azerbaijani PR material and [...]
This week’s poem is by Vagif Samadoghlu (Vaqif Səmədoğlu), called That Strange and Soft Tune (Sənin səhərdən axşama kimi oxuduğun). Enjoy: That Strange and Soft Tune That strange and soft tune that once you were murmuring all day long in the language that I didn’t understand, is still ringing in my ears. I have learned [...]
After two years of living here in Azerbaijan, I still enjoy the photo essays and documenting of Azerbaijani lives as they are affected by various contexts, such as a massive oil pipeline. There are so many aspects of living in Azerbaijan that few will ever witness that we can only rely on those willing [...]
The CRRC has a new report out detailing gender attitude differences in the Caucasus and comparing those attitudes to the wider set of data from the Pew Center’s Global Attitudes Project. What you get is a picture that lifts up the differences in Caucasus countries in contrast to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The [...]
Last night, I had to send a text to one of my colleagues at the bank because I didn’t know if today was a bank holiday or not. October 18th is Azerbaijan’s second independence day, celebrating their re-emergence as an independent state in 1991. As the Soviet Union crumbled, Azerbaijan was enveloped in a tumultuous [...]
Travel logistics made Sunday’s poem get pushed back to today. This week, we read a poem by Füzuli, Azerbaijan’s epic poet writing in the 16th century. This is an excerpt from his rendition of Leyla and Majnun (Leyli və Məcnun), describing Leyla: Among all the girls was one bright as a fairy, Who aimed all [...]
It doesn’t hurt to hear more from Azerbaijan through the lens of Peace Corps Volunteers. Unfortunately, it took me way too long to get these new links up for you. Last year’s new crop of PCVs brought with them a bunch of blogs they semi-regularly update with pictures and videos and stories about what they [...]
I’m currently reading a short book called The Ayatollah Begs to Differ, by an Iranian who was raised in the West by his parents, members of Iran’s diplomatic class in the 1960s and 70s. Hooman Majd tells his story in short vignettes. He deconstructs the minutiae of his return trips to his homeland, visiting government [...]
This week, a poem by Fikrat Goja (Fikrət Qoca) called An Unfinished Work (Yarımçıq İş): An Unfinished Work An unfinished work is An engaged son or daughter Without a wedding. An unfinished work is An autumn without harvest. An unfinished work is A road without a bridge, A land without a road, A tongue without [...]
When I was a sophomore in college, I remember talking to my economics professor about the effects of a large gap between the rich and the poor in society. In the end, we came to the agreement that it’s likely that when that gap gets so big, the gulf between classes so wide, those on [...]
Maybe you’ve read this article from CNBC Magazine already. It’s a fairly general article, called “Power Shift”, giving an overview of political and economic movements over the past decade and, more specifically, over the past year in Azerbaijan. There aren’t a whole lot of new or surprising facets of the article, but there are some [...]
This week’s poem is by Ali Karim (Əli Kərim) called Stone (Daş): Stone Half-naked, Primitive man Cast a stone at his foe, Shed blood. But the stone Didn’t fall to the ground, It kept flying, From horizon to horizon. Don’t say that the stone disappeared. That stone transformed into an arrow, And then a sword, [...]
We have talked on this blog about visas way too much. You will be happy when this blog ceases to talk about visas to Azerbaijan. Yet, again, Azerbaijan and visas are in the news. You will soon be able to get an e-Visa: Azerbaijani Culture Ministry Apparatus head Firudin Gurbanov said e-visas for tourists arriving [...]
This week, read a poem by Mammad Araz (Məmməd Araz) called If There Were No War (Müharibə Olmasa): If There Were No War If there were no war, We could construct a bridge between Earth and Mars Melting weapons in an open-hearth furnace. If there were no war, The harvest of a thousand years could [...]
Peace Corps Volunteers in Azerbaijan know that when they arrive to their sites it’s not likely that everyone will be awaiting their arrival, open arms ready to embrace the service we are here to carry out. Most people likely are surprised by the presence of a foreigner, and then further surprised to see that the [...]
The Peace Corps news of out of Central Asia right now is that the fall crop of Volunteers set to be heading into the Turkmenistan is facing some delays and, possibly, reassignments. Eurasianet has the story here: Reports have circulated this week that the Peace Corps is once again having troubles in Turkmenistan, the independent [...]
