Too cold to write - and other excuses!

OMG - it's almost a month since my last post. I've been jotting notes in my daily journal but that's about all I could manage while lurking around an electric space heater. Not unlike starving people obsessing food, I've been obsessing heat. My landlady would promise that workers would come, but always they were "no show."
Before Thanksgiving the outside temperature dropped to near freezing, and in a brick unheated house my kitchen was 40 degrees. That's when I began figuring all sorts of ways to stay warm in earnest. I converted my kitchen to a living room since the electric heaters were there; hung clothes next to the heater in the morning, taped plastic over single-pane windows, and made lots of hot cocoa. Before bedtime I would move the heater into my bedroom.

All that changed last Tuesday, November 29th when 2 workers arrived to extend the gas line, and install a stove and exhaust pipes in my bedroom. It took them several hours and then discovered that the gas was shut off in my neighborhood. They came by again Wednesday to show me how to light the stove. I was so thrilled and toasty that I left it on all night next to my bed. (I will not do that again.) My next door neighbors have been a blessing too, checking that I have gas each morning by hollering out their back window.

In early November I took on some additional volunteer work which meant a couple nights in Baku plus many hours reading documents on my computer when I returned home. School had 2 breaks in November: three days one week for a religious holiday, and 4 days the next week for the regular mid-term break. One weekend, I took a 2-hour trip to visit another PCV who was finishing her service and gave several of us many kitchen items, clothes, and books she no longer needed.

I traveled to Baku to celebrate Thanksgiving with other PCVs on Saturday, Nov. 26th. This was particularly special because it had been a while since I'd seen many of the other volunteers. We were guests in the homes of Americans living in Baku and it was almost culture-shock to have a warm shower, a soft bed, and to be able to cook meals in a well-stocked kitchen. Each volunteer prepared and brought a typical dish to the home of the US Charge d'Affairs and he provided the roast turkeys.

I can't end this blog without mentioning the wonderful birthday package I received from family members. Not only pumpkin and pie crust and spices and many other goodies, but the treat for me was the camp stove toaster! That really is a day brightener each morning.

Cold and snow comes early to Masalli

I didn't really expect to see snow on the trees and grass this morning but Masalli got a taste of Winter weather overnight. It doesn't quite look like MN out my window: those are pomegranate trees plus I have daffy ducks on an icy pond that's getting bigger by the day. Now I understand why people usually occupy just the upper level of a 2-story house. People told me houses here are constructed like this due to flooding and it makes sense when I realize the ground today is saturated. (They may also have kept livestock on the lower level, so they haven't given up that idea.)

I checked the Masalli weather on a website and the temperature was near zero Celsius. Unfortunately, I had to bundle up yesterday and walk to get the gas "balloon" filled or I wouldn't be able to cook. I put on long johns, leggings, jeans, 3 pairs of socks, a turtleneck, 2 knit sweaters, plus a scarf, wool hat, gloves and windbreaker with hood and my rubber boots. The guy filling my gas tank still recognized me as an American!

This was the temperature in my kitchen this morning. I turned on the water heater for over an hour and got the water hot enough to wash my hair. I also hung my clothes near the electric space heater in the kitchen so they are warm when I put them on. I cooked hot oatmeal and had a cup of hot coffee. Then I usually say a prayer that the electricity stays on. I also have special prayers I say for special people when the imam sings from the mosque five times a day.

Around 11AM today my landlady came with her son and the workmen to install gas lines to the house! Finally! They hooked up a 3-burner gas cooktop in my kitchen (I won't need the gas balloon), but they need to come back next week with an inspector to put in a stove that will heat my bedroom. I'd rather that they put that in first, but I'll take this work today as progress - knowing that it's really not Winter yet!

Everything Takes Longer!

I used to think I was pretty efficient - checking off a list of things I would do in a single day. But life here moves at a different pace and sometimes I'm satisfied just to get through the day and feel somewhat prepared for the next.
What takes longer is usually household chores. Remember: not only am I teaching in a foreign culture, but I've set up housekeeping in a completely different way than what I'm used to in the US. I live independently in a rented house, but it is located away from a main road so I walk a lot.

The lack of household conveniences means I also spend more time on routine things. For example, there is only cold water from the spigot, so I need to boil and filter water for drinking. I also heat some water for washing dishes - and that's usually 3 times a day.

