As of December 10th, I'll be living in Masalli - a city in the south of AZ and highly regarded here for its sightseeing - especially ancient mausoleums and burial mounds, mineral springs, local lore museum and mosques. The population of Masilli is about 185,000 located along a main highway about 230 km (7 hours by bus) from Baku. A national park and wildlife refuge is situated between Masilli and the Caspian Sea which is about 15 miles east. To the west of Masilli are the Talish mountains - home to an ethnic minority known to live past 100 years of age.
The climate is subtropical - I did ask for a warm place.
The school I am assigned to has nearly 700 students with 73 teachers. Five English teachers expressed interest in having a Peace Corps volunteer, so I will be the one they get! I will observe classrooms for 2 weeks in December, then choose which teachers and classes. I will co-teach a minimum of 15 hours per week which does not include time to prepare lesson plans with my counterparts. That means developing classroom materials and activities based upon the textbook. There is a one week holiday and classes resume January 6th, 2011. One additional enticement: the school has internet!
I will be near 2 other AZ8s, Sally and Alicia, plus there are several other PCVs who will be spending their 2nd year in the area.
The Peace Corps housing coordinator has already found a host family for me. I will be staying for atleast 4 months with mom, dad and their 2 children - 10 and 8 years old. The father works in a cultural center and the mother is a teacher. Their home is listed as very good and I'm not sure what that means.
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