Today was that only-once-a-year event in Lənkəran, the FLEX test for students in Azerbaijan who want to go to high school in America for a year (learn more about the program by clicking here). Over 100 students from Lənkəran and the surrounding southern regions crowded into School #4 in the city to take Round One of [...]
I hadn’t come across this story until today, but I find it a fascinating dynamic concerning migration, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, from Eurasianet: Economic collapse, war and nationalist government policies prompted thousands of Georgia’s ethnic Azeris to head to neighboring Azerbaijan during the early 1990s. About 80 percent of the remaining estimated 350,000 ethnic Azeris in [...]
In an effort to make sure the Sunday Poem arrives on Sunday, this poem comes sans translation. It’s from Vagif Bayatly Oder (Vaqif Bayatlı Ödər) and is called More Than Anyone Else (Hər Kəsdən Çox): More Than Anyone Else I can neither be the strongest man in the world, Nor do I want to be. [...]
There has been a serious slow-down in posts this week, mainly due to my internet connection being about as shoddy as it has been my entire time here. I’m not sure what’s happening but the usually reliable AvirTel connection has been going in and out on me, resulting in several disappointingly short Skype chats (sorry [...]
As September rolls in, so does the truck carrying yards of wood to chop up for the winter. Today, that truck parked itself outside my apartment building and I heard the swing of the ax throughout the afternoon (accompanied by a car blaring less-than-welcome mugham music). This takes me back to the story we heard [...]
Before we move on from the topic, this is just an addendum to my thoughts onhow Peace Corps can help heal from days like 9/11 as we slide past the 10th anniversary of the tragedy. Today was my first day back at the bank after the anniversary. While I am cognizant of the tragedy of [...]
This is not about where I was on September 11, 2001. Instead, this is about where I am now and why that is important relative to September 11, 2001. Peace Corps and the Third Goal were made for days like this. —– Peace Corps service is defined by three goals: 1) Provide technical assistance and [...]
This week’s poem was written by Samad Vurghun (Səməd Vurğun) and is called Don’t Bend! (Əyilmə!): Don’t Bend! O life! At times it’s smirched with mire and dirt, But see, life’s stage a thousand curtains knows When you, young man, in difficult times are hurt, Then bless the manliness which in you grows. O Time! [...]
Today’s post is a smattering of links that are newsworthy or worth reading. First, worth reading is a post from Steve describing a great-looking adventure up in the Qusar-Quba region of Azerbaijan, in the north nearer the border with Russia. Steve writes about meeting an ex-government official, a recently-returned soldier, and visiting a pir (an excellent explanation of [...]
This blog post is ironically appropriate, as I’m writing it while Lənkəran and a large swath of Azerbaijan is getting drenched in a steady three-day rainfall, not exactly the stuff of the best weather for tourism. But I do want to say that we are just setting into the best seasonal weather Azerbaijan sees all [...]
This week’s poem is by Vagif Samadoghlu (Vaqif Səmədoğlu), called Heart Full of Words (Ürəyi Sözlə Dolu): Heart Full of Words Will my notebook die as a man his heart full of words? Or will it tell all what it knows? Will crows be flying over its corpse? Or will they be pigeons? Who’ll remember [...]
Eurovision is pushing for the change they want to see in the Azerbaijani visa process. Obviously, having a simplified or more loose visa regime is a bonus for Eurovision, as having the song contest in a country with difficult visa rules makes the coming attraction much more difficult to fill with wild fans. There are [...]
We knew this day would come: Azerbaijan no longer holds the title of “Country with the Tallest Flagpole”. It’s been a while since we’ve checked in on Baku’s world-leading flagpole, but you can catch up on the story from last year here, here, and here. I have no idea what this means for Azerbaijan or [...]
This past weekend, we celebrated another successful go of the Writing Olympics. The award ceremony was packed with guests, including representatives from the US Embassy, Peace Corps, and a host of media organizations, not to mention our budding young writers and their families. At the US-Azerbaijan Education Center in Baku, we gathered to present awards, [...]