There is a large electric hot water tank in the shower room, so I turn that on about once a week to take a bucket bath. It takes about 45 minutes to reach an acceptable warm+ temperature. That's when I also try to wash some clothes because there's more warm water. Laundry also means washing clothes by hand. I've developed a sequence of steps that includes soaking, rinsing and wringing out by hand, then rinsing and wringing again. I hang some clothes in the shower room, and others are hung outside on the clothes line. The word chore precisely describes washing clothes by hand.

For preparing food, I have a propane tank for cooking plus a small one-temperature oven. That gas burner gets a workout as I use it to heat water in a tea kettle, saute onions/tomatoes/peppers in a skillet, then simmer soup in a saucepan. It is a juggling act to cook a meal, boil water for drinking and heat water for washing dishes on a single gas burner.

Most time consuming is walking. No jumping into my car for a quick trip for groceries or go to work. Instead I walk to small neighborhood shops for eggs, milk, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, etc., walk to the nearby trash pit to throw away garbage, and walk to and from school each day. While each trip may take only 10 - 20 minutes, there are multiple trips each day.

For larger purchases, about once a week I walk to the nearby road and wait 5 - 20 minutes for a marsrutka to come along and take me to the old bazar. That's where I can buy frozen chicken, rice, and a greater variety of fruits and vegetables. And no convenience foods unless you count Kellogg's Special K or Nestle's Fitness cereals. Everything I cook is from scratch, so that means planning ahead to soak beans overnight and allowing several hours to cook them.

Besides basic homemaking, I take time each day to review upcoming lessons and think about ways to teach English using minimal if any materials. So when I feel like I haven't made much progress I realize  I spend a lot of time - just like most Azeri women do - just maintaining.

Chilly morning routine

Erase any questions about climate change. It is not yet the end of September and the weather in this warm climate is cold and rainy. In fact last night I resorted to wearing my flannel pajamas for the first time this Fall, and I also plugged in the electric heater in my bedroom.

This morning I realized I've developed a routine to get out the door by 8:30 for my first class at 9AM. I'm awake before my cellphone alarm goes off at 7. While in my pj's, I fill the tea kettle and light the gas burner for hot water. Then I go back to my bedroom to make my bed and get out my clothes for the day - and that includes black tights due to the chilly mornings. I head back to the bathroom where I finish dressing. (I've been good about wearing skirts to school, but I've decided to wear slacks when it is cold. I plan to model functional fashion for the other women teachers and hope they come to question this cultural rule about what women must wear.)

Back to my routine: When the tea kettle whistles, I pour some of the hot water into a plastic tub in the kitchen sink and mix it with cold water for washing my face. Of course I also use boiling water to make a cup of Starbucks coffee when I have that. After putting on moisturizer and some makeup, I have a bowl of Special K cereal with whole milk plus the requisite daily vitamin and a calcium tablet. Then I head back to my bedroom when my computer resides and check for emails and the headlines in USA.

Notice that I do not take a daily shower or bucket bath. I reserve that for about once a week when I turn on the electricity for the huge hot water tank in the bathroom. I've come to realize how energy inefficient a large water heater is since it takes so long to heat and then I don't use all the heated water. That is, the hot water goes to waste. And do I really need to shower every day? I'm managing just fine.

Before I leave for school I brush my teeth in the kitchen sink and put on lipstick. I pull on boots in my hallway and carry a bag with a pair of shoes plus school books for classes that day. Often I meet up with my neighbor who also teaches at Digah school and walk with her and other children headed there.

Another time, I'll write about my afternoon and evening routine.

A Saturday in September

I've been up early today because my landlady Gulnar will be coming to re-hang some curtains in my kitchen. I have a belief that if my place is spic-and-span, she will expedite the hookup to gas for this house for both heating and cooking. So far I've washed the kitchen floor and swept down cobwebs from around several windows. I'll clean the hall entrance and might even wash a few window panes. Back in the states, it's Fall cleaning time.

I also plan to work on a couple more posters for next week's English classes. My "What is the Weather Today?" poster was well received during the first 2 days of school. (Well of course it was: there were no textbooks or anything else to engage the students or teachers.) I'm thinking I'll add a bit of grammar ala Present Simple tense, Past Simple, and Future Simple. For older students, I'm also creating a thermometer poster and asking them to watch TV for the temperature forecasts for Masalli. Motivation? How do they know what to wear to school? Or what is most important information for planting tomatoes? Or . . . something about climate change!

