Everyone's Service Is Unique...

Last week I had the opportunity to host some AZ8s during their site visit. It's their chance to see the real life of a Volunteer as opposed to the bubble that they are in during training (as well as to get some choice in their meals). Staff reminds us to include in our conversations how what we talk about is our own personal experience, everyones' is different, etc.

And this is SO true.

I had a chance a few weeks ago to interact with some other Volunteers and the young adults they work with. It's interesting to see both the work they are doing and how it varies from one Volunteer to another. For example, I can't imagine speaking fluent English with anyone I work with. They can. And that's a huge difference.

I had enough agriculture experience to receive an agriculture nomination, yet I really have no interest in agriculture, so my work with my counterpart organization has focused on conversational English classes, profitability projects and the business side of things. And community projects for youth. But if I had an interest in farming practices there would easily have been an opportunity for that as well.

A Volunteer's preferences and interests definitely show through in their work. I love youth, so a lot of my work has focused on that population. Other Volunteers love drama and are putting on plays at local schools. Or helping to promote cultural heritage. Or doing workshops on preventative health care. And so many other things. While the Peace Corps in Azerbaijan does have three programs - Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Youth Development and Community Economic Development - we are told that we are all Community Development Volunteers, no matter where we are placed. All of the work we do is valued, not just what we do with our counterpart organization. Remember, two of the three goals of the Peace Corps focus on the cultural exchange we have with Azeris and Americans.

And while my service could easily have been very different depending on where I was placed (country, region, city), what organization I was placed with, or any other reason, looking back, I know I ended up in the right place for me. While I can't look back on my service with the same view as I will once I leave the country, or after a number of years have passed, currently I can say that it's been a great, fulfilling experience and I'm glad I took the leap.

I've Never...

I've never...

- traveled without a family member.

- stayed in a hotel.

- eaten in a restaurant.
- seen a waterfall.
- riden a horse.
- been in a boat.
- gone swimming.
- been to a movie theatre.
- sat in the front seat of a car.

Can you imagine never having had any of these experiences? These are all things that the teenage girls I work with could have said before we went on our field trips. I took a group of 12 teens on five different field trips (the sixth still to happen) to different cities/areas of Azerbaijan. We hiked through a riverbed and had lunch next to a waterfall. We went swimming at the Mingecivir reservoir. We visited the Khan's Palace in Sheki and stayed at a hotel that hosted caravans on the Silk Road. We visited local museums. We explored rock petroglyphs and mud volcanoes. We visited the mausoleum of a nationally renowned poet.

It was an amazing experience for these girls to see parts of Azerbaijan that they had only seen pictures of in their textbooks. And it wasn't just a historical experience. It was also a social experience for them. They were exposed to things that they haven't seen and/or done in our little town of Ujar. Now they can know what a tourism university might teach because they've been to some tourist sites. They know of different employment opportunities because they've seen women working at restaurants, movie theatres, and other places.

One of the things that was done to evaluate the trips was to ask the girls what surprised them about the places we visited. Their answers included everything: how many stores there were in Ganja (the second largest city in the country), the prices of things, the size of the reservoir in Mingecivir, items like skeletons in the museums, the age of artifacts and places, how tall the mountains are, and on and on. While these girls (they're 13 - 16 years old) still have a little time before they enter university and/or the workforce, they have seen and experienced things that most of their peers haven't, and another perspective is always beneficial. But for now, it will be just as valuable to share their experiences with their friends and family.

Looking Forward...

Even though most PCVs are mostly happy (after all, we can leave if we want to) most of the time, talk about the future seems to be more common in the Peace Corps than it was before I was in the Peace Corps. I think that's because we know our time here is temporary and while our lives will be changed by our experiences the great majority of people do not permanently stay in their host communities and/or countries. I think it's also because we have a very "American" view of the future - meaning it's in our hands and we can make of it what we want - it's not fate or pre-determined by family or social norms.
We started by asking the Volunteers ahead of us (they left last fall) what they were planning on doing when they finished their service and the cycle just continued from there. Now it's us talking amongst ourselves about what we'll be doing and answering the same questions from the Volunteers who arrived after us. The diversity of the Peace Corps is something I have come to enjoy - some people came to PC after working an entire career and have plans with their grandchildren when they leave, others just finished college and will travel or go to graduate school and still others came mid-career and will return to that. And some are even participating in the Master's/Peace Corps joint programs that are available.

And still others do other things. Not all of our time spent here is on things that are specific to living and serving in a foreign country. Sometimes it's just living in general. People learn new hobbies that they will continue at home, study for the GRE test, teach themselves a foreign language that is not spoken here, and so much more.