Feminism is not a word I often use with my close Azerbaijanis. Not that I don’t want to talk about topics or problems in the feminine realm, but it just doesn’t come up that much. Yet, in the moments that the words “feminist” or “feminism” have arisen, my female Azeri friends have been quick to [...]
My internet provider conspired to delay my blog posting and my first live fantasy football draft of the season last night, so the Sunday poem comes a day late and my fantasy football draft was doomed to Autodraft mediocrity. For our poem this week, from Fikrat Goja (Fikrət Qoca), we enjoy An Ordinary Man (Adi İnsan). Read [...]
The end of Ramazan (also known as Ramadan) draws nigh and just this past week was the celebration of Lailatul Qadr’, or the ‘Night of Power’ (one possible translation). Muslims believe that the revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad happened within the last 10 nights of the month of Ramazan, on an odd-numbered [...]
The plan was to have Mason step in to drop a few posts while I was out. Obviously, that plan didn’t work out, so sorry about that. No worries, though, as I’m back in Azerbaijan, fresh from Indonesia, and back in action on the blog. Things were great in Indonesia, a fantastic tourist experience. In [...]
This week, the poem comes from Almas Ildirim (Almas İldirim). We last read a poem by Almas here. This week’s is called My Song (Mənim Türküm): My Song I am a lover, if my body burns in icy hell, These fearful mountains cannot stand my inexhaustible mourning If the angels present paradise to me I [...]
For a short time, that is. I’m taking a short vacation to beautiful Indonesia to visit my friend Eric, who is there doing a project through his Master’s degree program. I’ll be skipping across a few islands in the non-post-Soviet territory, and eating superhuman amounts of peanut sauce-drenched dishes. What does this mean for the [...]
This week’s poem is by Nigar Rafibeyli (Nigar Rəfibeyli), called Kitchen Lines (Mətbəx Şərləri). We’ve previously read a poem by Nigar named Flower Blooming, which you can read here. Enjoy: Kitchen Lines If I were not a woman I’d have no dealings With saucepans, Crockery, Ladles I would meet the dawn on the seashore, Among [...]
Occasionally, blips flit across the news ticker about Azerbaijan and its desire to develop into an information and communications technology hub. A little ways back, I wrote about Azerbaijan’s proposed East West Informational Superhighway, a regional project to increase access to information via the Internet, among other media. It looks like a fairly unique project [...]
Azerbaijan is full of unexpected features for the uninitiated Westerner. Yet, English-language essay writing was not on my list. I am a Five-Paragraph Essay devotee. If there was a Facebook page devoted to the Five-Paragraph Essay, I would Like it. If there was a +1 button on Google Plus for the Five-Paragraph Essay, I would [...]
As I’ve been thinking about this idea, I at first wanted to make a reasoned generalization about Azerbaijanis. And then I thought about it more and I wanted to make that reasoned generalization about Americans, specifically Peace Corps Volunteers. The reality is that it applies to almost everyone: we are all self-appointed experts. This is [...]
It seems that no matter how many times I read about the potential for change represented by Eurovision’s being held in Azerbaijan in 2012, my skepticism remains. The most recent article about the potential for Eurovision’s spotlight to clean up Azerbaijan’s human rights record comes from our friends at RFE/RL: Several Azerbaijani rights organizations have [...]
This is my second year in a Muslim country during Ramadan (Ramazan, in Azeri). And it’s another time that reminds me that Azerbaijan is not necessarily the most devout of Muslim countries. (Let’s chalk that up to 70+ years of Soviet repression, shall we?) When I head to the bank on Tuesday, it’s likely that [...]
This week’s poem is My Tabriz (Təbrizim) by Suleyman Rustam (Süleyman Rüstəm). It describes the Iranian city of Tabriz, a city with deep historical Azeri Turkish roots: My Tabriz I never get tired of looking at your beauty, My Tabriz, my Tabriz, my gorgeous Tabriz! I won’t let you embrace strangers, Let me fling my arms [...]
One of the difficulties of being a Peace Corps Volunteer with a Western-style bank such as AccessBank is that you sometimes forget that the organization you are working with is made up of people who are not necessarily familiar with Western-style business and management practices. That may sound harsh, but it’s true and it sometimes [...]
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