I'm not sure what's got me stirred up about teaching this Fall. I think it's just seeing the lack of motivation or interest by the teachers and wanting to show them how to engage the students. They think it's me and I want to prove to them it's them. Site mate Sally and I put on a week-long teacher training that was poorly attended. We even wondered if teachers know the ranking of the education system is in this country. We're not sayin'!

I plan to use the time without textbooks to do things differently: get all students saying something in English, have them draw words in their copy books to better learn and remember. Most of all, I want to get my grammar-focused teachers to have confidence in themselves to teach at their best. I want them to have successful English students as the reward for improving their teaching efforts.

Tell-tale Turds

Moving into a big brick house has been the adventure promised. Since July 3rd, I've learned the routes to several small markets, met several of the neighbors, and only locked myself out of my house once - on the 2nd day here! Generally I've figured out how to wash clothes in cold water, to run the electric pump for well water, and I had a phone and internet installed. I'm learning to cook with just one propane gas burner tank plus a one-temperature-for-everything oven. I usually don't heat water in the shower tank for doing dishes, but fill a tea kettle instead to get hot water for dishes. I've also started a compost pile in the corner of the garden.

The construction of this house is generally lacking finishes. By that I mean windows and doors don't fit snugly, the floors are wooden planks without covering, the walls and ceilings are unpainted, the concrete steps to the living level are uncovered, and there are electric wires sticking out of the walls where light fixtures should be. Two rooms on the second level are totally unfinished, that is, you can open a door to those rooms but you would see the dirt floor of the lower level through the floor joists.  

That lower level appears to be home to other creatures including spiders, swallows, pigeons and mice. The windows for the lower level have no window panes so heaven only knows what animals might come in from the cold in the next few months. Mice have been visiting my kitchen during the night according to the tell-tale turds I noticed. One morning I could hear scratching near my oven and discovered that a mouse had gotten stuck in the oven door. Too bad. I suppose I could have turned on the oven, but I refrained. I did, however, triple wrap my hands in plastic bags the next day to remove the little carcass. 

One crappy day

Yesterday was so fine that site mate Sally and I went to the bazar twice! First trip was to buy kettles and jars and lids for canning. We were so loaded down with supplies that a man at our favorite housewares store gave us a ride to my house. (Okay. So I wasn't forceful enough to say which road to take, but we did get to my place eventually.) Then we walked to the bazar again to get fruits and veggies for canning: tomatoes, plums, figs, peaches. It was a good day.

Overnight the weather changed and so did my mood. I could hear the rain pounding on the roof of my house and that meant no electricity when I got up. The morning was so dark that I lit a couple candles in the kitchen, then the gas balloon to boil water for tea and hot cereal. I used the light on my cell phone to check that the mouse stuck in my oven was indeed dead, but that meant I'd have to figure how to remove it. Ish.

Wearing my headlamp and putting 3 plastic bags on each hand, I gingerly tugged at the mouse cadaver until it came free of the oven. I triple wrapped it for the garbage bag which I again wrapped and tied. I put on my colorful "farmer" boots for the quarter-mile walk down a muddy road to the garbage dump. One bright spot was a young girl who insisted on accompanying me though the muck.

Coming back from that chore, I decided I would make more blackberry jam now that I had sugar again. Three cups of berries plus 3 cups of sugar and some lemon juice in a kettle on the propane gas balloon. That's when the gas ran out and I was stuck. No gas. No electricity. Rain coming down. I had no idea where to get the gas filled, so I called my teacher counterpart who lives nearby. Instead, he came over in the pouring rain, took the tank to be filled, and returned with it in 45 minutes. Such kind effort I returned with a jar from my first batch of blackberry jam. He accepted it when I said his wife should add it to her tea tonight.

All this happened before 1pm. Finally with one source for cooking, I was able to make a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch, but that was the last of my bread. I also finished making the blackberry jam, but ran out of small jars and had to fill a one liter jar instead. I spent a lot of time washing dishes and wiping up where I spilled.
I was restless for the rest of the day. No electricity means not enough light to read or to prepare materials for an upcoming teachers workshop. I wrote an email rant to my family just to feel better. And writing this blog helps too. Summer has been mostly good in Masalli, but there can be one crappy day that becomes more memorable than all those bright ones.
  

