Azeri Women Speak

Here we go! These are the answers to the original questions plus some answers to questions individuals posed. The questions were answered by girls from Shamakhy and Kurdamir and are their own opinions. Brackets are added by me for the sake of clarity. I have had such a great time talking about these issues, similarities and differences with the ladies. I hope that this is equally interesting and enlightening for you!!

What do Azeri Women Wear?
~Trousers, Jacket, jeans.
~I can tell that it depends. I prefer casual dress. I usually wear jeans, boots, sweater, t-shirt, and sneakers. But sometimes I can wear more luxury [read: lacey, ruffley, or sparkly].
~Azeri women wear dress, skirt, and pants
~I love classic clothes but sports clothes are much more comfortable.
~I wear skirts, dresses, and heels. Not everyday, only when I am at work. But daily I like to wear jeans, sweaters and sneakers.
~I like both stylish clothes: luxurious and daily clothes like jeans, sweaters. But I never wear baseball shoes, I prefer heels. I don’t like to wear charming jewelry. I always wear makeup, but not a lot.
~Azeri women don’t differ from women in the rest of the world in their clothing. They go along with modern fashion. They prefer casual sport-style clothes in their daily wear. Young women usually wear pants, skirts, different shirts, shoes, sneakers and in the winter coats, jackets, jeans, scarves and hats. Their evening or going to wedding clothes are more luxurious and sparkly. But our mothers’ dress (I mean the middle-aged generations) differ from our style. They wear long skirts and sweaters and shoes. They wear shawls or scarves on their heads. They never wear jeans or close-fitting dresses.

When do Azeri Women get married?
~25 years.
~I’m 23. I’m not married yet. But my sister was married when she was 20.
~Our women get married at 23 or 25.
~After entering or graduating from University.
~I would like to marry at 24-25-26.
~I am 22 years old. I am not yet married for several reasons. First, I am not in love, then I am not ready for marriage.
~I guess most of the girls in Azerbaijan get married by their parent’s offer and agreements. Some of them get married at ages of 18, 20, 22. When I studied at high school, there was a girl getting married at age of 14. But she was not happy that she got married forcefully at her young age. But currently I am not ready to get married. 'Cause I have a job and education. Maybe I will get married at age of 29. 'Cause after graduating from university I will go on travels.
~I can’t say correctly a time of marriage in Azerbaijan. They get married in different times. But for our laws, they must get married after 18 years old. We prefer our parents opinions when we get married. Some families make their daughters get married early. They make them get married after they graduate from Secondary School [Equivalent U.S. 11th Grade]. They don’t let the girls live independently. But some parents want their daughters to be educated and prepared for the future. I can say that now our girls prefer to study and to get something out of life.
~There isn’t any line for Azeri women in marriage. But it mustn’t be before eighteen years old. If they get married before eighteen years old, it is for a specific reason I think [read: pregnant].
~They [specific ethnic group] get married at 14 or 15 but everyone else when they are twenty or older.


How many children do they have?
~Eight children.
~We have three children in our family. I have a sister and a brother. But I’d like to have three daughters.
~I like two children.
~Two.
~[I want] Two girls, two 2 boys.
~We are four children in our family. But in the future I would like two…because it’s a lot of responsibility!
~It depends on them, some women have many children, some have only one or two children most of all. But I want only to have a baby girl.
~Before, in Azerbaijani families, there were seven or eight children. But now they want fewer children. At the moment they have maximum four children because they want to give their children all opportunities. We are six children in our family. I’d like to have twin daughters and a son.
~I think that every family wants the number of children that match their economic situation. They have at least children. Sometimes they have four or five children. I can say that the couples agree about how many children they will have.


Do Women Use Birth Control?
~Yeah, surely. Most Azeri families prefer sons, and if they have any daughters in the family, they don't want any more. So they have an abortion if the woman is pregnant or prevent pregnancy with pills or some medicine.
~Yes, they can get an abortion.
~Abortion.
~I can’t say correct answer about this cause I never meet with like this situation. I think so. If they have 2 or 3 children after getting married and they don’t want to have another child then they can be allowed to use birth control.

