Mostly, this is just a short, complain-y update about living in a developing country with cold-as-crap winters. I’m cold. Although I’m insanely lucky to have a small apartment and a warm gas stove, I still feel like I’m cold most of the time. We’ve had snow on the ground here for two weeks, and weather … Keep reading →
Please login first to post comments.
I can’t for the life of me figure out why everyone I know is so dang against making New Years resolutions…it’s almost like it’s uncool for members of my generation to make goals for themselves; or at least, to stick a ‘start’ date on them. I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had regarding … Keep reading →
AND BROUGHT ME AN EARFLAP HAT! Finally, after years (literally) at subtly (sortof) hinting that I wanted one of these, I got one from Joe for Christmas. It has a skeleton on it, too. Perfect!
This week I passed a milestone – 1 year at site in Oguz. For me, this is a bigger deal than 1 year in country (which happened in September), as I now reach the real half-way point of my service: a time to reflect on how I’ve spent the last year, and to lay the [...]
THIS JAR OF PICKLES IS BIGGER THAN MY HEAD! I bought 3 of them. Vegetables–already sparse–will become virtually nonexistent in the next month or so. Bring it on.
Halloween party with some awesome kids in my apartment. And for those who will appreciate this, “If I could be an animal, I would want to be a giraffe. Or a skeleton.” REALITY. Lahıc Villiage in ice. Snowy, beautiful, and terrifying marshrutka ride back from our visit in Lahıc. After an epic [...]
Friends! A remarkable miracle has descended upon me in this strange place called Oguz! THE INTERNET! Like, the REAL internet–it’s unlimited, highspeed, and right here in my apartment. I am sitting at my kitchen table, making baked potatoes and being on the internet. AT THE SAME TIME! Fall has arrived in full fury, although the [...]
…of a vacation. Summer clubs are finished, Oguz Summer Camp is right around the corner, then off on a marvelous adventure to Croatia and then my beautiful, beautiful Italy. Beaches, bikinis, cathedrals, and plenty of the world’s best wine will be involved. If only they could all be involved at the same time… But now [...]
A downer story with a happy ending… After the aforementioned refrigerator debacle, I called my landlord to demand some action be taken (you know, in a super passive-aggressive manner). During this ultra-unfruitful conversation, she dropped the bomb dreaded by all Peace Corps Volunteers living independently: You Need To Move Out, ASAP In my case, it [...]
Since it’s been almost three months since I last detailed the adventures of my life, I figured a good recap of my goings-on might be in order. So, here’s a list of a few of the more notable events in my recent past: On May 2, Athe new US Ambassador to Azerbaijan went on a [...]
POSTS. Why, you ask? Internet. In. My. Apartment. Prepare yourselves.
And by ‘we’ I most definitely mean ‘I’. I have now lived in my own apartment for nearly two weeks. It’s awesome! It came with a gas mask included! It also means no more regular internet. Maybe someday I’ll post some pictures. 6 months in Azerbaijan 6 weeks left of the school year. Also, after [...]
Life in Oguz is settling in…or at least it seems that way. I remember thinking that I was “leveling out” two months ago, then a month ago. But every week, every day, every class offers a new challenge for me to get over, a new change for me to get used to. More than [...]
Welcome to a new series of posts documenting the many things here in Azerbaijan (and especially in Oğuz) that really tickle me. For today, I’d like to introduce you to a few members of my incredible 9th form conversation club. I love club. A lot. While teaching has major ups and downs, and is often [...]
I am not usually big on inspirational quotes, but considering my daily questioning of whether I’m doing anything useful whatsoever here, this one was quite nice. Thanks, Ralph Waldo Emerson! “The definition of success–To laugh much; to win respect of intelligent persons and the affections of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics and [...]
…to give up long informative posts for short, easy-to-write ones. I’ve been at site for two whole months! Hot damn! January was a hard month, but things are looking up: I have a written out plan for all of my lessons next week that I completed WITH all three of my counterparts. That’s a huge [...]