A Short Visit to Tblisi

I wonder why the country of Georgia next door to Azerbaijan feels so different? It simply could be that I was a tourist there for only 3 days, or it could have been the wonderful white wine. But I would definitely like to visit again - maybe even travel to Stalin's birthplace out of curiosity.

PCV Elaine and I trudged over cobblestone streets to churches in old Tblisi that are being restored and to several national museums. She planned the route and I memorized the requisite Georgian phrases for "Please" and "Thank you." We will forever laugh over her appropriating breakfast food from some Russian-speaking hotel guests at the common table one morning.

Not only did we visit several Eastern Orthodox churches, but we also came upon a synagogue that others said had never been shut during the soviet occupation. It did not need the refurbishing that was going on in the Christian churches. All were well-lit and appeared to be well-used. There were also many religious stores thru out the old city.

Three exhibits at the National Gallery were impressive: pre-Christian artifacts including jewelry from 300 B.C, the Soviet Occupation and Resistance with horrendous firing-squad photos, and hundreds of photos of Georgia taken between 1890 and 1900. No wonder this visit was memorable.

And the wine. We never had a disappointing glass. Okay, so we hadn't had wine since Christmas.

The most impressive sight is the new Peace Bridge visited by thousands on the warm summer night we were there. Lots of families enjoying the evening breeze, dancing fountain, and music.

The biggest snafu in our brief visit was the cloud-burst we endured walking across the border as we returned to Azerbaijan. We both got drenched in the 5 minutes it took to go from one checkpoint to the other.

Back from Tovus - on to Tblisi

Off the top of my head: Had an inspiring week assisting Jess with her summer day camp and hope to replicate some of the activities at my school next year. But mostly I took photos, so here are a few from that week.

Next I'll be heading to Tblisi Georgia for a few days, then return to AZ to help with another English day camp in Sumgayit. Day camps have been an enlightenment since the activities and crafts were not part of my long ago childhood. Yes, I've learned to make friendship bracelets and play Ninja, Whale and Minnows, Chiefs, and play that sing-songy "Down by the banks of the hanky-panky. Where the bullfrogs leap from bank to banky . . . 

Masalli Summer Camp Ends!

Home alone, but it's not my home. Sally and Melissa left Friday afternoon at the end of camp so I have Sally's apartment to myself. This morning I sorted and packed all my teaching and PC stuff for moving on Sunday. Did some laundry, cleaning, and most of my clothes are packed too.

Thanks to my former host dad, we'll probably make 2 trips to the large house I'll be renting from Gunlar, a 40-something widow. I'm a bit anxious to see the place again since she needed 4 months rent in advance to pay for tiling the kitchen floor and the bathroom. She also agreed to put in a phone line and internet, so I won't need to trek to internet cafe.

My biggest concern about this house has been finding the route from it to the main road, and locating the markets for food and veggies. There is only 1 marsrutka that travels near it and the house itself is not walking distance to the bazar. But it is in Digah village and much closer to my school than before, so I will be exploring the neighborhood. Hopefully, that will help me improve my language skills too.

Summer Camp can be called successful since we did reach nearly 25 kids and did lots of different activities. It is much different than classroom, and the kids enjoyed learning new games and I suspect some new friends too. Don't they look like they had fun?!!!

All were from Sally's school and she had many ideas for crafts and activities. I've decided that my school can do this next year so I made lots of notes about what we did and materials we needed. It was good to have 4 PCVs there to help plan and manage things. Alicia had returned to her village so missed being in this photo. 

I'm looking forward to traveling to a village near Tovuz to help at another PCV's camp July 11 - 16, then travel with Elaine to Georgia for a few days.

Summer Camp Begins

It's only Tuesday June 28th, the end of day 2 of camp, and I'm exhausted. It could be the heat but also the energy level of twenty 10 - 13 year olds. Two other PCVs, Alicia from a nearby village and Melissa from Salyan, are also staying with Sally and we've made plans for 5 days of activities this week, i.e. camp from 9AM to 1PM at Sally's school.