How do you live?
~I live with my family
~I live with my parents now. I guess most Azeri girls live with their families. But when I studied at the University I lived by myself and my friends.
~I live fine and I live in Shamakhy
~I live with my parents in Shamakhy
~I live with my family. In my free time I like to put on make up and straighten my hair (hair dryer). I pray, read the Koran.
~In our country the women live with their mothers and fathers till marriage. Now I am not married yet. Therefore I live with my family.
~Hey all the Americans! My name is Seva. I am from Azerbaijan. I am at age of 20, but in 2nd January I will be 21 years old. I’m a student of Economic University. Not only I’m studying but also I’m working in HR at a company. At 8 o’clock I usually leave home and come back at 7:30 in the evening. Although it is difficult for me, I always do my best. Now I am trying to learn English. I should improve my speaking language. I am very grateful to meet you by email. When Emma showed me these questions I was very curious about these. I liked your questions. In my spare times I usually read interesting books, listen to the music or go for a walk with my friends.
~We are doing different things in our free time. Each person has a hobby. Some women read books in their free time. Some knit, write poems, listen to music. Others go for a walk. I write poems in my free time and sometimes I ride a bicycle. But I am a student and so I am around books. I enjoy reading books.

What work do Azeri Women do?
~Teacher, doctor, actor.
~Most women in Azerbaijan prefer to be teachers or doctors. My mom, my sister, and I are teachers.
~Our women work as a teacher, doctor, or everyday housewife.
~In Azerbaijan most of the women are teachers and doctors although I graduated in American Studies.
~In Azerbaijan everybody has the opinion that all the girls must be a teacher or a doctor. But now, the women are allowed to work in different jobs. They work as policewomen, journalists, lawyers, actresses, deputies and other jobs. I wanted to be a lawyer but I am a teacher. But I think that it’s never too late and I’ll try for this.

If you lived in America, what work would you like to do?
~Teacher
~I have worked in HR before, now I’d like to work as the HR manager again wherever I live.
~If I live in America I am working as a Businesslady.
~I’d like to work in a bank in America.
~If I were in America, I would realize all my dreams. I’d like to be an editor-in-chief in the magazine sphere.
~If I lived in America I my dream job would be management.
~If I was in America I would change all the things in my life. I would like to be a journalist although I could be a journalist in Azerbaijan also. But I think there are more opportunities to be a journalist in America. I would want to be free in I lived there but I wouldn’t forget our mentality because I’m an Azeri girl. But I can’t answer this question exactly because I’m not in America. If I were to go to America then I would be able to tell my thoughts more clearly.
~If I were in America I’d live my life independently. I’d make my career. And I’d like to live more independently from my family. I’d be a policewoman there.

What is different about Azerbaijani women than women in other countries?
~Azeri women are very kind, patient. But they are not free as most European and American women. But I guess we have more independence than most Muslim countries. For example, our families don’t choose a bride for us like other Muslim countries. We can study, love, marry.
~Our women do not have freedom, because they are housewives.
~They are in make-up every time.
~I think the opportunities for women in Azerbaijan not so bad, not so good. But they are very patient women because it is not everybody treat to them good. This is one of the important (gender) problem in our country. The men and women’s rights are not equal.
~After reading your answers I guess the main differences between you and us, I see you have more freedom unlike us. I like your way of living. There is a difference that we should live with our parents until we get married. We are not free to make our own choices and opportunities. ~After getting married we have to obey them and take care of husband and children. In our country women can’t do things that men do. And there is some women doing like that is being met by others badly.
~Azeri women don’t differ from any of the world’s women but they don’t live independently after they are eighteen years old like in America. They live with their families until they get married. They try to be an ideal wife for their husbands. They are kind and frank. The family is a sacred duty for them.
~Azeri women differ for their beauty, charm and positive characteristics from others. Azerbaijani women differ for their outlook too.

What is your favorite place in Azerbaijan?
~Parks
~There is a lot of sightseeing to do in Azerbaijan. There are amazing views of my city. But I love Inn City (Ichery Sheher) in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. This is the oldest part of the city.
~Nabran, the Caspian Sea.
~I like Baku very much (The capital of Azerbaijan).
~My favorite place is to be with my family and meet my friends from the University.
~There are many sightseeing places in Azerbaijan. It regions are like a paradise. Some of them are Gabala, Ismailli, Guba, and others. In Baku there are the Maiden’s Tower, Shirvan Shah’s Palace (Before it was in Shamakhy but after the earthquake in the 12th century they moved it to Baku), Heydar Parks. In Baku there are historical places. Lahic, a village of Ismaille is a historical place.

