Novruz: Adventures in Bayramlaşmaq-ing

Novruz is the biggest national holiday in Azerbaijan. An observation of the Spring Equinox, it is celebrated on March 20th or 21st. I live in a city, work in a village and have ‘family’ in the capital. Fortunately for me, the city I live in celebrated Novruz on the 20th, which gave me time to visit the village on the 21st for their celebrations; then on the 22nd I woke up early and was in Baku by lunch-time.

On March 20th, I went upstairs after lunch and was put to work in the kitchen alongside my landlady’s daughters-in-law. We laughed and smiled with each other as we baked fish, plucked turkey, dressed a goose and put too much sour cream in the salads. Four hours later we sat down to eat, and it was only half-way through my first helping of fish that I realized I had yet to pick up my fork. I was eating with my hands just like the family around me. After the meal we sat together and made jokes at each other’s expense just like I would have if I was home in America, then other relatives came over to wish us all a happy Novruz.

Although I didn’t get to bed until well after 1AM the night before, I set out for the village I work in as early as I could manage the next day. I stepped on the bus and was immediately greeted by one of the women I usually ride into work with every day. The bus was full due to holiday travel, and I had resigned myself to standing for the 45 minute ride when I heard my name being called from the back of the bus. One of my students was riding back to the village with her family, and she kindly offered me her seat.

I arrived in the village at 11AM. I needed to catch the 3:30PM bus back into the city. This meant I had exactly 4 hours to wish my neighbours and friends in the village a happy Novruz. (The walk to and from the bus stop would take 30 minutes). I had just enough time for one cup of tea and one piece of bakhlava at each house. So off I went. Of course there were protests at every house when I made my excuses after a single cup of tea. But I could see that everyone appreciated the fact that I had made the effort to come to the village during the holiday, and were surprised and pleased by my appearance. The smiles on their faces made the windy wait at the bus stop later that afternoon worthwhile.

Finally on the 22nd I set out for the capital. Even though I live a relatively short distance from the capital (only an hour and a half), I was not particularly thrilled by the thought of a martshurtka trip that necessitated a caffeine-free morning. (Inter-regional travel in Azerbaijan rarely involves clean roadside restrooms). I was even less excited when the driver informed me that I was the last passenger to board. This usually means an extremely uncomfortable ride sandwiched between two other people on a half-size jump seat in the middle of the bus. But I was expected for lunch, and needed to get on the road. So I climbed up and was greeted by yet another unexpectedly friendly face – one of the librarians from the local library and her daughter were also traveling into the capital. So even though I was sandwiched between two people on a half-size jump seat for the majority of the trip, I didn’t mind so much because they were familiar faces.

And there was peach juice and my favorite salad waiting for me upon my arrival at my destination.

Making sure to wish all your friends and family a happy holiday (bayramlaşmaq) can be a juggling act at the best of times, I needed to be in three places at once. It was quite an exhausting 48 hour stretch. But somewhere between the transport chaos, more air-kisses than I can count and more bakalava squares than I care to count, I was struck by a sense of contentment. The time and effort I have put towards cultural intergration made it possible for Norvuz 2011 to be such an overwhelming personal success.