Day 1 had an Arts and Crafts theme and Sally had lots of ideas and materials planned from making name tags to origami to "god's eye"s to optical illusions. We headed back to Sally's apartment to debrief plus pull together more plans for Day 2  - Health theme.

Today, we began with a Jeopardy-like quiz on health - food, exercise, sports, body parts, interspersed with games and songs - Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. Melissa was a real trouper speaking Azeri instruction and questions since the camp was not English language, but open for all. They drew food on sheets of paper according to the new USDA Choose My Plate graphic, and also made paper cups for the trail mix we made for them. The morning ended with a slide presentation on dental health.

The 4 of us promised each other we would take naps this afternoon since it is tiring work. Alas, someone was selling fresh strawberries in the yard in the afternoon, so Sally bought enough to make strawberry jam. Thanks to her, we've also been eating quite well: hummus, gazpacho, cold lentil salad, baba ganoush, barley salad and a wonderful batch of BC turtle brownies.

Day 3 has the environment as the theme so we will be taking a nature walk, doing leaf rubbings, painting rocks, doing a food web, and picking up trash - with little games in-between.

I've got my fingers crossed that I will move on Saturday to my own independent housing and probably spend the 4th of July there. It's just another day in Masalli, Azerbaijan.

The Beginning of Summer

It's Wednesday evening June 8th about 7pm as I write this, and storm clouds are threatening. The power has been out most of today because many utility poles are being replaced in the neighborhood. Between that, gas lines and road work, there is a lot of infrastructure work being undertaken this year throughout Azerbaijan.

This morning I had 9 eager students for their first English conversation club. Since this club is for beginners (10 and 11 year olds), I focused on speaking simple introductions and vocabulary. I started with English phrases comparable to Azerbaijani and let everyone introduce themselves with few words about their family. The classroom is large enough for both desk work plus a circle of chairs where they move to practice speaking with each other. 

This is a photo taken earlier this year of my darling 5th form class.

I also planned a conversation club for older students, but only 2 students attended today - and they don't even attend Digah school. They are related to 2 teachers in my school so they came to practice their English. Several other students will join up on Friday. This is challenging since they have good vocabulary, but need practice putting sentences together, using correct tenses, and talking about ideas as well as everyday events. It is totally enjoyable to sit with students who want to learn.

I hope to teach a writing class this Summer too, but I wasn't at school the last week to announce it. My English teachers are great resources for contacting students at home to come for activities when school is out.

In between time, I prepare activities and materials for these clubs to insure the students are engaged and challenged. Remember there is only one copy machine at a nearby stationers, and each copy costs 10 qepick (about 15 cents.) I just can't afford to provide handouts to every child, so creativity rules the day. I've made a bingo-like game with fruits and vegetables artwork, and have drawn pictures of verbs on index cards for another game. I get many ideas for activities from other PCVs who talk about their successes. Best of all, I am teaching these inter-active methods to my English teachers so they can use them for years to come.

Getting Ready for Summer

I know I am feeling much better when I can laugh at buying a KitKat to speed my recovery from pneumonia. Do you know how hard it is to txt that word? I've been texting that "p" word to my PCV friends after it was confirmed by PC doc and a chest x-ray.

I don't ever recall feeling so tired and exhausted. That was last week, and after a round of antibiotics and gatorade, I'm much better. I am really working at increasing my daily calorie consumption too, and that's how I justify that KitKat. 

I've changed my breakfast routine to include a bowl of Nestle/Gen Mills Fitness cereal with 3.4% milk. The nearby tandoor place not only makes fresh bread each morning but also roasts chicken, so one can tide me over for several days of protein. During the day I've also been snacking on some ritz-type crackers. I went to the bazar Friday to get some fresh fruit, greens, and the fixins for some trail mix. Nuts and dried fruit are plentiful here but also expensive. Strawberries have been in season for several weeks and eggplants are showing up in the markets too.

Here's a view looking East from Sally's balcony. In the midst of illness, I moved my things from my host family's to site mate Sally's apartment. She is vacationing out of the country until next week, so I've been happy to do things on my own again. It sounds so simple to say I did laundry, so someday I will go thru the steps to get water, heat the water, rinse clothes, and hang on a line so that no one knows you have underwear.

With the end of school, I don't feel guilty about hanging around at home, reading, watching movies, or catching up on the news via the internet.

