here is a close up of the famously clashing patterns...i have no idea who thought those three rugs went together.
from another angle: computer stationWednesday, April 15, 2009
my clash mc tastic living room
here is a close up of the famously clashing patterns...i have no idea who thought those three rugs went together. from another angle: computer station
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
i live alone!
i moved out...i now live alone in a 3 room apartment. i'm not going to lie...the place isn't exactly classy. however, it will do. i have taken pictures and i plan on uploading them tomorrow. but first, i'll describe my situation:
i have one living room, one bedroom, and one room i like to call the blueberry room (it is overwhelming blue). the blueberry room is probably supposed to be the kitchen, however, the kitchen is on my balcony instead. this is a common scenario for azerbaijan. to clarify, my balcony is completely window-ed. so, it isn't like i'm cooking outside. but close. it isn't exactly properly closed in either. but oh well!
my bedroom was originally locked off. it is also common for azeri landlords to fill a room with storage, lock it, and prevent you from using it. luckily, my great friend/azeri teacher gulshan convinced the landlord to reconsider. now i sleep in this room...however, the bed is just about the only thing i'm allowed to touch. the funniest thing about the bed, however, is that it is too short for me...and i'm just shy of 5'5". the bed situation isn't so hot, but i was spoiled at my host family.
the living room is fine, but the clashing is amazing. i can't wait to upload pictures of it. the rugs on the wall clash with the rug on the couch which clashes with the rug on the wall. it is very azeri to "rug" the home.
i have internet access. HOORAY
the blueberry room seems to be the favorite of visitors...there is something comforting about it. it is small and next to the kitchen. and, as i mentioned, very blue. i don't sleep there because there is no door btw the blueberry room and the balcony (LOUD).
i have toilet room separate from the shower room. the water is heated electrically. not having the gas kalonka option is usually frowned upon because electricity is much more expensive. however, i'm in a gachgin apt (IDP/internally displaced person). This means that the government pays for a high portion of my electric use.
i'm on a 5th floor walk up, which i'm entirely used to bc of NYC. actually, the floors are shorter here, so it feels more like a nyc 4th floor walk up. could be better, could be worse. it is nice being on the top floor...i don't have as many neighbors. i'm also next to the largest mosque in mingechevir. i very much like my neighborhood...i'm close to my favorite park as well. in general, i'm the volunteer who is farthest away from the city center. but, again, this isn't a big city. everything is close by. i'm used to places that are far larger.
on to other things in life....
i'm busy these days. right now my sitemate andrea is living with me for a short bit. to make a long story short, her host family situation ended really badly...and at the same time, her apartment fell through. i like having a roommate right now, so it works out fine. i just hope she finds a good home.
we started softball season here, which is really fun. i like "work" being "playing softball". other things i'm involved with:
as a member of the environmental committee, i'm doing a lot of work for earth day...for the committee and for my site.
i started teaching a computer class to kids at the IDP school (again, internally displaced persons). A word on that: azerbaijan has one of the largest internal refugee populations in the world. This is due to the armenia-azerbaijan conflict. currently, they are in a stalemate and the sentiments are bitter. so, there are many azeri IDPs from formerly azeri, but now armenian lands who have been relocated all over the country. these people have a special status and sometimes they receive special funds from the government. sadly, many families live inside the schools. just about every school in azerbaijan has clothes lines hanging outside of it.
lastly, i'm working with a kid's environmental club.
so, as you can see, i'm not doing a lot of business oriented work. this is a shame. but, at the same time it's nice not to be working in an office.
i have one living room, one bedroom, and one room i like to call the blueberry room (it is overwhelming blue). the blueberry room is probably supposed to be the kitchen, however, the kitchen is on my balcony instead. this is a common scenario for azerbaijan. to clarify, my balcony is completely window-ed. so, it isn't like i'm cooking outside. but close. it isn't exactly properly closed in either. but oh well!
my bedroom was originally locked off. it is also common for azeri landlords to fill a room with storage, lock it, and prevent you from using it. luckily, my great friend/azeri teacher gulshan convinced the landlord to reconsider. now i sleep in this room...however, the bed is just about the only thing i'm allowed to touch. the funniest thing about the bed, however, is that it is too short for me...and i'm just shy of 5'5". the bed situation isn't so hot, but i was spoiled at my host family.