There are currently blood-curdling screams coming from my yard. Why? My host father is a dentist with a make-shift office in our basement.
There are currently blood-curdling screams coming from my yard. Why? My host father is a dentist with a make-shift office in our basement.
(This is what students call me. In Azerbaijan formal titles use the first name, so an Azeri teacher named Şahla would be Şahla müellimə, or literally, Şahla teacher. Since I’m an English teacher, I make them say it in English!) Oğuz has three schools, which all have grades 1-11. Two have had a Peace Corps [...]
It’s hard to believe I’ve already been at site for almost a month. I can mostly sum up my feelings about it by saying that I am absolutely in love with Oğuz. My host family is great, my house is nice, the town is GORGEOUS, my school is good, my counterparts are enthusiastic and kind…what [...]
I am writing this post from my bed in my brand-new home in Oğuz, Azerbaijan! To back-track a little bit, though, I am now an official Peace Corps Volunteer! On the 9th, AZ8’s had our swear-in ceremony. It was held at a swank concert-type venue and included the head hauncho of the US Embassy [...]
Okay…so, I’ve been a really craptacular blogger. My apologies to my adoring fans (Mom and Dad). I knew it was time to update when my mom was repeatedly sending me text messages along the lines of “I’ve been reading other Peace Corps blogs to try to figure out what’s going on in your life.” Here’s [...]
(written November 17 and posted way late) I usually wake up around 7am. On days that I’m not being too lazy, I workout in my room—omitting any jumping or running exercises to avoid waking up anyone in my family (and having to explain what I’m doing), or the neighbors that live below us. Other times, [...]
This is me, at the moment: I am sitting, cross-legged, on my bed. I am surrounded by: - discarded but on-call layers of clothing to deal with the vast temperature variations in my room (the coldest in the house) - Sharpies, colored pencils, erasers, scissors, blank paper, and other seemingly innocuous art/craft supplies - [...]
Monday through Thursday of this were spent in Mingəçevir for my site visit. I was lucky enough to stay with Alex, a fabulous TEFL AZ7 who eased many of my anxieties about service, teaching, and what it’s like to live in Azerbaijan as a PCV. Not only did I fall in love with Mingəçevir—called “the [...]
It’s been a hard week, but it has flown by. I had my first English class observations, where I finally saw exactly what I’m going to be working with for the next two years. It was a little terrifying, but I also feel a renewed sense of motivation and purpose, as well as a lot [...]
Happy 10-10-10! I guess I am celebrating by enjoying a) my only day off this week, and b) my first time on the Internet in 7 days. Things have been moving quickly here in some ways and very slowly in others; on one hand I can’t believe I’ve been here two and a half weeks, [...]
(The First Week) [...I think...] The nice thing about only having internet access once or twice per week is that I have time to fully think through blog updates and how I’m going to spend my precious internet time. The last week has been . . . well, it’s been hard to describe, to [...]
After staging in Philadelphia and a long journey involving several flights, bus rides, and hotel rooms, my lovely fellow AZ8′s and I have arrived in Sumgayıt, Azerbaijan! I’ll spare the gruesome airport details (including my getting frisked in Frankfurt . . .), but I (and my luggage!!) arrived safely. I am glad to be at [...]
…in D.C., in West Virginia, then in America. Last adventures with my best friends. Last fancy meals, last kisses, last hugs. For a while, at least. Final moments with reliable internet, electricity, running water, the “known”. My head: a mixed-up mess of frantic emotions, unfinished to-do lists, and fragments of Azerbaijani (Baǧışlyın!?).
I apologize for the capital letters–I usually hate all caps, but I have been staring at said list for so long, and with so much scrutiny, that I thought this post needed a title that was a little epic (and more appropriate than “The Effin’ Packing List,” which was my first thought). Anyway, I have [...]
How many entries are we showing above?
For now, we are showing up to 50 entries on each page. Entries that
are too short are filtered out. For more entries, please use
archives.
|
Connect to Peace Corps Journals
About the Journal
Contact Us
Disclaimer:
| |
| Copyright (c) 2010 |