Do Housewives like being provided for, or do they wish they could take a more active role in working to support the household?
~Most of the women like being provided by their husbands, there is a few women like taking a more active role in working to support the household. Maybe I’ll also be one of them in future. I like to do everything myself. I never like being provided by someone.
~There is an unwritten law that the man must work and the woman must take care of the house. But this is for housewives. Some women made their careers before they got married. But some women got married in their youth and get money from their husbands when they need. I think it is not good. Every person must think about herself, make her career and provide for her own future.

What kind of food do they cook?
~In general Azerbaijani women cook all kinds of food such as dolma, ash, dovğa, a pea soup with meat (a kind of eastern dish), chicken stuff and etc. But I have no free time to cook something in accordance with studying and working all the time
~I love my mom's meals, she cooks a lot of national meals. She usually cooks dolma, plov, chopped meat, dovga. Our people use meat a lot. Especially mutton and veal. But we love chicken and fish too.

I’m curious about where you get your food from-small markets or directly from farmers? I would guess that you have far less variety than we do but maybe yours is fresher. And do you have cookbooks or are recipes handed down verbally?
~My parents usually purchase some foods from the markets but not from farmers. Some people like getting their foods to be fresher only from the farmers. And everyone has cookbooks and recipes. While cooking the meal they usually use from the cookbooks or recipes. My younger aunt likes cooking the meals by cookbook or recipes. This is her favorite job.
~At home usually my mom cooks and she doesn't use any cookbooks for meals, I can tell that she is not the only one; all Azeri women cook from heart. But when we cook cakes, biscuits or make salads we use cookbooks or recipes.
~We have market in our town which brings food products from other towns and countries. My dad goes there once a week and buys what we need. We buy meat from butcher's and milk and eggs from farmers. Because they are fresh and healthy. But there is a big department store near our house and there are a lot of departments in it and there is food department too. We get sugar, tea, candies, cookies, chewing gum, etc. from there.

Which American movie star has the best clothes?
~I think Monica Belluci, Jenifer Lopez, Giovanna Antonelli etc.
~My favorite movie star is Hillary Duff and I like her clothing. She is cute.

Women's Cultural Exchange

Thank you so much for such a great response!! We had over a dozen women respond with a lot of diversity and insight. Special thanks to those of you who passed the link along to other friends.
I compiled your answers and we read them aloud as a group on Thursday. Everyone told me that they really enjoyed hearing and thinking about what you wrote and two of my excellent students had a great opportunity to practice their translation skills. Currently everyone is working on their own responses to your questions which they will turn in to me on Tuesday. After I get them translated and typed up I will be sure to share them with you (Inshallah before Christmas!)
Until then I thought I'd share a few of the thoughts that were expressed this week.

Regarding clothing: "We've learned that almost all American women wear pants. And mostly jeans! "(Including moms!)

Regarding Jobs: One of the girls made a comment about something that I completely take for granted. She said she realized it really is true that in America women can do any job they want-they don't have to choose only between housewife, teacher, or doctor. I personally was surprised by how much pleasure I took reading about your work as Businesswomen, Members of the Arts Community, Lawyers, Soldiers, Priests, Stay at Home Moms and more!

Regarding "How they Live"-The girls pointed out to me that not a single respondent lives with her family (And not one woman in our group here lives alone). I think this was the biggest cultural difference of all and a thought-provoking one.

Regarding Men-The biggest reaction of the day was to this sentence "I do all the washing and cooking and my husband washes the dishes and cleans the kitchen. He also vacuums and takes care of the yard. " I could hardly finish reading before the chatter became uncontrollable. Some were surprised or delighted about the husband doing work part. Some declared they are moving to America (or at least finding American husbands!).

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to write to us. It was encouraging just to me to remember how much is possible if you are born a girl in America. I'll go out on a limb and say I think it was encouraging to my ladies as well.

Stay Tuned Next Week: Azerbaijani Women's Answers!

Calling American Women!!

Want to take part in some cultural exchange? Today in my women's group I postured the following:
"If you could ask women in America one thing, what would it be?"
Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I can pass what they said along to you! Could you take a moment and write down your own answers to a couple of these questions and send them to me at azerijack@gmail.com?

