Saturday was our PST Cultural Day. The whole group - all 58 of us plus the 7 new volunteers that have joined us instead of going to Turkmenistan - boarded buses early and set off on a two part cultural experience. The bus trip was a lot of fun. There was an inpromptu dance party and kareoke session. It made the time pass quickly and loosed everyone up for the mini hike we were set to do.
We spent the morning in Gorbustan (which I haven't spelled correctly) looking at some of the oldest rock cave carvings in the world. Apparently the oldest of these date from about 12000BC. Most of these 'pictures' were mostly of bulls and pregnant women. Apologies I don't have my own photographic evidence. I had a lunch of apples and bread sitting next to a sign that cautioned me to be wary of snakes. Fun.
In the afternoon we went to visit the mud volcanoes. Everyone was really looking forward to this part of the trip. Who doesn't enjoy a chance to wallow in some mud? On my way back to the bus after an hour of running around watching mud bubble out of holes, I was very proud of myself for not having stepped in or fallen into any mud, as is my usual habit. On the way back to the bus I was congratulating myself for staying mud-free when I promptly mis-stepped and was up to my ankle in grey goop. Typical.
So the walk back to the buses took me a little bit longer. My right foot was about three times heavier than my left. As though I'd stepped into wet cement. But being the good Girl Scout that I am I had plastic bags with me and saved the bus from any mud damage. Although Ana made a face when I got home about all the mud on my shoes and pants.
Having said that, my hiking boots looked brand new the next morning when I woke up. Thanks Ana. :)
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
A Visit To Ismayilli
As part of the training process Peace Corps sends each of us to some far off part of the country to spend some time with a current volunteer for a few days.
I spent my extended weekend with a volunteer in Ismayilli. It is a larger town in the north-west of the country. About three hours away from Baku, it is especially popular with Azerbaijanis during the summer. It is very green and has lots of places to hike. This time of year the weather is just starting to turn cold. It was a great place to spend the earlier part of this week.
I left Baku Sunday morning and was in Ismayilli by lunchtime. After settling in I was able to explore the local fruit and vegetable bazaar a little bit. It was very colorful; fruit and veggies are plentiful right now. I’m sure that in a few months I will think it all just a dream. But as it was we were able to get provisions to make some burritos for dinner. The food I ate was the highlight of this little adventure, by the way. I did indulge my inner Girl Scout and go for a little bit of a hike to make room for all the food that was on the menu.
The next day after some real coffee and a minor scuffle with the cat that was intent on clawing a hole in my tights, I went to school with my hostess. I observed an eighth form class and an adorable second form class. So I learned about the conditional tense and how to count to thirty. After class I went over to another volunteer’s house, and helped out with a Halloween party. I spent most of this party trying to convince teenage boys to make skeleton masks and play with play-doh. It was a success. (Due in large part to my persuasive skills.) There was also much apple crisp consumed by all in attendance. We had tomato soup for dinner.
Tuesday involved some more observation and lots of downtime in the morning. But someone’s mother had donated a large pumpkin to our cause the night before. (Cross-reference the Halloween party.) Ergo, we decided to eat it post-festivities. So the afternoon was spent preparing pumpkin pie and a plethora of other pumpkin-esque delicacies. I am not particularly fond of pumpkin but this one was tasty. Although there was some debate about whether or not the squash in question was actually a pumpkin.
Admittedly most of my trip was spent eating the Azerbaijan friendly versions of some American foods. But I did go down to the market and asked the shopkeeper for some butter mid pie prep, so I was quite proud of myself for that.
And on Wednesday I was able to get back to Khirdalan from the bus station by myself. Ata and Ana were very pleased to see me home in one piece.
I spent my extended weekend with a volunteer in Ismayilli. It is a larger town in the north-west of the country. About three hours away from Baku, it is especially popular with Azerbaijanis during the summer. It is very green and has lots of places to hike. This time of year the weather is just starting to turn cold. It was a great place to spend the earlier part of this week.
I left Baku Sunday morning and was in Ismayilli by lunchtime. After settling in I was able to explore the local fruit and vegetable bazaar a little bit. It was very colorful; fruit and veggies are plentiful right now. I’m sure that in a few months I will think it all just a dream. But as it was we were able to get provisions to make some burritos for dinner. The food I ate was the highlight of this little adventure, by the way. I did indulge my inner Girl Scout and go for a little bit of a hike to make room for all the food that was on the menu.
The next day after some real coffee and a minor scuffle with the cat that was intent on clawing a hole in my tights, I went to school with my hostess. I observed an eighth form class and an adorable second form class. So I learned about the conditional tense and how to count to thirty. After class I went over to another volunteer’s house, and helped out with a Halloween party. I spent most of this party trying to convince teenage boys to make skeleton masks and play with play-doh. It was a success. (Due in large part to my persuasive skills.) There was also much apple crisp consumed by all in attendance. We had tomato soup for dinner.
Tuesday involved some more observation and lots of downtime in the morning. But someone’s mother had donated a large pumpkin to our cause the night before. (Cross-reference the Halloween party.) Ergo, we decided to eat it post-festivities. So the afternoon was spent preparing pumpkin pie and a plethora of other pumpkin-esque delicacies. I am not particularly fond of pumpkin but this one was tasty. Although there was some debate about whether or not the squash in question was actually a pumpkin.