Me specifically, I've continued a certification process that I started back in the States. It's an eight step process and when I left America I'd only finished the first step. I'm now through five steps. It's a certification that I'm doing as an independent study (there are other options, but this is pretty much the only one available and technologically possible from a foreign country such as Azerbaijan) that when each section is over I take a test. This week (along with last September, December and March) I made a quick one night trip to Tbilisi for it. It's frustrating that it takes two days of my annual leave to take this test (PC does provide for 3 days of professional leave during our service that can be used for tests and certifications but I used those during the first two tests) but it's been worth it. Normally I'd leave my town in the morning, take a bus west (anywhere from 1 - 3 bus changes along the way) for about four hours until I reach the Georgian border, walk across, then take a 45 minute bus into Tbilisi. Unlike our neighbor to the west, Turkey, my Azerbaijani gets me nowhere once I leave the border. So I stay at a place I learned about from other PCVs, grab a quick bite from a place like McDonald's or a grocery store, do some night before review, then walk to the test center the next morning. It's not a quick walk, but it's easier than attempting to navigate the bus system without Georgian or Russian while on a deadline. It'd be kind of fun if I didn't have a set time and place to be somewhere. Then take my computer based test and it's on the way back to the border. I actually waited in line at the border yesterday for a longer amount of time than the actual test took.

As I said, I'm 5/8 of the way there. I can't do more here because the test isn't available in Azerbaijan and we can't travel internationally during our last three months of service. But I can study in preparation for my return to America and a test then. And it's great to be looking at online job listings and see the certification requested...

So, off to update the resume with the most completed results...

The Six Degrees of Being a PCV...

Even though I've been here almost two years, sometimes it still surprises me who and how many people know me after spending my entire life in the anonymity that is the States. It can be taxing because that means I'm essentially always on the job - I can't just anonymously run to the store if I need something because I'm guaranteed to see someone I know. But this can also be a very good thing...

The project I'm working on now entails taking a group of Azeri girls around the country. Basically, we're going on field trips to five different places. I reserved a bus and I have another adult going with me - sometimes Azeri, sometimes another PCV. With the leaders and participants our bus is full. Unfortunately this means some girls couldn't get permission to go because I wouldn't let their mother or aunt go along. And I'm okay with that, because these field trips are about new experiences - both new places and new things like travelling without a family member. Actually, the 12 girls who were able to get permission fit perfectly in the bus, so I didn't have to determine how to choose (even better)!

I know many of these girls' families, but some I don't. When I was giving out information and answering questions about the trips, I volunteered to go to their house, meet their parents, or anything that they needed. I understand completely that parents would have reservations about their child going off with someone they haven't met before. But it turns out it wasn't needed. I asked about it and was told that their parents have a relative who knows someone who lives on my street. And apparently that's enough to vouch for me - they see me coming and going, who else comes and goes, how I dress, and on and on. While in my mind that seems odd (because I have no idea who this neighbor is!), it's definitely working in my favor for this project and the few girls participating whose parents' I've never met.

Two trips down, three to go...details on the actual trips to come later!

The Beginning of the End...

Earlier this month my group, AZ6, had our COS (Close of Service) conference. It's odd to have something like that so far before the date we'll actually leave. Especially when in reality, it probably was the last time I'll see some of the people in my group. It's just a matter of having a group of 50+ people that live anywhere from 1/2 hour to 7+ hours away. Yet I'll still be here until December.

Overall, it was one of the better PC conferences I've attended - not even counting the great hotel/waterpark it was at... We had various sessions on sharing our PC experience once we return home, job searching, the paperwork and supplies we need to return before our actual departure date, insurance information, and on and on. One of my favorite sessions was the one where there was a bag of questions that people could potentially ask us when we return home, and everyone had to answer a question - everything from "Azerbaijan, where is that?" to "What kind of foods did you eat?" and "Is that a Muslim country?" I'm sure that some of the things that will come up in questions have just become so commonplace to us that it seems strange to be asked about it.

I was talking with another Volunteer last week and she remarked how small the group seemed. Our group hasn't lost very many Volunteers (yes, we're here for a specified amount of time, but people can decide to leave at any time, and sometimes PCVs are unable to stay for medical reasons) but I still don't think that's it. When we first arrived in the country we were a group of 61, faced with 60 people that we didn't know. But now we know everyone - granted, some better than others, but it's a lot different feeling to walk into a room filled with people who are sharing this experience than strangers. And while I know I'll see some after our return to America, the whole group is kind of unrealistic. So it's a bittersweet time trying to make the most of the time I have left with my friends, both Azeri and American, and wrapping things up well in my community.

The whole AZ6 group at COS (less those that left early or are extending for a year) and then me with some friends at lunch.