the living room is fine, but the clashing is amazing. i can't wait to upload pictures of it. the rugs on the wall clash with the rug on the couch which clashes with the rug on the wall. it is very azeri to "rug" the home.
i have internet access. HOORAY
the blueberry room seems to be the favorite of visitors...there is something comforting about it. it is small and next to the kitchen. and, as i mentioned, very blue. i don't sleep there because there is no door btw the blueberry room and the balcony (LOUD).
i have toilet room separate from the shower room. the water is heated electrically. not having the gas kalonka option is usually frowned upon because electricity is much more expensive. however, i'm in a gachgin apt (IDP/internally displaced person). This means that the government pays for a high portion of my electric use.
i'm on a 5th floor walk up, which i'm entirely used to bc of NYC. actually, the floors are shorter here, so it feels more like a nyc 4th floor walk up. could be better, could be worse. it is nice being on the top floor...i don't have as many neighbors. i'm also next to the largest mosque in mingechevir. i very much like my neighborhood...i'm close to my favorite park as well. in general, i'm the volunteer who is farthest away from the city center. but, again, this isn't a big city. everything is close by. i'm used to places that are far larger.
on to other things in life....
i'm busy these days. right now my sitemate andrea is living with me for a short bit. to make a long story short, her host family situation ended really badly...and at the same time, her apartment fell through. i like having a roommate right now, so it works out fine. i just hope she finds a good home.
we started softball season here, which is really fun. i like "work" being "playing softball". other things i'm involved with:
as a member of the environmental committee, i'm doing a lot of work for earth day...for the committee and for my site.
i started teaching a computer class to kids at the IDP school (again, internally displaced persons). A word on that: azerbaijan has one of the largest internal refugee populations in the world. This is due to the armenia-azerbaijan conflict. currently, they are in a stalemate and the sentiments are bitter. so, there are many azeri IDPs from formerly azeri, but now armenian lands who have been relocated all over the country. these people have a special status and sometimes they receive special funds from the government. sadly, many families live inside the schools. just about every school in azerbaijan has clothes lines hanging outside of it.
lastly, i'm working with a kid's environmental club.
so, as you can see, i'm not doing a lot of business oriented work. this is a shame. but, at the same time it's nice not to be working in an office.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
my break...so lazy.
i had an apartment. it was taken away. then i found another apartment...but the whole process of finding another apartment meant that i couldn't really travel over this particuraly long azerbaijani holiday called novruz. oh well! at least i'm optimistic that i'll have MY OWN PLACE. however, nothing is guaranteed...as i experienced with my last potential home. this means that the days of living with a host family are coming to a close. that's an amazing feat for someone like me. it has been tremendously difficult for me to never cook my own food, to always tell people where i'm going/when i'll return, to be quiet at night when i have guests over....to not drink beer. to be told what to do and what to eat and what to wear. but, i also know not to be offended by these things. it is entirely cultural for people to tell me what to do and overly care for me. i am a young woman and a guest. the former part means i am told what to do all the time. the latter part means i don't do anything for myself. BUT, i'm hard on my host family. they are amazing. i lucked out big time and i will always be grateful to them for their amazing care. however...now i have to tell them i'm moving out. this is the hard part. they said they wanted me to/expected me to stay for two years. i told them at the beginning of my stay that i'd move out in april. we haven't discussed it much sense...due to my being a coward (i don't want to upset the people i have to see daily). but the time has come and it is time to suck it up.
just last night i meet my neighbor from new zealand for the first time. crazy! i have an english speaking neighbor who knows no azerbaijani. who knew? i guess he and his wife (who is azeri) have been traveling a great deal lately and he just got into town. he is an older oil worker who has been in and out of the country for at least a decade. it was extremely interesting to be able to talk to a non-american foreigner about azerbaijan. it is hard to find foreigners who have been to more of azerbaijan than just baku. better yet, i think his azeri wife is in mingechevir a good deal....and she both speaks english and has a somewhat more open-minded personality. woo hoo for new friends.
other recent highlights include:
visitors: danielle and julia who are posted in siyazan stayed with me for three days. the weather was beautiful, we sat outside by the water a lot and got tan.
visiting: i visited the wonderful Kat in goychay and colleen in ismaili. great ladies all around.
chased by baby turkeys: did i spell that right? i don't know. i hope to post that video soon. it was cute, i tell you.