Admittedly most of my trip was spent eating the Azerbaijan friendly versions of some American foods. But I did go down to the market and asked the shopkeeper for some butter mid pie prep, so I was quite proud of myself for that.
And on Wednesday I was able to get back to Khirdalan from the bus station by myself. Ata and Ana were very pleased to see me home in one piece.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Ata is Awesome
Every day it seems like I have a new entertaining story to tell the people around me. This never-ending entertainment is largely because Ata is a very funny man. He has an awesome sense of humor and does some very silly thing (mostly for my benefit I think). Some of these moments are too good not to share.
On my first afternoon I brought out my water filter. I opened the box but there were no instructions. Problem. So I complained out loud that I needed an engineer to help me.
Out of nowhere Ata appears and proclaims ‘Я инженир’. (I am an engineer). He proceeded to grab the box and set to work. 15 minutes later I had a water filter assembled. Yasxi! (Good).
Then I came home for lunch. This is supposed to be the generally accepted way of things. But Ata was very surprised to see me and asked: “Why are you home?” I explained that I was home to eat. So he led me to the kitchen and told me to make what I wanted and proceeded to pour some chai. I assumed this chai was for me so I reached for it. He laughed and said that that was his chai. Then he wandered into the living room and I sat down to eat. Two minutes later I heard the theme song of Indiana Jones coming from the living room. Seriously. So I went into the living room and lo and behold Indiana Jones was on TV. And Ata looked at me and said: “Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford. Great film!” No lie.
And to add to the facts about Azerbaijan list: The Azerbaijani national football stadium is the stadium in the world named after a referee. It is named after the man who officiated the 1966 final between Germany and England. (I already knew this, but had forgotten it.) Ata had quite a bit of fun explaining it to me. I have discovered he doesn’t mind speaking Russian if he is telling me about Azerbaijan. We have bonded over the current round of World Cup qualifying matches.
He also came home from the bazar ( market) one day and presented me with a bottle of ketchup. I have yet to find a use for it or eat anything I can put it on. But it is sitting quite happily in the fridge should I so desire to use it at any point in the near future.
On my first afternoon I brought out my water filter. I opened the box but there were no instructions. Problem. So I complained out loud that I needed an engineer to help me.
Out of nowhere Ata appears and proclaims ‘Я инженир’. (I am an engineer). He proceeded to grab the box and set to work. 15 minutes later I had a water filter assembled. Yasxi! (Good).
Then I came home for lunch. This is supposed to be the generally accepted way of things. But Ata was very surprised to see me and asked: “Why are you home?” I explained that I was home to eat. So he led me to the kitchen and told me to make what I wanted and proceeded to pour some chai. I assumed this chai was for me so I reached for it. He laughed and said that that was his chai. Then he wandered into the living room and I sat down to eat. Two minutes later I heard the theme song of Indiana Jones coming from the living room. Seriously. So I went into the living room and lo and behold Indiana Jones was on TV. And Ata looked at me and said: “Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford. Great film!” No lie.
And to add to the facts about Azerbaijan list: The Azerbaijani national football stadium is the stadium in the world named after a referee. It is named after the man who officiated the 1966 final between Germany and England. (I already knew this, but had forgotten it.) Ata had quite a bit of fun explaining it to me. I have discovered he doesn’t mind speaking Russian if he is telling me about Azerbaijan. We have bonded over the current round of World Cup qualifying matches.
He also came home from the bazar ( market) one day and presented me with a bottle of ketchup. I have yet to find a use for it or eat anything I can put it on. But it is sitting quite happily in the fridge should I so desire to use it at any point in the near future.
Host Family 101
Until December I will be living in a place called Khirdirlan. I am part of the first group of volunteers to be staying here. There are only four of us. The only thing anyone could tell me about Khirdirlan before I arrived is that there is a brewery here. It is quite a large city by Azerbaijani standards.
I won the housing lottery. I live in what I call ‘the flat above the garage’. It is one huge room with a wardrobe and sofa-bed. In the house, I have an entirely western style bathroom complete with shower tub. There is also a washing machine that I get to try out soon. On my first day, a man came to measure the kitchen, so I think there is a new kitchen on the way too. The best thing is I can see the school where I have my Azerbaijani lessons from my front door. It is about
I live with an older couple. I think they are in their late 50s. Ata (Dad) is a retired engineer and Ana (Mom) works as the vice-director of a music school. Neither of them speak any English. At the moment is our lingua franca is Russian. Although Ata has made it his mission to make me forget Russian by December. Understandably.
I spend my mornings at school learning Azerbaijani and my afternoons at a different school learning to teach English. In the evenings I watch TV with Ata and study Azerbaijani for hours at a time. In between I eat a lot and drink copious amounts of chai (tea).
As I am writing this it is a Saturday I have just woken up from a nap and the extended family has descended on the house. There is a 3 year old and 7 month-old underfoot, and I am answering another round of questions from daughters and husbands in three languages. Fun times.
So far it is has been a great experience and my only complaint is that there aren’t enough hours in a day.
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