Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Photos
Here are some new pics. The first is of the front of my host families apt. in the snow. The second is loking up my street with the mtns above town. The third is of the street of the college where i hold all my clubs. Then the last is the sun rising over the caspian sea after the superbowl.
Trucking Along
February 10, 2008
Hello everyone sorry it’s been awhile since writing last it’s become more difficult to blog as my life has settled into more of a routine. I struggle to find new and interesting things to write about. It’s interesting how the things, which would have stopped me in my tracks with amazement 8 months ago, now seem completely normal. I noticed that the other day when I was walking down the street on the shoulder of the road passing a butcher with a head of a cow hanging on a hook and a car driving the wrong way on the same shoulder I was walking on came up behind me honking for me to get out of his way and instead of thinking wow there is a dead cows head and here is a guy driving where the pedestrians are forced to walk moving in the wrong direction and he’s honking at me! Instead I just casually moved to the side with all the other people walking so he could speed past us just inches away at 3 times the posted speed limit splashing slush all over us and didn’t really think much about it other than how it was funny that I now think of that as normal.
Other than the normal near brushes with death from the crazy drivers (Don’t worry I’m slightly exaggerating this mom) things have been going really well. It has been cold and water has been causing problems with most volunteers but I’ve been really lucky with my family and my host brother in particular who has been able to maguyver a way to have water almost constantly. I could complain about the week we went without water and thus a shower but the other volunteers would be really angry since many of them haven’t had water since the 1st of the year. So, understanding it’s cold but could be so much worse keeps my outlook positive.
My language is coming along slowly but surely. There are many volunteers who are learning it much faster than I am but I did realize that on Super Tuesday I was able to sufficiently explain to my host mom what Super Tuesday was and how the primary elections work in the US. I’m sure it still sounded like a 3 year old explaining it but the concepts were transferred?
I was able to go into Baku and see the Superbowl! A big group of us went in and one of my friends was able to talk a bar owner into keeping the bar open from 3 to 7:30am for us to watch. Up until it was over and I realized it was 7:30am and the sun was up it was good fun.
Everything else aside my work is going really well. Last week I met with the head of The Azerbaijan Scouts and learned that there really is no program so he and I are going to work together to create the advancement curriculum for Scouts!
I’m in the process of trying to find a new home! Here in PC Azerbaijan we stay with a host family for the first 2 ½ months during our training. Then we move to our sites and stay with a family for an additional 6 months. At the end of this 6 months (March 13th) we have the option to move out on our own. The theory of us living with a family for this long is to help us integrate into the community and culture better. There is an on going debate between volunteers and our Country Director about the significance or lack there of for this, but for now it just is, and it will be ending in one short month. I will keep you posted to how this process of finding a house or apartment in a country where it is almost certain to be an entertaining process that makes no sense at all, but will find some way to work itself out.
Hello everyone sorry it’s been awhile since writing last it’s become more difficult to blog as my life has settled into more of a routine. I struggle to find new and interesting things to write about. It’s interesting how the things, which would have stopped me in my tracks with amazement 8 months ago, now seem completely normal. I noticed that the other day when I was walking down the street on the shoulder of the road passing a butcher with a head of a cow hanging on a hook and a car driving the wrong way on the same shoulder I was walking on came up behind me honking for me to get out of his way and instead of thinking wow there is a dead cows head and here is a guy driving where the pedestrians are forced to walk moving in the wrong direction and he’s honking at me! Instead I just casually moved to the side with all the other people walking so he could speed past us just inches away at 3 times the posted speed limit splashing slush all over us and didn’t really think much about it other than how it was funny that I now think of that as normal.
Other than the normal near brushes with death from the crazy drivers (Don’t worry I’m slightly exaggerating this mom) things have been going really well. It has been cold and water has been causing problems with most volunteers but I’ve been really lucky with my family and my host brother in particular who has been able to maguyver a way to have water almost constantly. I could complain about the week we went without water and thus a shower but the other volunteers would be really angry since many of them haven’t had water since the 1st of the year. So, understanding it’s cold but could be so much worse keeps my outlook positive.
My language is coming along slowly but surely. There are many volunteers who are learning it much faster than I am but I did realize that on Super Tuesday I was able to sufficiently explain to my host mom what Super Tuesday was and how the primary elections work in the US. I’m sure it still sounded like a 3 year old explaining it but the concepts were transferred?
I was able to go into Baku and see the Superbowl! A big group of us went in and one of my friends was able to talk a bar owner into keeping the bar open from 3 to 7:30am for us to watch. Up until it was over and I realized it was 7:30am and the sun was up it was good fun.
Everything else aside my work is going really well. Last week I met with the head of The Azerbaijan Scouts and learned that there really is no program so he and I are going to work together to create the advancement curriculum for Scouts!
I’m in the process of trying to find a new home! Here in PC Azerbaijan we stay with a host family for the first 2 ½ months during our training. Then we move to our sites and stay with a family for an additional 6 months. At the end of this 6 months (March 13th) we have the option to move out on our own. The theory of us living with a family for this long is to help us integrate into the community and culture better. There is an on going debate between volunteers and our Country Director about the significance or lack there of for this, but for now it just is, and it will be ending in one short month. I will keep you posted to how this process of finding a house or apartment in a country where it is almost certain to be an entertaining process that makes no sense at all, but will find some way to work itself out.
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