Happy Anniversary!

This week marks one year that I’ve been in Azerbaijan (along with the rest of the AZ6 group). While the experience as a whole is definitely different than my expectations, it’s still a great experience that I wouldn’t change for the world.

Here are some highlights:
- Meeting and interacting with all of the other great American PCVs who are also here to give of themselves.
- Sharing a Thanksgiving experience with a local family.
- Having our entire group of 61 Trainees survive training and swear in as Volunteers (apparently this is extremely rare).
- Trying new foods (if you know me, you understand that this is an accomplishment).
- Demonstrating how there are multiple ways of achieving the same result – I may cook differently than you, but in the end it’s still an edible meal…
- Surviving a summer where it’s above 100 degrees on a daily basis (and that’s considered mild).
- Being able to carry on full length conversations in Azeri without help (granted, some hand gestures, drawings, and synonyms are used).
- Celebrating new holidays like Women’s Day (Anyone need some perfume? I have plenty!) and Novruz (Why don’t we have a holiday in America that includes jumping over a fire?)
- Making do with what’s available – no take out, no delivery, and no pre-made meals.
- Not having to go through a summer without a camp experience.
- Appreciating inventions that I never really appreciated before – like long underwear, my -20 degree rated sleeping bag provided by PC, and water filters.
- Taking an amazing trip to nearby Tbilisi, Georgia with even more amazing friends.
- Meeting people who are challenging the norms and traditions of the local culture.
- And finally, knowing that I am truly making a difference. I know that I have touched people’s lives just as they have touched mine, and even though it may not always be in a concrete way, it’s still just (if not more) as valuable. And there’s still over a year to go…

Normal Chores Just Take Longer…

And laundry is one of them. The majority of people don’t have washing machines, and the few that do usually just have agitators (an electric machine that essentially just moves the laundry around – no spin, rinse, etc.) that they only sometimes use. So here’s the process:

Step 1: Determine what laundry is actually dirty (no use washing something that’s only been worn once).

Step 2: Fill a tub with water and add soap. Swish it around until it’s bubbly and add the laundry.
Swish the laundry around so the soap is mixed in.

Step 3: Let the laundry sit for awhile.

Step 4: Return to the laundry and wash any stained clothing in the exact spot needed.

Step 5: Rinse and wring out the laundry.

Step 6: Hang the laundry on the line to dry.

The Peace Corps Tells Us We’ll Feel Like We’re In A Fishbowl, But Are We Fish?

Before I left the States to begin my service in Azerbaijan I was bombarded by paperwork. Lots of it. Some was required paperwork, of course, but there was also a lot of paperwork on what to expect as a Volunteer. We’re told all about the "fishbowl" experience, something that we’ll feel like we’re in because of the constant eyes on us. And now, after almost a year of service, I’ve determined that I don’t feel like a fish. Fish belong in a fishbowl. I feel more like a bird or a rabbit in a fishbowl. It’s almost like the accident phenomenon – why is traffic moving so slow if the accident is on the other side of the highway? Ahh, yes, everyone has to try and see what happened. I’m something strange, something new and different to look at and talk about. And it doesn’t go away. I live in a big enough town that I won’t know everyone and I’m continually seeing people I haven’t seen before. In a town where up until last week only four foreigners (and now there are two) lived, heads always turn when I walk. More people than the one I’m talking to listen to my language skills. And definitely more people know who I am than I know who they are. Now I’m not saying that it’s necessarily a bad thing. Statistically speaking a PCV is much safer when they’re known in the community than when they’re not. And it definitely helps the PCV’s work in the community when people know who they are and what they’re doing. But every so often it can be overwhelming and frustrating. It’s the complete opposite from the anonymity I could experience in America. I want to be able to go to the bazaar and back without being stared at. Without being asked what Azerbaijani food I like. Without being asked if I need a taxi. Without being asked if there is a certain food in America. Without being asked if I know a previous Volunteer that left before I arrived. And on and on. But it will pass. Over time I’ve learned what I can and can’t deal with depending on my mood, and I adjust accordingly. I choose more carefully what to do and who to interact with and the rough patch will soon be behind me, and I can move on in my work and life.

