Dearest Readers,
I would like to apologize for my extensive absence from the blogging world. While I was at staging in Philadelphia I decided to create a blog to account for my two years of Peace Corps service. After all, the third goal of Peace Corps is “Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans”. To state the obvious, I did not follow through with my original plan. Well, I’ve changed my mind, and decided to make sections of the journal I’ve kept while in Azerbaijan public. This was a fun process for me, as I got the opportunity to look back and reflect on my seven months in country. I hope to make regular (lets keep our fingers crossed) entries to this blog.
***September – December 2008 ***
Pre-Service Training (PST)
1) I lived with a ridiculous host family… but I got lots of funny stories out of it.
2) I met some great Azerbaijani families/ friends, who I still keep in touch with.
Overall, PST was great! My host family was only one of its kind, we had all the characters from an over-the-top Turkish soap opera: the genius/ out-of-touch-with-reality professor, playing the role of the host father; the overly passionate and a women with no boundaries as the host mother; the very cool magician, host brother; the phantom, intelligent/athletic/multilingual/artist/handsome host brother who lived in Spain who I never actually met, but he was constantly mentioned in conversation; and last but not least, the Cinderella host sister, who kept me sane my 11 weeks in that house.
Nate (an AZ5er) who lived with this same host family during his PST is the only one who can remotely understand my experience...
Aside from the family drama, we spent most of our time learning Azerbaijani, and the foundations of our work as youth development volunteers. During those 11 weeks, we held a weekly conversation club for local university students; a computer club for high school students; celebrated Halloween and Thanksgiving in true Azeri fashion; learned how to make local food; and Elmer and I spent most of our free time walking around Sumgayit, and drinking çay with the new friends we had made.
*** December, 2008 – April, 2009 ***
My Temporary Stint in Zərdab
Things I loved about Zərdab:
1) My lovely sitemate, Sara
2) My totally awesome host family.
3) The ladies at the Post Office.
4) The bazaar.
5) My “secret” meadow.
6) The community!
Why I’m No Longer in Zərdab: Considering all the things I loved about Zərdab, it was not a place ideal for the kind of Peace Corps work I was supposed to do, in terms of community development. Nevertheless, I think Sara is doing to do an amazing job as a TEFL – English teacher, and will be a remarkable community development worker.
I moved to Zərdab on December 12, 2008. I thought (and still think) Zərdab was a quaint town. It was small, so the likelihood of me getting lost was considerably low – there were exceptions of course. I adored the family I stayed with! The host father, Ürfan, actually drove me all the way to Lənkəran, once Peace Corps had reassigned me. Gülşən, the host mother, and I still keep in touch over the phone!
While in Zərdab, I had some successful after school English learning conversation clubs. For a short while I even taught 7th and 9th forum (grade) at the local village school - Gəlmə Kəndı. Sara and I organized a triumphant Valentine’s Day party/ English learning opportunity for the girls who attended our conversation club.
Due to the slow pace of life in Zərdab, I got the opportunity to travel to different regions and help other PCVs and local Azeri’s with their projects. I visited Kürdəmır, and brainstormed ideas about a women’s club with Şalala. I went to Qəbələ, and helped an amazing and extremely active teacher Vəfa, who I’ve continued to keep in touch with.
***February Birthdays ***
February 17th Sara turned 25.
February 21st I turned 23.
Birthdays in Zərdab were celebrated in true Peace Corps fashion. Cooking some fabulous meal i.e. chocolate cake w/ banana icing, banana pancakes, chocolate chip cookies, eggplant parmesan etc. and watching a movie on our laptops curled under lots of blankets near the petch.
Side note: Sara and I are obsessed with bananas! You see bananas in Azerbaijan are rather expensive. So when we’re feeling blue, or when we want to celebrate, or when we just want to treat ourselves, we go to the bazaar and buy a banana. We slice them up. Lay them out on a plate. And we eat them slowly. We savor every bite. And of course, rant and rave about how great it was.
*** NOVRUZ FESTIVITIES IN AZERBAIJAN***
I love jumping over fire!
I went trick or treating (Azeri style - with hats/ handkerchiefs) accompanied by the neighborhood girls. The treats I received included: carrots, sweet bread, and hazelnuts.
I stuffed my face with Şakarbura & Paxlava. And I learned how to make one of those.
Everyone grows Samani (wheat grass) in their homes.
My host siblings and I had intense egg wars.