End of School Year

Even tho' I work with English teachers during the school year, TEFL volunteers are busy with many other activities over the Summer. I've got English clubs planned, a one-week activities "camp" for 30 youngsters at the end of June, a teachers "camp" on teaching methods the end of August, plus help other PCVs who also run camps during the next 3 months. That will give me a chance to see other parts of Azerbaijan too.

My most pressing issue is to get into independent housing by mid-June. PC sets standards for us and I've finally identified a large house which needs some updating. After that is approved, I expect to get healthy by cooking some meals for myself and putting on some pounds. Here's an exterior photo of the house that I visited - less than 20 minute walk to my school. That's the kitchen window above the would-be balcony - both of which will be repaired. More photos to follow if PC approves this house.

What was I thinking?

Crazy week of things going on that leave me stymied. Thought I had rented a cute little house, but it didn't work out because the woman owner will not be moving to Russia after all. The interior needed work, i.e. a ceiling over the living room plus plaster on the walls. Had dreams of how I would fix it up and things to buy and people to invite, but alas, it will not happen there.

Finding rental housing is not easy. I may have to hire an agent and then apartment will need to be approved by PC. Primary concerns are about safety/security plus adequate heat and water and plumbing. All on a small monthly living allowance plus a settling-in allowance for pots and pans, linens, bedding et al.

I spent the weekend of May 5 - 7 in Baku at an early service PC training but also conducted a 45-minute Wellness session with another PCV. While I was at PC office I tested again for my language proficiency and that was wretched. Can you develop test anxiety after you retire? Not sure what happened but it felt like my Azeri was worse than when I was tested in December - which is not at all true, but that's how I talked. Pisdir = it is bad.

It's always good to get together and hear how others are doing, but it's also time to take a real shower instead of a bucket bath. Hit a KFC-like place one night for fried chicken, but went to Cafe Caramel 2X for great meals. Gin and tonic means it's Summer! Also picked up a box of Betty Crocker brownie mix for submitting a winning photo of Novrus holiday event. However, Sally and I both need to buy little table-top ovens in order to make brownies!

I stayed with PCV Susan at her apartment in Sumgayit on Saturday night, and really like her new digs. Her landlady installed a great gas stovetop and a clothes washer, but she can't do much about the availability of water to the building which is only twice a day for several hours. Amazing that so many things just don't function in spite of the appearance of modernity.

Sunday afternoon, I took comfortable bus back to Masalli and that's when my host mom gave me the bad news about the little house. Sally called later with good news that she and I have inherited some softball equipment, so now we need to get our act together and field a couple of co-ed teams! This will be very good.

A Great Week for Me

The week of April 11th included several highlights. Take your pick: packages from America with Starbucks coffee, cereal, peanut butter, green tea, chocolate, etc., or a visit from the prez of AZ (not Arizona) to my fair city. I will admit to getting homesick when I open those packages from Sarah W. and Bea. I was totally out of peanut butter, so that 40 oz jar of Jif was especially welcome.


But just like in the US, officials totally spruced up the town for a special visit. Streets were swept and striped, fencing put up around some property, some buildings torn down, and cars were not allowed on certain streets prior to his visit. It was late in the afternoon when he finally arrived and spoke outside the Masalli Cultural Center. It was broadcast later on AZ teevee.

On that afternoon, I also had to walk to the post office to pick up a package, so I really noticed the lack of cars and police. On most days, there are Mercedes, Ladas, taxis, and mini-vans for transportation. Instead, men and boys were milling about the vacant streets waiting for his arrival. 

It was a beautiful Spring day, so it was an interesting and enjoyable walk for me. While the town has been beautified, many residents have had their gas shutoff April 1st. Fortunately, I am able to heat water for the coffee and the cereal on a propane tank, the only source of cooking heat for now. All in all, it was a good week for me.

Writing Olympics - Azerbaijani style

In 2003, a Peace Corps volunteer in the country of Georgia started the Writing Olympics as a way to get English language students to think and write creatively. It is now held each Spring in 11 countries (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Albania, Georgia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Moldova, Mongolia, Philippines and Ukraine) with thousands of participants. 

PCVs like me started hearing about this event in early February, but my mind was not on preparing my students to enter and write. Back then, I was lucky if I could find my classrooms. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I asked my school director for a classroom to use on March 29th, and 17 students showed up - 5 from Sally's school and 12 from mine.

