Fun Photos

With Emma going crazy on the blog, I figured it was time for me too to contribute… So here you go. Here are some of my favorite photos that we have yet to post.

A month and a half ago, Emma and I attended a youth photo exhibition in Ismayıllı. Youth from Ismayıllı and Mingəçevir came together to display their hard work at the Ismayıllı Heydar Əliyev Museum. This first picture is of a fellow PCV who was mobbed by a group of presenters wanting an autograph… Of course he was kind enough to oblige, ha ha.

Number two is the chalkboard in my classroom. As you can see, it is really half a chalkboard set on a chair. Two big things: First, it is inappropriate for a teacher to erase the board. Believe me, I know all about this rule. Subsequently, I am quite the rule breaker. Second, any hint of chalk on your clothes is terrible. Azerbaijanis are very serious about this. However, of all the chalk I have ever used, Azerbaijani chalk is the dustiest. This makes the second rule really hard to follow and the first rule somewhat understandable.

This is a picture of Emma at Gobustan. I know we posted a couple of photos from this trip, but one more rarely hurts.

We took this photo while staying with our first host family. The little boy is Sadiq and he too was staying with our host family. He, like me, really enjoys whiffle ball! We got along well.

Our current host family slaughtered a sheep for some type of anniversary. The first picture is of a blood thirsty cat enjoying the spill and the second of the sheep’s head, skin and feet. The cat is one of four who stalk our courtyard. Many an evening we have woken to the sound of cats fighting. Thus, we have nicknamed the group “Ninja Cats.” The cat pictured is named Jon Prouty. We didn’t give it that name… our host family came up with it. Weird.

The second picture is of the sheep’s head, skin and feet. Apparently these parts are special. I just found it interesting as it was placed a mere five or six feet from our door. Then again, the blood spill was no more than 15.

Finally, here’s a picture showing what five months in Azerbaijan can do to your waistline, or better yet what it has done to mine. Ha ha. Really most of it came off during my weeklong illness. Still, walking everywhere and eating less doesn’t hurt. I was just under 180 when we left and am now at 165. Oh, and I haven’t washed/dried these jeans since arriving in AZ. That contributes to the stretch.

Hope everyone is well!

Mathias