Summertime in Azerbaijan (With Daily Showers)!

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

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

Happy Birthday America (in Azerbaijan)!

So I’m a couple of weeks behind, but here’s what happened for the 4th of July in Azerbaijan. The holiday was on a Saturday this year, so even those people who have a “normal” work schedule were able to participate. There was a large gathering on the east side of Azerbaijan and then an “America Day” that I traveled to in Mingecivir. It was organized by the PCVs in Mingecivir, of whom there are 7 or 8 (it’s a decent sized town). I wasn’t the only one that came to help; there were about 25 – 30 PCVs that came from throughout the country to help out. “America Day” was set up in a large field near the town stadium and it was an afternoon of fun. There were stations set up that groups of youth rotated through (about 75 youth came) and they experienced things like kite flying, frisbee, soccer, relays, an obstacle course, arts & crafts, face/body painting, etc. After rotations were finished a large game of softball was played. It was fun to show American traditions to the youth of Azerbaijan (cultural exchange goes both ways). My station was more informational than activity based – we had a large map of America and we talked a bit, but mostly answered questions: Which state is the best? (Michigan, of course!) What state is [insert PCV name here] from? What states have mountains? Where is it hottest/coldest/etc.?

So that lasted all afternoon and then later the PCVs gathered at the reservoir for a bbq and beach time. There were hot dogs on the grill (granted, the buns were just normal bread wrapped around the dog…) and watermelon to eat, and it was an incredibly relaxing time to just hang out and be with fellow Americans. AZ5’s time is winding down and they were all talking about their future plans and departure dates (late August/early September) – it doesn’t seem like it’s already time for my group to be the veterans here, to be answering questions from the new Volunteers that will arrive in September, but it’s almost upon us!

Back to "Normal"

Well, America was amazing. I had a wonderful time seeing family (even meeting family I had never met before) and friends. It was interesting to find things that I missed, but that I didn’t realize I missed until I was back in America – like good, strong water pressure.

So as promised, here is my list of things from Azerbaijan that I missed while in America:

- Walking: I walk EVERYWHERE here. It’s nice to have that time to think, see what’s changing in the community around me, say hi to people I know, etc.
- Public Transportation/Not Driving: While there are certain deficiencies in the system here, it’s not very hard to travel throughout the country for a fairly inexpensive price. Also, while I do miss driving, there’s something to be said for not doing it as well. It’s nice not to have to worry about directions and the other driver (well, at least a lesser amount of worry because it’s out of my control).
- People: I’ve met some pretty amazing people (Azerbaijani and American) during my short time here and I definitely missed my interaction with them.

So it was hard to return to Azerbaijan, but I’m back, settled into my routine again, and looking forward to a productive summer and fall!

A Reflection...

Some of you may not know, but I’m headed home to Michigan for a vacation later this month. (If you know my Grampa, don’t tell him; it’s for his 100th birthday party!) So because of that, and as it’s been over eight months that I’ve lived in Azerbaijan, I thought I’d provide a list of the things I miss from America.

- Convenience: Being able to buy everything you need at the same store, availability of pre-prepared foods (from take out at a restaurant to packaged pasta sauce to microwave meals), washing machines, fast internet, etc.
- Driving: Volunteers are not allowed to drive (although with the way some people drive here I’m okay with that rule).
- Entertainment: Having no options of things to do socially – no movie theatres, bowling alleys, concerts, malls, beaches, etc.
- Gender Issues: In America, it doesn’t matter if I’m a man or a woman when I go to a restaurant but here it’s just not socially acceptable for a woman to do everything that a man does. Even just a young woman sitting in a park can be looked upon negatively.
- Religion: It’s not absent here (I hear the call to prayer from the mosque every day) but it plays a different role in life. It’s hard to explain. And there aren’t many options for religious community outside of the mosque – maybe that’s the best explanation: in the States religion is expressed much more through community while it seems to be expressed more individually here.
- Western Plumbing: Enough said.
- And last but definitely not least, my family and friends!

Disclaimer: many of the items listed do not apply to Baku (the capital).

Later this month expect a reflection of what I miss from Azerbaijan while I’m in America…

A Quick Trip Across the Border...

A couple weeks ago I ventured to our neighbor to the northwest, the Republic of Georgia (Georgiastan), with some friends. We decided to go to Tbilisi, made a reservation at a guesthouse (where Georgia PCV’s stay when they come in for official PC business), and that’s all the preparation we did. We came from four different regions and met in Shemkir, the city where Chris and Katie live. It’s the furthest west out of our group, so it made the best starting point. We all gathered on a Saturday night so we could leave first thing Sunday morning. Getting to Tbilisi from Shemkir took three separate busses. One from Shemkir to Gazakh (a decent sized city further west), Gazakh to the Red Bridge (the border), walk across the border, and then find a new bus to go into Tbilisi. The border was interesting – definite differences between the two countries in their facilities and approaches.

After leaving Shemkir at about 8:15am, we arrived in Tbilisi at about 1pm – even with the border crossing and multiple bus changes. We made great time! That afternoon we just walked around, explored, found a restaurant, etc. Traveling can be exhausting. Monday we did even more exploring. Visited some churches, explored parks, went up to the city wall/citadel, the botanical gardens, etc. We even saw a Heydar Aliyev Park – Heydar Aliyev is the former president of Azerbaijan and you can’t travel a street in Azerbaijan without seeing a statue, billboard, quote, museum or park named after him, something we didn’t expect to see in Georgia. We also met up with a friend of mine – Natia is from Georgia and was a FLEX (exchange program) student in Jenison last year. So she showed us around a little and took us to a great Georgian restaurant. Georgian food was great – dumplings, cheese bread, etc. Tuesday we looked for some souvenirs (met a fellow American working in Azerbaijan on vacation in Tbilisi – small world, huh?), went to the sulfur baths, ate Chinese food and visited the zoo. There are currently protestors in Tbilisi – opposition to the current president/administration and how the war was handled last year – and we passed their cells (sleeping areas) and also saw a march going on across the river (we were there on a national holiday). And we played a LOT of cards every night. The night before we left the woman who runs the guesthouse came and talked to us about the news from the day – apparently the opposition had blocked some transportation. We weren’t too worried, but did talk about some of our options in case we had trouble the next day. It ended up being a waste of time – while it took us forever to find the bus that went to the border, everything seemed normal. We ended up with seven people (six of us plus the driver) squished into a little hatchback jetta – or something similar – for the 45 minute trip to the border. Little bit of conversation at the border, then the trip back to Shemkir, and the following morning back to our respective regions.

All in all: a great, memorable trip to a place that’s as close as the next state in America. There were definite differences from Azerbaijan, but it’s hard to tell how many of them would hold up if we had traveled outside Tbilisi. Azerbaijan is in the middle of everything geographically and there are certain things that seem to be more European in Georgia whereas it may be more Central Asian here in Azerbaijan. But those are just thoughts – it was only a few days. Hopefully more travels will come later in my service as there are many nearby places that would be exciting to visit.

Note: Pictures are impossible to upload with dial up, but I’ll try and add some to this entry and others later this month when I have access to faster internet.