Here is the list they came up with:
~What do American women wear?
~How do they live?
~What work do they do?
~At what age to they get married?
~How many children do they have/want?
~What do you do in your free time?
~What is different about American women from women in other countries?
~What is your favorite place in America?

Be as creative as you like. For example, if you want to send a picture of yourself to demonstrate what you wear or make a video response I know they'd love it. Our next class is on Thursday, December 17th and I'd like to have at least a few answers to read by then but we can make this an ongoing dialogue. The girls are also prepared to answer questions about their own lives from you so feel free to send those along as well!

Nə Bişirirsən?

What do you cook? This is the question I get asked most often. Actually the question I get asked most often is "Can you cook?" but I don't consider that a real question because everyone knows that A). The two of us live alone. B). Men don't cook. and C). We're not dead yet.

I have an impossible time answering this question. See, to an Azerbaijani, the answer to this question is easy: dolma, aş, xaş, boz baş, and sup. That is what everyone makes and everyone knows exactly what you are talking about when you say that. But I don't cook aş, dolma, xaş, boz baş and (ok, sometimes we make soup)... When I start saying "Well, sometimes I make Indian food with rice, or Italian food with pasta, or pizza, or Mexican food and burritos..." no one can even imagine what I could possibly be rattling on about. So then you try to explain the recipe--"Well, you sort of make bread and flatten it out and then you make sauce with tomatoes and put that on. Then you put cheese and whatever vegetables you want..." The person will inevitably cut you off by saying either "Gross!" or "Oh yeah, we have that too."

This is frustrating because since coming here, Mathias and I have become pretty good cooks and come across some great recipes. So I thought I'd share with you our very favorite. It's warm, filling, and perfect for people like me who always forget to defrost the chicken! Most likely you have most if not all the ingredients already on hand. It's also a good teambuilding exercise-Mathias makes the dough and I make the sauce. Many thanks to James Maloney for teaching me how to make a bechamel!

The first thing you do is make the Buttermilk Bisquit recipe from the PC Cookbook

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
5 Tbs. butter
¾ cup buttermilk (add 1 Tbs. vinegar to ¾ cup milk and let sit 5 minutes)

*Mix dry ingredients. Cut in butter (this is much easier if it is soft, but not melted). When butter is mixed well, lightly mix in buttermilk. Knead for several minutes. You may need to add at least 1 more cup of flour. Dough should be slightly sticky, but manageable. Set aside*

This is where teamwork comes into play. One person hangs out at the table, cutting and combining:

In a large bowl Combine:
4 Large Carrots, peeled and cubed
2-3 Frozen Chicken Breasts, cut into 3/4 inch squares (Cutting frozen chicken is easier and more fun than cutting up raw!)
1 Can of Peas (Fresh Peas are not in season this time of year!)


Person two stands at the stove and whips up a thick bechamel:
(Measurements are approximate and never the same twice)
4 Tablespoons Butter
4 Tablespoons Flour
2 Cups Milk
Nutmeg
Poultry Seasoning
Rosemary
Thyme
Salt and Pepper

*Melt butter and sprinkle in flour, stirring until smooth and consistant. Slowly add milk a little at a time (real chefs scald the milk first) stirring until everything is integrated and smooth. Cook a couple minutes until the sauce bubbles and thickens. Throw in roughly three large pinches of salt, a dusting of pepper, dusting of nutmeg, two or three shakes of poultry seasoning, a pinch of rosemary and about three shakes of thyme. Taste, season, taste, season...

Dump the Bechamel in the bowl of veggies and chicken:

Mix it up and throw it into a baking dish (ours is roughly 8 or 9 inches?)

Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes until the chicken pieces are almost all white. Our oven doesn't have a temperature gauge but we'd guess 350 would work fine.

Then flatten out your biscuit dough to the size of the pan and lay on top. Doesn't have to be perfect. Cook for about 8-10 minutes. We just watch it unil the biscuits are toasty brown on top (yep, PC TV!)

Nus Olsun!! (Bon Appetite!)

Happy Gurban Bayram!

