Photos 2

This is our new yard covered with snow. The "covered" walkway connects our house (on the left) to the other homes. One is located directly behind and the other to the right. Straight ahead is just a wall that encloses the yard. Most homes in Azerbaijan have large stone walls that surround their yards and subsequently a gate that acts as a "Front Door" for all visitors. Homes rarely open onto the street.

This is a rug shop in Baku's "Old City".

This is a view looking back from the wall displayed in the snowy picture. I took this photo in November when we visited Şamaxı for the first time.

This is a mosque located in Baku.

This is Jon, one of my very best friends in Azerbaijan, and me, after playing soccer on the beach in Sumqayit. A small group of PC trainees would play soccer every Sunday, but Jon won the coin toss so he got to sit on my shoulders. The Caspian Sea is behind us. I know what you are thinking. This photo is pretty impressive... but what was really impressive was the double back flip Jon did off my shoulders. Man is talented.

Due to a lack of gas, our 1st host family relies (literally) on truck loads of wood during the winter. This photo was taken soon after all of the wood was removed from the truck. Btb, The truck arrived around 10:30pm and it took about 45 minutes to remove everything. Partially due to the degree of danger associated with standing on, and moving, a pile of wood laden with nails/tacks and partially due to the fact it was more like a game of dodge the wood, then safely stack the wood... No one was hurt and following the fun, tea was had by all! The photo is of Me, my host brother, host cousin and their friends.

This is our Host Family in Saray! R-L: Father, Youngest Brother, Me, Host Sister, Host Mom, Emma and Oldest Host Brother. They are an amazing family and we were so blessed to have been placed at their home. This photo was taken in our kitchen.

Emma and I eating breakfast at my Language Teacher's home in Baku. Both of our language classes spent the night, and enjoyed a 3 hour "Songs from a Hat" marathon. I know I mentioned SFAH in a previous post, but as it is AWESOME, I find it necessary to mention it again... No I have no idea what is in the bowl. Let's say it is some type mayo and veggie salad.

This is us at our swearing in ceremony. It was held at a cultural center in Sumqayit and covered by most of the country's major media outlets. Emma was actually interviewed by a TV news program that airs nationwide. Our host family received lots of calls from friends, and relatives, saying they had seen Emma. It was pretty cool. We also swore to defend the Constitution, which was incredible on a totally different level.

We hand wash and hang dry all of our clothes... which is fine when the weather cooperates. As you can see this load was not okayed by mother winter. Nevertheless, once it gets warm enough melt, we can view the thaw as a second, not so needed, but always welcomed rinse.

Those are all the photos I have for now. Hope everyone is well.

-Mathias

Not all tattoo artists are created equal...

In my last blog post (Oct. 14 1995, or at least it seems that long ago) I wrote that we had be given the name of our permanent site: Şamaxı (figured out how to type in Azeri!) Well as of today, we have been here just over a week. Emma and I are in the process of figuring out our work schedules, as well as, discovering the many interesting things Şamaxı has to offer.

Emma's school, the post office, Internet cafe, ATM, tea house, outdoor amphitheater and department store are all within about a 3 minutes walk of our home. My school is just a bit farther away, maybe 10-15 minutes. I will start teaching in January and am spending this week, and next: observing classes, picking counterparts (Azeri teacher with whom I will co-instruct) and getting used to my school. Thus far, everything has been great. My primary counterpart (the woman who submitted the application for a PC volunteer) is just incredible. When we walk through town, she introduces me to everyone explaining who I am, what I am doing and what I have given up to be here... which means being away from family and friends. I could not have asked for a better friend. Furthermore, all of the students, the teachers, the vice principle and the director have been incredibly welcoming. I definitely feel wanted and appreciated.

Emma has also been lucky. She is working at a Russian school, which means that all of the lessons are taught in Russian. A Russian school in Azerbaijan is comparable to a parochial school in the states. Her director is incredibly supportive and has provided her with a great deal of support. Now, she is figuring out how she fits into the school as a Youth Development Volunteer. It is much harder for her because her job description is rather vague. Where I am told to teach 15 lessons, she is told to observe the students, teachers and community - then assist the youth by providing beneficial activities, such as: English Clubs, Theater Clubs, Sports Clubs, etc. I know it seems some what straight forward, but where I have a framework from which to work, she must create everything. Of course she will work with the interests of the community, ie. she won't provide a running club if the interest isn't there. However, she has to do a lot more with her language and it is hard, as we have only been here 3 months. Nevertheless, we are both very lucky due to the people with whom we have been placed.

Speaking of which, we have a new host family. We have a host mother, 2 host brothers, 2 host sister-in-laws and a set of grandparents. The grandparents have their own home, the mother and the youngest couple have another, while Emma and I live on the very large bottom floor of the oldest son's home. The three houses have a nice courtyard that holds a chicken coup, a place to hang laundry, a well, fruit trees and plenty of room for gardening. At times, Şamaxı lacks water, but thankfully we have the well (circa 1931) to keep us hydrated. The toilet and shower room are right next to ours, however you have to go outside to access them. Luckily the area between is covered. Our room, which is not connected to the second floor, is rather large. It has a gas stove(a peç, which I believe Emma has already explained), two tables, two twin beds pushed together to make a king, and other various household items.

The last couple of days we have had snow, which makes trekking up and down the MANY hills, a challenge. I have photos that I plan to post, but currently my Russian computer (almost all computers in Azeri Internet cafes use Russian) doesn't want to recognized the jpeg file format... However, I do promise (for Maureen especially as she made the request sometime ago) to post more photos.

Can't wait to see everybody in Dec of 2010... Or feel free to visit. Grenville and John G., I am looking forward to the summer. Mom and Dad the fall. Inshallah!

Love and Miss

Mathias

PS No tattoo artists were harmed in the writing of this post.