Peace Corps Journals / Azerbaijan / all updates

February

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:07:23 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Azerbai-Josh)
It may b the shortest month of the year but I feel like it has been the most productive. In just 28 days I have hosted an English Language competition on local TV met with the Azerbaijan director of US AID started a Tovuz youth softball team begun working on a UN early marriage project [...]
4 reads

If You Thought Things Were Quiet Here Y ...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:56:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Aaron in Azerbaijan)
In truth each of these news items could probably command a blog post and commentary all to themselves. In reality I don’t really feel like doing that. Instead here’s your news round ...
16 reads

Bakı: in Pictures

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:54:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / AZ Mac)
I liked this doorRandom statues on a building that I likedTim in a traditional Azeri hatMe in another traditional hat (worn by men not women)The Old CityAnother view of the Old CityThe Maiden's Tower ...
0 reads

New layout Taking Requests and a Trip ...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:52:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Derek and Alicia in the 'Zerb)
Greetings and Salutations Things are looking a little different around here. The blog's layout has changed for the better I hope. The beard is gone although I thought I would add this picture as a ...
0 reads

Hats

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:42:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / On the Road Again!!)
Most men here wear a hat of some sort. It's a tossup between the traditional Russian fur hat with ear flaps that are tied up onto the top of the hat or the black wool hat with a small brim... I'm re ...
8 reads

I've Been Adopted.

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:58:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / My Idea of What's Going On)
I have a new xanam friend. Her name is Rosa. A couple posts back I actually introduced her. It was her birthday party I unknowingly walked into after that random ride from Baku. Today after my cl ...
6 reads

What else can you do in an AZ winter?

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:31:15 +0800

(Azerbaijan / inalittlewhile)
Besides surf the net a bit and play Monopoly with real estate in Dubai? I choked on my coffee (from BRC) when reading the reported income of the worthy Prez. ps. computer died-ish. motivation to ...
4 reads

International Women's Day

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:14:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Fratterbaijan)
9 March 2010Alright anyone who calls this an "international" holiday has clearly never been to the United States as I hadn’t ever heard of this holiday before coming here though I must admit it� ...
7 reads

Kebab

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:41:23 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Beautiful Azerbaijan)
0 reads

There's no crying in soccer!

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:16:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / AK in Azerbaijan)
So ever since I was young I have put a lot of emotion into the sports I play. I have cried a lot but have normally been able to keep it off the court/field/diamond and saved it for my poor mother o ...
10 reads

My Life in Azerbaijan - Being Stared at

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:46:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Dream it, Plan it, and Do it!)
March 3 2010 Every day when I walk home I receive constant attention. The young the old the male the female the store keeper the street vendor the house wife the husband the family the scho ...
16 reads

On International Women’s Day

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:40:17 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Aaron in Azerbaijan)
You probably missed it. By the time you’re reading this International Women’s Day has already probably passed most likely because my timing is a bit untimely on this post. I probably ...
0 reads

My Life in Azerbaijan - Simple Life

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:37:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Dream it, Plan it, and Do it!)
February 21 2010One of the reasons that I join Peace Corps is that I was longing for a “Simple Life”. I like the idea that I just get up in the morning and do not have to worry about deadline me ...
13 reads

Where Do They Put It All?

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:24:06 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Aaron in Azerbaijan)
Riding that bus through the countryside last week through Beyləqan İmişli Biləsuvar and Ağcabədi meant that I had a lot of farmland to cover. One thing I noticed is that it is quite diffe ...
0 reads

Spring Cleaning: Azerbaijan

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:12:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Playing With Fire: Adventures in Azerbaijan)
Saturday was the first real spring-like day of weather we’ve had in the village. Therefore my host sister decided it was time to get a head start on the spring cleaning that traditionally accompani ...
8 reads

Good Enough To Eat

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:11:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Playing With Fire: Adventures in Azerbaijan)
One of the hazards of living with little ones is the teething process. This is particularly hazardous when the older more ambulant of the pair has decided that he likes the taste of the American more ...
12 reads

The Olympics

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:10:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Playing With Fire: Adventures in Azerbaijan)
Some background for this post. My life shuts down for three sporting events: - Roland Garros: Let me introduce my pretend sportsman boyfriend: Rafael Nadal- Wimbledon: Um…Duh. - The Winter Olympics: ...
11 reads

A Note About Mail

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:10:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Playing With Fire: Adventures in Azerbaijan)
The address on the right-hand side of the screen is the ONLY VALID address to send me mail. When I went into the lounge this month I had mail that was sent AFTER I moved to site. Not cool. Moreover ...
7 reads

Three Things I Wish I'd Known At The Sta ...

