Night Hike in Baku

TV Tower in Baku

sort of creepy when such light and glamor is next to...well, shacks.

oil rig?

visiting xachmaz

my internet speed is just far too slow. well, what can i say for myself? firstly: here are some pictures from my trip to xachmaz. belowing i'm kissing a fellow CED volunteer, Jessica. Above are the train tracks that run right by her home.

mmm

nothing says "delicious" like a headless mound of frozen fish.
here are the events as of late:
volunteers from my group, az 6, just had their mid service conference. this is the first time the sixth group az pcvs have all come together since swearing in as volunteers in december of 2008. truthfully, a lot of it was painfully boring, but overall it went well. events like these can't help but to be boring. it was nice to catch up with some people. we played far more bored games (soooo funny) than usual and shot the shit. on the night before our departure from msc we got snowed in by a blizzard and thereby got an extra night at the hotel. this meant, for the pcvs, free food and hot showers. i've said this before, but man o man i miss hot showers (as i type this i'm preparing my bucket bath).
also, my SPA grant for an English Language Resource Center for the Technical and Humanitarian Lyceum in Mingechevir is approved pending some minor changes and explanations. that's always a good thing. so, i have my work cut out for me in the near future. also, i might be able to raise some funds for two community gardens via sale of some paintings. but, we'll see. i'm not trying too hard to sell them. they just might get sold anyways at an embassy event.
also, big shout out to mary and my aunt monica. amazing packages! i've been living off them for the past few days....mmm (for real this time).

trip to qusar

i traveled to the first northern finger of azerbaijan again, but this time i also went to a small city just south of Russia called Qusar. A fellow CED volunteer resides there from Utah named Micah. it was great to visit him and to go on the beautiful hike seen here.

qusar

patterns fathoming

textile factory 2

more experimenting...trying to keep it simple at the request of my pcv friend evan. maybe this one will go to him...if he doesn't mind the pink and purple

textile factory

i'm experimenting with the handmade stamps i bought in india.