Just a glimpse into the not always perfect life of a Peace Corps Volunteer in Azerbaijan…

La Hic (La Hij)

This past weekend I left Ucar and went to a village in the mountains called La Hic (pronounced La Hij). La Hic is a town known for its metalworking, especially with copper. We went up Sunday afternoon by bus – it was about an hour and a half from Ismayilli, and you have to go to Ismayilli to get to La Hic. It’s amazing, but I think that this weekend was one of the first times in this country that I’ve actually felt like I was “in” the mountains. In other places I’ve been near or in the mountains, it just didn’t feel the same – I felt like I could see the mountains but wasn't in them. Part of that is probably related to the narrow, winding road that we took to get there (good thing it’s decent weather right now, there are definitely times in the winter and/or heavy rain/fog that the road would be impassable). We wandered around the town area, and walked all the way to the mostly dry riverbed at the other side of town. We also wandered through the shops, the museum, and watched some of the metalwork being done. It’s a beautiful place with stone roads and fresh springs throughout. It’s one of the few places outside of Baku in Azerbaijan that tourists go, and that’s apparent by the spattering of English you hear by the shopkeepers as well as the fact that there are decorative items for sale. We also hiked out to a little waterfall about 2km from town. It was an interesting walk – the path is the riverbed, so we navigated rocks and jumped from one side of the water to the other. Without the path being labeled we missed the big waterfall, but it was still a beautiful place to wander around. It was a great little retreat, both to get away from the normal routine and the heat (lots of people in Azerbaijan go into the mountains in the summer to get away from the heat as well). Now it’s back to normal!

A Week Away From My Organization...

Once a week throughout the summer, and all of this week, I’ve been participating with a girls’ summer camp here in Ucar. We met at a local school every Wednesday from 9am – 12pm and then every day for this week, the last week of camp. The camp is open to girls in 6th – 9th form, which means the girls are about 12 – 16 years old, and my sitemate, Candice, invited them through her contacts at the local schools (she’s an English teacher).

So the girls come when they can – about 25 – 30 on a regular basis, with 6 girls having perfect attendance – and each day of camp consists of three components. First, we have a lesson, and the lessons cover topics like role models, diversity, leadership and creativity. We talk about what these things are and have discussions that hopefully expand their thinking on each topic. Then, we have an art time, and we made things such as pencil holders, yearbooks, collages and picture frames. The majority of the items we used are available here in Azerbaijan so the girls could continue to make any of the projects they want at home. Lastly, we have a sports/activity time. We played volleyball, did yoga, had a dance party and finally a water balloon toss.

Early in the summer one of the girls came to Candice and me with the idea of taking a trip somewhere together. After looking at how much time we had and the transportation available, we decided that a day trip to Ismayilli would be do-able. So we left Ucar at 8am, traveled to Goychay to change busses, and then went the rest of the way to Ismayilli. We were there by 10am and made the park in the center of town our base. We ate our sack lunches in the park, wandered around the bazaar, bought ice cream and basically just had a nice relaxing day. It was great to see the girls in a new environment, one where they don’t have to be as concerned about the community that they’re in because they don’t know anyone. They were just themselves, teenage girls, not someone’s daughter, granddaughter, sister or niece. We stayed in town until about 2pm, then we headed back home. When we got to Goychay (where we needed to change busses), we made another stop. There is a Volunteer in Goychay who recently opened a girls only internet club, so we stopped there. It was our goal to give these girls exposure to a place that they can go, and it’s an easy trip for them, only about 20 minutes from home. There are many internet clubs in Ucar but it’s not socially acceptable for girls to go there. I’ve been a few times, but I’ve never seen an Azerbaijani female at one. So this gives them an option – most people don’t have computers or the internet at home – of where they can use and learn about the internet and computers.

Camp has been an incredible experience! The majority of the girls that attended participated in the lessons and activities and had a lot of fun, and I had a lot of fun with them. I love that age group and since I don’t work in a school I haven’t met that many youth. The girls have already been asking for most of the summer if there’ll be camp next summer (my female sitemate leaves at the end of the month) and I’m definitely going to try. I’m excited to make it my own and see what can be done for these girls. There aren’t many social activities in the community and this gives them a chance to get out of their homes, meet other girls and learn and experience new things. And I already have a list of ideas started for next year…I can’t wait!