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:09:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Playing With Fire: Adventures in Azerbaijan)
In Azerbaijan: January is not the worst winter month. February is. I found my mitten-glove combo gloves mid-February. Why didn’t I find them in December?I realized my hiking socks fit inside my black boots this week. Why didn’t I try this months ago? Oh Well. I know for next year…
8 reads

What Does Masculinity Mean Here?

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:45:08 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Aaron in Azerbaijan)
I’m still trying to figure it out. Those long bus rides where it’s too bumpy to read and too bumpy and loud to sleep provide a lot of time to think about such things. Just from obse ...
36 reads

Want to Try This On a Greyhound?

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:24:37 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Aaron in Azerbaijan)
Something that sort of boggled me at first was the marşrutka and bus system around here. Not only is it used for getting people around but it can also be used for transporting any number of things ...
9 reads

Real Estate

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:48:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / 20 years from now...)
Azerbaijan is getting some attention in the news.READ ME!
4 reads

Real Estate

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:48:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / 20 years from now...)
Azerbaijan is getting some attention in the news.READ ME!
16 reads

International Women's Day

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 10:10:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Bloggerbaijan)
Today my host mom told me some shocking news."Julia. I think someone wants you to be miserable."This was new.Right out of the gate I was lost.Usually this moment comes 10 minutes into complex conversa ...
10 reads

Read/Watch March 2010

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:52:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Bloggerbaijan)
Here's what I thought about some of the stuff I read/watched in February... Books: "The Book of Ruth" by Jane Hamilton Oprah's Book Club book. Shoulda known it wasn't going to end well. ...
8 reads

Pancake Day!

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 08:32:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / My Idea of What's Going On)
One weekly event I look forward to is Pancake Day with my best Azeri friend Lale. I started cooking a little with her before she left for PST but it was after she returned that we started doing pan ...
9 reads

Photos

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:15:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Lost in Azerbaijan)
My counterpart and her two sisters. It's safe to say that they've become like aunts to me reminding me of certain someone's back at home. They prepared and nice birthday lunch for me. ...
12 reads

Gettin' Down To Business

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:29:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Peace, Love and Azerbaijan)
Things in Azerbaijan just seem to be getting progressively better! The sun is out the snow is melted (tricked ya with this picture I know. Its old) and I am a busy bee here in Qazax. (This picture i ...
40 reads

GLOW

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:18:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Bloggerbaijan)
My esteemed colleague and lovely region-mate wrote this grant to help support GLOW 2010. We still need about $50 to make it happen.GLOW is an incredible program.It matters.It changes girls' lives.Think about it.I wrote this after GLOW 2009 camp.Consider donating at the Peace Corps website.
11 reads

Fall-Out Shelter

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:43:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Bloggerbaijan)
Last week in my conversation club I presented this scenario to my students:You work for the Azerbaijani government. War has started. Only the people in a fall-out shelter in Siyazen have a good chance ...
11 reads

I promise I do do more than just guest

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:04:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / GYPSY SOUL)
A friend of a friend (i.e. a PCV's in another region Azeri friend serving his army service in that PCV's region) is from a village of Imishi. My friend suggested I go visit his friend's family. So l ...
12 reads

Why I Joined Peace Corps - Revisited

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:51:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Far From Nome)
As we continue our week-long Peace Corps Week festivities I thought I would revisit an old blog post: Why I joined the Peace Corps [link].It took me a few minutes to find this blog (I think I ca ...
41 reads

Stay Warm Save $

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:23:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Environmental Committee - PC Azerbaijan)
We PCVs tend to spend a lot of energy and money during the winter. Here is a list of environmentally friendly pieces of advice from our PCV friends:I had worn the toes and heels out of my knee socks ...
10 reads

