Everyone Knows Everything About Me, But I Barely Know Their Names…

As Americans (well, any nationality that is not Azeri) Peace Corps Volunteers stand out and are noticed, especially if they are in smaller towns. I’m not it in a village, but even in a smallish city I’m definitely noticed, and more people (by A LOT) know who I am than I know who they are. Here’s just a small example of that.

The distance between my house and my work is about a half hour walk. Yesterday I was in the midst of this walk when a man that I did not know stopped me. He asked me if I need a house and I responded that yes, I do need a house (that story will be saved for another posting). And he replied that he had a house. So while I didn’t have time at that moment to discuss it (along with the fact that I didn’t really want to be standing in the middle of town having a conversation with a man that I knew nothing about – social appearances being everything) I did get his name and number so that my Director and I could follow up with him. How he knew that I needed a house is mystery, as much as anything can be in a place where someone I don’t know asked me how my recent trip to Baku was or how I barely have to explain where I work because they already know – I’m a discussion piece.

So while I have yet to see if his extra/empty house will be the house that I move into (fingers crossed for the house hunting search), it’s just one of the many stories from the day in the life of a PCV.

Holiday Events...

The 2009 holidays passed much differently than the 2008 holidays. In 2008 I was living with a host family and worked on Christmas. Then I spent New Year’s with some American friends (in a snowstorm). In 2009 I spent Christmas with some American friends as well as some other foreigners that I just met. Then I spent New Year’s with an Azeri family, one of them being my best friend here in town. And it was about 60 degrees (Celsius, of course) and sunny.

It was great to celebrate Christmas, even if the traditions weren’t the same. There was a Christmas movie (Elf) on Christmas Eve and gingerbread for breakfast. There was a hike in the morning in the hills outside of Ganja. And there was turkey and potatoes and stuffing and pie. And part of the group we were celebrating with was a British family, which meant we also had mince pie (ok) and Christmas pudding (yum). So while it’s hard being away from the normal traditions, it’s exciting to experience and make new ones.

New Year’s was quite uneventful. It was enjoyable to spend it with a local family, enjoying their company and eating good food. I think it was a little different than normal, this year was the first time in a long time that matəm fell over New Year’s (the calendar is lunar, so it shifts about 10 days each year). Matəm is the Islamic mourning period that lasts for 40 days. So I have a feeling there would have been some drinks and/or dancing had that not been the case. But it was, so we watched a concert and fireworks on tv, ate a huge meal, talked, etc. I spent the night there and then left in the early afternoon – I had another holiday meal to eat! My Director invited me over so I went directly from my friend’s to my Director’s and ate more of the same. It was fun to be with locals on the holiday and see how similar it was to what I probably would have been doing at home in America. One of the only differences was the lack of New Year’s resolutions, which I’ve never really made anyway.

So in a country that doesn’t celebrate Christmas: two Christmases down, none to go. See you in December!

The Alphabet Party

A few days ago I was invited to School Number 3’s Alphabet Party (the English version). Now I had absolutely no idea what this was (I’ve had very little exposure to the schools), but I was available so I went. It turns out that it was an event to demonstrate the English that they’ve learned so far. Other teachers, the School Director, mothers, grandmothers, a musician and cameraman were all in attendance (but no fathers or grandfathers). Apparently they learn some basic English before 5th form (grade) but 5th form is when they start learning the alphabet and grammar. So I heard the alphabet, the seasons and months, and then some songs, poems, and a story, all in English, performed by the 5th form class. I’ve never been to a school program before, but it was definitely more elaborate than I was expecting – props and multiple costume changes included. Near the end people began to speak – the School Director, etc., and then all of a sudden I was asked to speak. And while the rest of the day was entirely in English, everyone else was speaking in Azeri, so that’s what I did. Off the top of my head I said thank you for the invitation, how it was interesting to experience Azerbaijan’s culture because we don’t have a day like this in America, and that if you want to learn English the basics are important. Apparently it was mostly correct – but I kind of wish I had known ahead of time so that it could’ve been better. Oh well. Then the day concluded with tea and cake with some of the other teachers – one of whom I’d actually met before through my sitemate. And while I have a feeling that some of the speaking was just memorized, it was still a neat experience to see what they are learning and doing in class.

  

An Apprehensive Visit To The Dentist…

We’re now halfway through our actual service (the two years didn’t actually start until training was over and we were sworn in as Volunteers – December 10, 2008) and the mid-service things (like dentist and doctor appointments) are starting. Last Friday when I was in Baku I had a dentist appointment scheduled. In general, I don’t like dentists. I’ve had a lot of dental work done and some of it left me with bad memories. So suffice it to say, I did not have great hopes for this dentist. Other Volunteers had said good things, but in my head I was trying to be overly pessimistic, so that hopefully my visit would exceed my expectations…

And oh my, did the visit exceed my expectations! When I walked through that door I may have well walked through a portal to America. America in the future even, as this dentist was more modern than any I had been to in the States. I was greeted in English (although I did hear both Russian and Azeri during my visit) and asked to complete a form in English. I heard other patients speaking English in the waiting room (and they were not other PCVs). The cleaning room I was taken to was spotless, and while part of the cleaning seemed familiar, part of it also seemed new and high tech. Then I was taken to an x-ray room and when the technician took the x-rays they immediately showed up on the computer screen in front of me. No lighted box with the developed x-rays in front of it, but on the computer screen with the technician saving them to a disc to be included in my file. Then the dentist came in and reviewed everything, and I was on my way, discarding my plastic shoe covers on the way out. And while yes, I do have a cavity that will be filled later this month; I am definitely at ease with the thought of going back there.

Disclaimer: This is the service that PCVs receive, and it is not representative of the general population. While we do live at the level of our communities in terms of our living stipend, our medical care isn’t included in that. The PC Azerbaijan office has two doctors on staff and when dentists and hospitals are needed, they are generally the same facilities that Embassy employees and expats use.

Welcome!

http://en.trend.az/news/politics/foreign/1596971.html

Today was moving day! Yesterday 64 new Volunteers swore in (see the local news article - sorry, I couldn't get the link to work; you'll have to copy and paste) and today they lugged all of their stuff to the regions to meet their new host families and organizations. No one new came to Ujar, but I have new neighbors in some closeby towns. PC Azerbaijan is now 119 strong!!