This year Thanksgiving weekend also happened to be Gurban Bayram or Sacrifice Holiday. Gurban Bayram is a Muslim holiday which celebrates and remembers when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son and then sent a ram to take the sons place. This is the same story many Americans are familiar with but for a small exception-the son in question is not Isaac but his half brother Ishmael. The holiday is celebrated quite literally-those who can afford to do so actually sacrifice a ram. The meat is then divided into little plastic baggies and distributed among those who do not have the means for their own sacrifice or as a donation to the poor. Of course being PCVs, we qualified for a plastic baggie :-)
We actually witnessed the whole thing as it took place in our yard. Women to not do the killing of animals here (not even chickens) nor did they attend. I got to watch our landlord and a friend dispatch the ram because we don't have curtains on our windows yet and I was still in bed. As I quickly got dressed the rest of the family filed into the yard to watch the butchering part. I came out to watch and was sent back inside to get a warmer coat. Our landlady told us that you can't drink vodka with the meat from the sacrifice. It's my understanding that Muslims aren't supposed to drink at all but Azeri Muslims are like Easter Catholics-they just make sure to hold off on sacrifice day.
After the main guts are out, the women take over. You can see in the above picture that I got to help! After the meat was distributed and everything cleaned up, all that was left was the fur and the head which were left in our yard for a few days, much to Baby Cat's delight.
I really enjoy Gurban Bayram and especially this year as it was juxtaposed with our own musings of what we've been given and perhaps, what has been sacrificed for us.

New Kids on the Block

So I wrote about how much we love our new place. I also want to take a moment and talk about how great our new neighbors are. In the past week they have so exemplified the great parts of Azeri culture that I wanted to make sure I took note of it.
When new neighbors pull up in your neighborhood, do you send your kids to unpack their truck?
Well that's what happened to us. Granted, we don't have that much stuff; it all fits in one and a half Ladas. I thought it was a good sign when as we crept down the stony, muddy road, our taxi driver said, "you'll have good neighbors here." My impression is that most of our neighbors are relatives. We pay our rent to the sister of the homeowner and every kid who was helping us move identified themselves as each other's cousins. They not only moved in our stuff but carried bed frames and mattresses in from another house for us and made sure that our peç was correctly installed (many interchangeable pieces-hilarity ensues).
When is the last time your landlord offered to give you the things you might need that you don't have?
Before our landlady left us alone she made sure to fill a kettle with water and put it on the stove to boil. Tea always comes first.
She was also concerned that we might not have slippers as the floor is not carpeted and would be cold. I assured her that our slippers were hiding somewhere in our luggage.
Lastly she gave us an oil lamp. We protested "Oh, we don't need that!" She responded by giving it anyway and saying "It's for nighttime." Makes me wonder how often the power will be going out...
Remember when you thought of baking some brownies for the new neighbors and then reconsidered in case they would think it was weird?
And just tonight as we were preparing dinner we heard a knock on the door. Mathias went to investigate and returned with a bag of fruit (quince, pomegranates and persimmons) from yet another neighbor.
I had been nervous about going through it all again-everyone staring, explaining who we were and where we are from, that no, we don't speak Russian, etc. etc. But it's been great and I feel really comfortable here.

Moral of the story: If a foreigner moves in down the street, go ahead and give them those brownies or some fruit. It will probably make their day.

We've Moved! (Again)

Things are all aflutter here in Azerbaijan. The new school year has begun, I took a mental health week, and the AZ7's have arrived, trained, and found out where they will be placed. We will be receiving two new volunteers here in Shamaxi! And it's holiday time! But the thing that has taken the most of our focus recently is that we moved to a new house!

There were many reasons for our deciding to move. There are great financial benefits to this decision as the rent for the new house is 1/3 cheaper each month. It is also smaller and therefore much easier to heat as the expensive winter season approaches. These are the official (and if the public asks, only) reasons we left. Also, due to the job "creesis" our landlord and his family had moved back into their side of the house. There is very little privacy involved in being a PCV in general and sharing the bathroom facilities, yard, telephone, refrigerator and sometimes (surprise!) personal items and food were challenging.
Our new house is great! I mean, Look! The refrigerator is on the INSIDE!!