Novruz is the celebration of spring. Each Tuesday before March 21st, we celebrated Çərşənbə (pronounced chershenbe). The celebration of wind, water, earth, and fire. Novruz was such a wonderful holiday here in Azerbaijan. Families participate in spring-cleaning – that includes repainting the walls (preferably a bring purple or baby pink), changing the rugs, and dusting every nook and cranny. Storeowners rearrange shelves, and everything gets a facelift. Even the sidewalks of Zərdab got a fresh coat of paint. On March 21st, we had a grand celebration at our local stadium. The xamin’s (older ladies) made lavaş (similar to tortillas) on makeshift stoves on the grass, and çay was being dispensed out of these awesome looking contraptions known as a samovar (it’s a Russian word). Men in scary clown costumes were tightrope walking. Girls in local Azeri garb were Azeri-dancing. And we had several games of tug-a-war going on with the director of school number 1, my friend, Tofiq muellium acting as the referee. They even had vendors selling fruits and vegetables from the local bazaar.
Later that night I helped Gülşən make tomato, eggplant, and pepper dolma. I love dolma! Its minced meat (or beans) stuffed in vegetables. That’s night we also had plov, which is caramelized rice with butter, nuts, and raisins served with meat sautéed with onions and LOTS of butter. It was a great night overall!
I spent the next week traveling around AZ - we had two weeks off school. Sara and I spent a few days in Lerik with Amy; I spend sometime with Jon in Biləsuvar, and Elmer and I spent the weekend with our host family, and friends from PST.
*** The WID/GAD Committee ***
I applied for and was accepted as a member of the
Women in Development and Gender and Development Committee.
Charlie and I are the new committee members of WID/GAD!
The WID/GAD committee is responsible for training programs focusing on leadership skills, women’s issues, self-esteem, family health, and gender equality. We initiate awareness projects about violence against women, women's economic independence and women's entrepreneurship. And create resources for Peace Corps volunteers through out the Regions.
*** As of April 12, 2009 I’ve moved to Lənkəran ***
I moved to Lənkəran exactly 4 months after moving to Zərdab. A little bit about my new community, Lənkəran.
“This is a small seaside city near the southern border with Iran, with a population of 45.000, most of which are Iranian Talysh. The Talysh have preserved their old traditions and customs. They number about 30.000 in an area of about 600 sq. km, sometimes referred as Talyshtan.
The name Lenkoran is said to come from the Talish words for 'Cane house', that is 'Lan Karan'. The city was built on a swampy along the northern bank of the river bearing the city's name. There are remains of human settlements in the area dating back to the Neolithic period as well as ruins of fortified villages from the bronze and iron ages.
Lenkoran was for a long time the capital of the Talysh Khanate, which enjoyed variable degrees of independence throughout history. It was first held by Russia from 1728 to 1735, but only fell definitively to Russia in 1813, status confirmed by the Turkmenchai treaty in 1828.
The Lenkoran region is an important producer of spring and winter vegetables. Rice, grapes, tobacco, citrus trees and oak woods thrive in the warm climate. However the main and most famous crop is tea, which is processed at local tea factories. Other industries are centered around food processing, furniture, silk, wood and fine carpets.” Also famous for “chicken - stuffed with nuts, onion and jelly and fried. The climate and the food seem to contribute to unusually long life expectations - If you are lucky you'll come across someone over 120 year old.”
“'Maiak', a cylindrical former jail, it is located in the northeast extreme of town, near the railway. The Maiak has a twin in the opposite site of town that, where Joseph Stalin is supposed to have been detained before his glory days”.
The history museum is interesting both for the collection and the building itself, it was built on the site of the Khans palace (S.Akhundov street, near the military hospital). The main mosque, located near the bazaar, is quite beautiful and there are several other not so impressive mosques. Have have a look also at the baths. For entertainment try the State Drama Theatre (28 May street).”
Right off the internets =)
*** South Azerbaijani Resource Center for Human Rights ***
I was assigned to the South Azerbaijani Resource Center for Human Rights.
“The Azerbaijan Human Rights Foundation (AHF) was established in 1999. The Azerbaijan Human Rights Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan public union. AHF has been established and works in accord with Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Public Organizations. AHF is the first national foundation that distributes grants for human rights projects. The basic mission is •To popularize and protect human rights in the of Azerbaijan; •To expedite citizens’ legal enlightenment; •To take an active part in civil democratic society building; •To render free juridical assistance to citizens •To carry out educational works for creating civil democratic society •To render technical, legal and methodical assistance to human rights grassroots in the of Azerbaijan”
http://www.geocities.com/southern_resource_center/
More details coming soon.
.jpg)
