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!

Chillin...

Epicurious

One thing that defines Peace Corps life for me that I did not expect was how much we cook! We cook from scratch everyday. We also cook in-season. It's fun, and we really don't have much of a choice. Especially in our town there are few restaurants and no "convenience foods". Cook long enough and you start feeling pretty confident. And then you start cooking things you would never attempt in the States. Like Doughnuts!!

Yes, This morning Mathias made doughnuts. And they were honestly awesome. He also recently made chips by frying lavaş. After these two successes I noticed today after he went to the store that our kitchen is now stocked with an inordinate amount of cooking oil.

We make healthy things too. For dinner we made pizzas. I was especially proud of my "Garden Party" Pizza because every topping (Tomato, Onion, Garlic, Green Beans, Peppers, and Eggplant) was grown in our garden!! Mathias made Mexican BBQ Pizza.

Other foods we've learned to make from scratch include: Biscuits, Crumb Cake, Meat-Grinder Gazpacho, Curry dishes, Chicken and Beef Stock, Refried Beans, and Tomato Sauce.

It's been really great. So if any of you AZ7's out there are reading this, don't forget to pack your spices and measuring cups!

Three Short Stories + Two Extra Photos!

Story One


Sometime in Early June I was in Baku supporting a couple of friends who were participating in a Triathlon. The two friends, Jeremy and Alexis, were staying with an Embassy worker and so after a morning of activities we decided to meet up at his apartment. When we arrived he asked if we would be interested in going to the US Ambassador to Azerbaijan's house for a belated Memorial Day party. We agreed and the photo that follows was taken after a couple hours of American quality fun!

L-R: Me, Peace Corps Azerbaijan Director, Ambassador to AZ, Jeremy and Alexis


Story Two


My mom and sister visited Azerbaijan for a week, during which time they were able to experience a great number of AZ-typical activities. However, one really sticks out in my mind. This was when my counterpart Tamara realized that there wasn't enough time for her to prepare a meal for my family before they left. So, at 11pm the night before we were to leave for Baku she brought over meat, seasonings and know how; then teaching us how to make Azeri Dolma. We used Mulberry, Grape and Cherry leaves. Starting at 11pm finishing the dishes around 1am. Here are the ladies mid-leaf stuffing.

L-R: Martina, Mom, Emma and Tamara.


Story Three

In early July, Emma and I went to Lankaran, a southern region in Azerbaijan, to help a fellow PCV put on a week long sports camp. One of the days was field day. Here I am with 11 year old Agil. He was my three-legged race partner. We dominated. Domination (Justin and Rob).

L-R: Agil, Me, Somebody...

Extra Photo One

On the road from Pirgulu, a national park in the middle of Samaxi Region, to Samaxi City. Emma, Mom and I are buying honey from a roadside stand. The salesman gave us a spoon to taste the honey and then let us tell him from which jar to pour. Yum!

Extra Photo Two

Emma looking over the mountain goodness that is Pirgulu. Behind her is the National Azeri Astro-Physics Research building. They are building new domes for their telescopes.