I love this fridge. It has an icebox, egg holder, butter holder, and fabulous blue metal detailing. Other things we love about the house include:

• Kitchen INSIDE-Our screened porch kitchen was getting pretty cold and the decision between going without dinner or losing one's hands to frostbite was getting harder and harder. I love not having to leave the house to brush my teeth or wash my hands.
• ALL of the burners on our stove work!-Yes, that's right! I can cook the spaghetti and the sauce at the same time.
• Cabinets!
• Did I mention a fridge all to ourselves?
  

• Warm wood floors, doors, and ceiling-makes it feel like a cabin and our white paper lampshade looks really good (even if all males bump their head on it every time)
• Gas and wood burning Peç right next to the bed-At our old house we could only afford to heat the living room and if the gas went out we were out of luck. Now we have a back up plan. Also, because the gas flow can start and stop at any time, you never leave the gas on at night when sleeping. No problem here-it's so close it heats the bed ahead of time and the radiant heat keeps you comfy till you fall asleep!
• Bathroom facilities are still outside but there is a covered walkway so you don't get wet if its raining and they are tiled really nicely. We have a western-style toilet which does not get its own bullet point because frankly, I like the squat better.
• Summer kitchen-Not useful now but when it gets hot it will be great to cook outside without heating the house!
• Yard with fruit galore! We have pomegranate, cherry, apple, and alça trees as well as grapes, a large strawberry patch and stand of raspberries! There will be another garden next year.
• Well water-We no longer have to pay for water and it is no longer limited; we can draw water whenever we need it.

I know, I know, it sounds like I'm bragging. But I can't help it, it's a nice place. Most importantly, we are alone. The new house has also instituted marital equality because before we were close to my school and Mathias had a bit of a hike. Now we are close to him and I will be enjoying the muddy walks! Oh and for those of you who were concerned, we brought baby cat with us and she seems to be adjusting well. I'll end with more pictures to look at:

Kitchen:

Bed/Living Room:

Bathrooms and Outdoor Kitchen:

Facing our Food

Last weekend we hosted a gathering of Peace Corps guys at our house. They were meeting to work on the plans for ABLE (Azerbaijani Boys Leadership Experience) Camp next summer. For one of our meals we decided to buy two chickens and prepare them ourselves. Each person had their own reasons for wanting to be involved. For my part, I would like to keep chickens one day and saw this as a prerequisite test.

A word of caution: The following video contains footage of the killing, plucking, and gutting of chickens. Chickens were harmed in the making of this film. If it makes you feel better, they were also eaten with a delicious gravy

One Year Later: How far I've Come

Then

I can genuinely say I am really happy to be here.

The Peace Corps has this phrase they use in their advertising "The Hardest Job you'll ever Love" which until recently I viewed as a total crock. But cheesy as it is, I'm starting to get there.
I just got back from a hotel on the side of the highway where a whole slew of brand spankin' new Americans were being bombarded with information their first few days in country. First of all I want to say it was an honor to be there. And to those of you AZ7's who may read this blog, you guys are great and I can't wait until we are fellow PCV's.

The truth is, in terms of what they are about to go through, I would never want to do that again. The first nine months here were painfully hard. But I can also say that am so glad I stuck through it.

And here I come to another Peace Corps cliche. That while I have no idea if I'm making a difference in my community, this experience is certainly changing me.
I'm finally over hating things I can't change. I've stopped comparing myself to others or always worrying about the day that someone else is going to decide I'm not good enough. I'm remembering where my true identity lies. In the words of a fellow AZ6 "I've grown the backbone I never knew I didn't have."

I've let go idealizing the United States. Let go of a lifestyle that judges worth by how many unscheduled seconds were crowded out with activity.

And because I've let go of so much, I can now see all of those things I've been blind to. The really polite and thoughtful Azeri men. The truly hospitable friends and neighbors. The smart and talented people who are pushing the envelope. That there is nothing wrong with sitting under a fruit tree drinking tea and just talking on a summer day. Oh yeah, and the new factory the government just renovated and those lovely new highway signs.