cooking: learned to make paklava (just like baklava). its hard to learn azeri recipes for a couple of reasons....the first being that no one woman actually measures what she uses and secondly, if i ask for measurement, the system here is the european non-american one. dag nabit.
i guess that is it for now. i feel kinda flu like. enjoy america or azerbaijan or whatever country you are reading this from
just last night i meet my neighbor from new zealand for the first time. crazy! i have an english speaking neighbor who knows no azerbaijani. who knew? i guess he and his wife (who is azeri) have been traveling a great deal lately and he just got into town. he is an older oil worker who has been in and out of the country for at least a decade. it was extremely interesting to be able to talk to a non-american foreigner about azerbaijan. it is hard to find foreigners who have been to more of azerbaijan than just baku. better yet, i think his azeri wife is in mingechevir a good deal....and she both speaks english and has a somewhat more open-minded personality. woo hoo for new friends.
other recent highlights include:
visitors: danielle and julia who are posted in siyazan stayed with me for three days. the weather was beautiful, we sat outside by the water a lot and got tan.
visiting: i visited the wonderful Kat in goychay and colleen in ismaili. great ladies all around.
chased by baby turkeys: did i spell that right? i don't know. i hope to post that video soon. it was cute, i tell you.
cooking: learned to make paklava (just like baklava). its hard to learn azeri recipes for a couple of reasons....the first being that no one woman actually measures what she uses and secondly, if i ask for measurement, the system here is the european non-american one. dag nabit.
i guess that is it for now. i feel kinda flu like. enjoy america or azerbaijan or whatever country you are reading this from
novruz break
sheep and a broken down ferris wheel in ming
our reservoir
at the hotel riverside in...checking out the rowing competition
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
nice bed sheet
for those of you who can't read the type, the bed sheet reads: Hope it was happy
well, how friendly
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
it's not what you think, i got sugar in my pockets
i went to the second (or third....depends on who you ask) largest city in azerbaijan this weekend, ganja. i had an amazing time. in the photo above you'll see my fellow pcv friends charlie and elmir. elmer lives in ganja and led us on an amazing journey of sorts through the mighty rayon of Shamux. let me explain...
elmer, who's language skills FAR surpass those of charlie and I's, knew of an important Shia mescid (mosque) in the outskirts of the city. the three of us were walking around ganja deciding what to do and then took Elmer up on his offer of walking us there. he warned us that he didn't really know how to get there, but we could try. charlie and i just wanted to walk around and see the area, so we didn't oppose to getting lost. hell, why not?
first we took a bus to a train station. from there we walked through an industrial district in search of the right marshrutka (minibus). we got on a mini bus....the bumpiest slowest marshrutka in the world. we got a wonderful view of the boonies as we took the marshrutka around in a full circle and ended up where we began. the sun began to set, but NO MATTER. we had a journey to experience.
so we started walking. Elmer was kind enough to buy some cheese in advance, so we searched for hot bread along the way to the mythical mosque. we didn't actually find hot bread, but we did find bread. we walked and ate and walked and ate and joked around about how we were entering our spirit quest...that maybe there was no mosque at all, but only a destination within ourselves. it was funny at the time...i guess you'll have to trust me on that.
then the sun set. and it was dark. and we were alongside some random road. we past a couple of the same spots a couple of times, but whoa and behold! elmir spotted our destination. but would the mosque be open?
NOPE. however, elmer...with his superior language skills, rang the bell of the mosque. someone inside said the mosque was closed, but we waited until the man approached to see what we wanted. elmir explained that we are visitors from america currently living in azerbaijan and that we would love a chance to see the mosque. well, the man opened up the mosque gates right away and let us in. but it goes on...
the three of us got a full tour of all the mosque rooms. this is interesting because often women are forbidden from entering all rooms. as you can see from my picture, i was looking pretty ragged and had only my hood to cover my head with. however, they didn't seem to mind and never commented. they showed us how to pray in several different ways and actually had us pray in one circumstance. they also gave us each our own prayer stone and cloth. next the sprayed us with rose water and gave me sugar for chay (tea) later in the day. lastly, they even took a picture of us together in front of the mosque on our way out. pretty hospitable if you ask me.
what amazed me about the experience is that they were very open, non-xenophobic, and they didn't proselytize. they asked us no questions regarding our inherent american-ness. they were just incredibly hospitable. some volunteers come to azerbaijan and never see the inside of a mosque. i think we were very lucky.
the spirit quest was a success!
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