The Chance To Go To America…

This past week I took a neighborhood student to a test in a nearby region, one of the six test locations offered throughout the country. This test was sponsored by the FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange) Program. It was the first step in their selection process to spend the 2010 – 2011 school year attending high school in America and living with an American host family. The first step consists of 16 multiple choice questions. The next step, which occurs the next day, is a pre-TOEFL/essay test. Next is an official application and individual/group interviews, followed by the final selection. Each step must be passed to move on to the next step. From previous years’ participation it’s estimated that over 2,000 students took the first test – and only 45 students will end up as exchange students.

My student, Fidan, did not pass the first round. She was definitely disappointed but seems to have bounced back a bit since the test a week ago. The eligible age range is a span of about 2 1/2 years, and she’s young enough that she’ll be able to try again next year. I think taking the test was a good experience for her, and now she’ll know what to expect next year. Hopefully this will also provide some motivation for throughout the year; this year was kind of a last minute decision. Now more preparation can be done on a regular basis, increasing her English knowledge and confidence. And while the odds will probably be about the same next year, the opportunity doesn’t stop there. There are undergraduate and graduate exchange programs available. And English is becoming increasingly important in the business environment, especially in Baku. So her thirst for English will hopefully only help her in the future…

How To: Eat Pomegranates

I’ve said to many people that I have a new favorite fruit after living in Azerbaijan: the pomegranate. And I get the same quizzical look from most of those people, the look that means how do you eat a pomegranate? They’ve recently become popular in the States for drink flavors and bath product scents, but not so much for eating (at least I had never had one before I came to Azerbaijan, and I know many other people that have never had them). Pomegranate season is in fall/early winter (unlike most food in America that you can buy during any season, I couldn’t find them when I was there in June). So here are your directions:

Step 1: Buy/pick the pomegranates. According to Azeris you know they’re ripe when they’re big and make a hollow sound when you tap it (kind of like checking a watermelon to see if it’s ripe).

Step 2: Tear the top (the stem) off – it will leave a small hole.

Step 3: Cut two shallow lines extending from the hole made in Step 2. Make the cuts deep enough to cut through the skin but not so deep that you cut the fruit inside.

Step 4: Place pressure near the top (near the hole) with your hands and then pull your hands apart, thus breaking the pomegranate in half.

Step 5: Pick out the pieces from the inside and eat as many as you want at once. Enjoy!

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…