A couple days ago I got the last seat on a markrutka-the very last row in between two dudes and a grandmother. There was a woman in front of me who started making fun of the fact that I was foreign. I quickly responded to her that I speak Azeri. She then peppered me with a machine gun fire of questions that would have left me sobbing and confused nine months ago but that I deftly answered as if I was swatting away flies. The woman then for an inexplicable reason decided to revert to the age of seven and take advantage of what I had told her, taunting me in Russian because I said I didn't speak it. And if this had been a year ago, I would have been defeated. And this story would have ended there, with me crying and hating what I took to be "azeri culture." But this isn't a year ago. This is now. And I didn't start crying. And instead of fearfully ignoring the men beside me who were trying to get my attention, I turned my head to them. They were silently making "she's crazy!" hand motions and pointing to the woman while simultaneously offering me a bite of sandwich. And a year ago I would have thought that when the man beside me started talking and joking with the woman that they were probably friends making fun of me when in reality he was chastising her for her rude behavior. The truth is, everyone else was really nice and maybe a little embarrassed. The guy next to me, after trying earnestly to get me to accept Fanta and sandwich, finally got me to take a pack of gum. That's true Azeri culture. And that woman is no different from the people I saw in a McDonald's in Belleville Illinois taunting a man who didn't speak English.

School didn't go super great today. I was expecting twenty kids and only seven showed up. There are probably worse days than that to come. And sure, my life looks a lot like that teacher from Glee if he didn't also have Spanish. I will be afraid sometimes but I will not let that stop me. And disappointed probably even more times. I will probably never know the impact I might have. But it's about the process, and I accept that now.

Now

First day of school

Emma isn't a huge fan of timed photos. I, on the other hand, can't get enough of them, ha ha. Here we are just before heading out on the first day of school. September 15th 2009.

Bored Out of My Mind...

Emma is welcoming the newest group of Peace Corps Volunteers to Azerbaijan. The host family is at their home in Baku. I am bored out of my mind. Everyone has been gone since Thursday, October 1st so I have been occupying my time with various, time killing, pursuits.

First, on Thursday I started working on a cat house for our two adopted cats. Baby Cat, who turned up in late June, has been featured before. She is lovable, considerate and can take care of herself. Precocious Kitty, or PK, turned up in late August. She is whiny, mischievous and won't leave me alone. Either way, they have adopted us as surrogate parents and we in return have given them a US postal box in which to sleep. The problem is Samaxi is getting pretty cold and the box isn't going to do much good come November. Thus, with the wood left over from my Ping Pong table (scroll down) I fashioned them a home.

Here is the house.

Nothing fancy just wood and nails. It does serve it's purpose and that is what matters.

Baby Cat is on the left and PK is whining on the right.

Okay so Thursday and Friday were fine. It did take a while to put the cat house together as my hand saw is from 1960, rusted and I am pretty sure soviet built (burn). Still, the process of working everything out was fun.

Today however, I slept in, fried some chicken, then went 'Forrest Forrest Gump' all over the afternoon. The following pictures and videos should help explain how very unproductive today really was.

The ping pong table when more than one person is at the house.

The ping pong table when I am home alone. I used our grill to prop up the other side.

For the table I took two 5 by 5 pieces of plywood and trimmed them down to 5 by 4.5. I connected them with hinges so that I can fold up the table top and move it if we need to. The host family loves it, doesn't want me to move it, so there it sits. However, the hinges also help it become a one man ping pong court. The videos that follow show you what joy it brought me. If you have a slow connection don't wait for them to download. I am warning you now, what brings me joy is probably not what brings you joy. I must have done this for at least two hours... Sad really. very sad, ha ha.

Later.

Mathias

A funny thing happened on the way to the fruit/veggie stand...

Yesterday, on my way to the corner fruit/veggie stand, I found myself being charged by an out-of-control, unmanned, soviet-era van. The increasingly speedy van hit a pothole about 30 ft from me and turned towards the city farm bureau. I ran towards the vehicle, threw open the driver side door, hopped in, stepped on the floor brake and pulled back the emergency brake. The two students with whom I was walking, had run ahead to find the owner. The vehicle's owner, astonished by the highly improbable situation and outcome, rushed over to shake my hand / kiss my face. He then purchased all of my needed fruits and veggies while including a bottle of vodka for us to split. We borrowed a slightly used tea cup from the shopkeeper and toasted the unlikely incident, inside his unharmed van. This is 100% true and AWESOME!

Suggestions for AZ7

AZ7s,

Here are my top ten most needed items in AZ.

1. A Sweater Vest. It hides wrinkles on your dress shirts and adds another layer of warmth in the winter. I am very serious. I have two. I love them. I wear them everyday from October to April. Makes dancing and posing for AWESOME group photos even easier.