Compost and Wire-mesh Compost Bin

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:00:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Environmental Committee - PC Azerbaijan)
Compost and Wire-mesh Compost BinThis article concerns the making of compost using common kitchen and yard wastes and constructing a low cost simple to build compost bin.CompostCompost is partially d ...
6 reads

Azlander Article on EC and Google Group

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:34:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Environmental Committee - PC Azerbaijan)
Unifying our Action: Environmental Committee Website and Google GroupAzerbaijan’s environmental problems can seem too overwhelming for individual PCV action. Despite this feeling individual PCVs c ...
5 reads

On Any Given Bus You Might Be Offered Anything

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:23:40 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Aaron in Azerbaijan)
Like this past Sunday when I headed out on a trek to Minqəcevir. There’s a bus that goes from Lənkəran to Minqecəvir and it leaves at 8:30 in the morning. That’s pretty early. Y ...
7 reads

Days of Mourning

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:47:28 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Aaron in Azerbaijan)
There’s a lot of sad going around lately. There’s the Xocalı tragedy of course but there’s also the one-year anniversary of my deceased host-father. Last year on February 27t ...
8 reads

BDB

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:18:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Bloggerbaijan)
Hiba buys a banana. Alison bakes. Emma watches the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I paint my nails. I call these Bad Day Behaviors (BDB) and I would venture to guess that the majority of PCVS ha ...
12 reads

Around Town

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:58:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / 20 years from now...)
Here are some random pictures I took on my phone from around Baku.Mmmmm sweat!We don't have apple stores we have pineapple stores! Take that register trademarks!Mimosa on the salad menu? I don't think it is what I think it is.This guy's tiny excuse for a beard is crooked.
5 reads

Around Town

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:58:00 +0800

Here They Come to Snuff the Rooster

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:52:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / What's Next?)
I just knew something was going to happen this morning since my host-brother is coming back today from Baku. So we have/had three roosters in our yard. Fighting and a lack of new baby chickens caused ...
6 reads

Film Club

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:12:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Waite, Azerbaijan?)
I wrote a little while ago about how the government here makes it difficult to do projects. Well yesterday I had my first experience with this. There is a group of Volunteers and locals who want to do ...
8 reads

Neighbors

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:58:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Waite, Azerbaijan?)
Home sweet home There is a saying several of us have adopted "In America you can say whatever you want about the Government but you got to be nice to your neighbors and in Azerbaijan you can say an ...
15 reads

This Star Better Start Dancing...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:11:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / What's Next?)
So I realized that it has been a while since I actually sat down and gave an update. A lot has taken place and these last few weeks have been quite busy.Let’s start with me becoming a star here in t ...
12 reads

My Life in Azerbaijan - Medical Care &am ...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:28:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Dream it, Plan it, and Do it!)
February 25 2010So far I have been sick a few times nothing serious just common cold flu stomach problem body injury and last week problem with my right eyes.Last week I saw “flying objects� ...
5 reads

Visitors

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:19:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / On the Road Again!!)
Around here you don't wear your shoes in the house... you drop them at the door and put on house slippers (shap shaps). As you can tell by the included photo I had house guests on Sunday. A lot of ...
1 reads

My first Azerbaijani wedding

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:13:15 +0800

(Azerbaijan / My Peace Corps Experience)
Weddings are just very different here and I thought it might be interesting for you all to hear about my experience going to an Azerbaijani wedding. First I had to get ready for the wedding. My hos ...
6 reads

Laundry Day

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:16:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / On the Road Again!!)
OK for all you folks out there who just nonchantly zip to the washer throw in a load then zip back and toss the load into the drier and then forget about it...here's to you!! Think again.... Wash d ...
0 reads

Want Another Point of View?

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:31:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Not Living With What If...)
Maybe you're reading this because you know me. Or maybe because you're interested in Azerbaijan. Or the Peace Corps in general. Or living in any foreign country. Or you just randomly stumbled on to th ...
29 reads

A Brief History of Practically Everythin ...

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:27:00 +0800

(Azerbaijan / Far From Nome)
Happy Birthday Peace Corps!As I prepare for a week of Peace Corpsy-activities I realize that we've (you all and me) have never covered the Peace Corps basics...so...What is Peace Corps?Peace Corps is ...
1 reads