2. A STURDY French Press. If you like coffee this is a must. I used mine daily. No worries, I now have a second, even STURDIER, French Press.

3. Thermal Underwear. Absolutely no one goes without this in the winter. Save yourself the hassle and bring at least 2 pairs with you. Imagine how cold she would have been without the TU.

4. Boxers INSTEAD of Briefs. They are sturdier and dry much faster. Very convenient. They also come in much cooler patterns. Ah-ha, dries faster and looks better on the line. Definitely important.

5. Head Lamp. For going to the bathroom when the power is out... which is almost anytime you have to go to the bathroom in the winter. Also good for looking down dark holes.

6. I brought tools with me and they have been invaluable. I purchased a 3 dollar set from IKEA which includes a hammer, screwdriver with changeable heads, pliers and a wrench. I also brought a small vice grip. You can get some of this stuff here, but they aren't nearly as reliable. I have used all of these items NUMEROUS times. If not tools then at least a Leatherman. You probably can't tell from this view but I am smiling super big because I am so happy to have my tools. Ignore the water spraying everywhere.

7. A really comfortable, good looking pair of BLACK shoes. Men this is an absolute must. You will need this. The pointier the better.

8. A black suit for men. Very very handy. Doesn't he look snazzy.

9. A PC not a Mac. You need it to do PC reports (MACs don't always work) and it is your entertainment center during the winter. No negatives replies to this post. This means you LT and RB.

10. A wife. Highly recommended. Yours won't be as good as mine, but I still recommend finding one. (Emma holding food does not mean she is important because she cooks. We share the work equally. She is just plain awesome and this picture is nice. Stop reading into things.)

Finland v Azerbaijan

Last weekend, Emma and I went to the southern part of Azerbaijan for a World Cup Qualifying soccer game. The game was supposedly held in Lankaran, instead of Baku, because Finland's Football Association had donated the stadium's turf. Either way, the game was testosterific and the weekend swell.

Our friends Jon and Hiba posing on the beach. Lankaran is located on the Caspian so we took a walk down by the shore. Jon and I even took a little swim.

Everybody should feel better seeing this picture. It shows that no matter where we go, I am still the palest person in the world.

While Jon and I were swimming, the girls meet a nice Finnish journalist by the name of Tommi. He was covering the soccer game for Finland's version of the New York Times. He was super cool so we invited him over for dinner.

Dinner with all those attending the game.

Most of the crew at the game. The stadium probably held about 10,000 fans, 99.99% of which were Azeri men. Tommi actually commented in his article that he could name all of the non-Finnish women in attendance. He then listed them off. Emma is now super popular in Finland.

Here's a fun game. Play find a female...

It's a trick, there are no women in this picture!

Azerbaijan actually scored the first goal and so I quickly took a photo to show how the scoreboard read. The feeling inside the stadium was electric. Really, it was awesome.

An Azeri Glee club tried to scare the "Nothern" visitors with this sign.... grrrrr.

A shot of the field.

Azeri fans with signs that when presented created a stadium wide Azeri flag.

There were soldiers placed every 10 feet or so around the field. It was odd for those of us who live in Azerbaijan. I can't imagine what the Finnish players must have thought. In Azerbaijan young men must serve for a year and a half when they turn 18. Lankaran houses the largest military base in Azerbaijan, so I can only assume attendance was mandatory for the men. Not a bad assignment.

The trip was awesome even though Finland ended up winning 2-1. Oh well, fun was had by all!

The Whiffle Ball and The Squat Toliet...

Yesterday, in a fit of boredom I decided to work on my whiffle ball skills. This is what happened...

I have 3 fake whiffle balls and 1 legit 'wiffle' ball. The fakes are colored, the 'wiffle' is white. Take a gander and tell me which ball is missing... now guess where it may be.

Look a bit harder...

Even harder...

Thankfully someone forgot to flush so there was a mound atop which it was able to rest, thus preventing it from continuing down the hole and out of my life. The holes were even pointing the right way!

Notice the unpleasant face I am making as I fashion our grape picker (piece of wire) into a 'wiffle' ball retriever.

Yep.

Joy, the ball is saved.

Squeaky clean and ready for round 2!