Me and Sally and one of the English teachers from Digah Village School, Masalli.

In the Writing Olympics, students from grades 6 thru college compete by answering one of three questions that are prepared at grade-appropriate levels. Participants have up to an hour to compose an answer, and entries are then submitted to PC Baku for judging. Since the focus is on originality and creativity, essays not judged on spelling or grammar. Topics are not given in advance, but English teachers can prepare students by using questions from previous years.

Here are examples of questions from the 2010 competition:

6th form: Would you rather be a dog or a cat? Why?

7th form: If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be? 

8th form: Imagine that there was no television. What would you do with your free time? 

9th form: Who is the person you most admire? 

10th form: If you could design a new feature for a mobile phone, what would it be?

11th form: School would be better if. . .

Not sure I could write a winning entry, but the ideas are quite provocative.

Getting around day-to-day

Even tho' there are lots of Mercedes and BMWs and Russian Lada cars around, most people here do not have cars. Taxis seem to be the most common public transportation and is also entrepreneurial. You can see them parked morning, noon, and night near apartment buildings and housing compounds, bazars, offices - anywhere there are potential fares. 

I suspect that many men who do have cars, also probably have a magnetic "taxi" sign they put up on top when they have the time and inclination to earn money for tea.  I'm not surprised that many men who emigrate to the USA already have much experience driving taxis in their home country. 

The public transportation system here makes it possible to get just about anywhere at a low cost plus a wee bit of walking. Marsrutkas are mini-vans that travel over a specified route for the same price regardless of how far you are going, i.e. they are jitneys. You simply wave your hand when you see your route number on the street and they stop and pick you up. You pay the fare as you get off which is 20 gepik, about 25 cents. (This photo is from Sumgayit.)

Marsrutkas are also the way to get to other towns in rural Azerbaijan. Every town has an avtovagzal (bus station). Marsrutkas have signs on the front windshield with the destination and the driver usually waits until there are sufficient passengers. I've taken a 4 hour ride from Masalli to Baku for 5 manet. It helps to have along an iPod and snack, tho' there is a 15 minute rest stop. On one trip I met a young Khazikstan pediatrician who moved to Baku with her husband and spoke a bit of English.

Buses usually go to larger cities such as the route between Baku and Sumgayit or to Ganja. They also travel specified routes, but with a lot more comfort and less crazy driving. Baku has a fairly new bus station designed to look like a ship and includes a large clothing bazar. Once you arrive there, many buses are lined up that take you to different parts of the city. All PCVs know that Bus 65 will take you near to the PC office.

There is also a railway system to some parts of Azerbaijan, but it does not have current comforts - little maintenance or upgrading since the end of the soviet system - but a bit of mystic of the Orient Express.

Some sights and sounds

Thought I'd write about a few things that make life here in Masalli, Azerbaijan interesting!

Roosters crowing in the morning

Hens clucking after they've laid an egg

Geese honking when they are disturbed by stray cats, dogs, children

Shepherds shouting to their sheep grazing along the boulevards.

Small cars laden with fruits and vegetables and moving along back streets as the farmer calls out whatever he is selling to housewives hidden behind walled yards

 A car stuffed with merchandise and parked near a store while the driver convinces the clerk  to stock it

Clothing peddlers calling out their merchandise to apartment dwellers above.

Men and boys standing along country roads in late afternoon holding dressed chickens and ducks for sale for evening meals

My lovely host mom opening the kitchen window of our 5th floor apartment and blithely sliding the scraps of food off a plate saying,  "there are some cats who will like this."

Was that really a stork flying over a wildlife refuge along the Caspian Sea?

The Sound of Music played on the piano by me!

Getting Water in Masalli

Clean potable water is essential for life since we can only live about 10 days without it. Here is a bit of information about how Azerbaijanis in my town of Masalli get water for drinking and cooking as well as for laundry and bathing.

This photo shows a typical water tank which is filled from below by a large water pipe. These pipes run throughout the town and can be mistaken for speed bumps when they are partially buried across a street. Heaven only knows where that water comes from and to my knowledge it is not fluoridated. High holding tanks provide pressure for the water to flow to multiple homes. In Masalli, family compounds and apartment buildings have water tanks with much smaller capacity than the huge water towers seen in American villages and suburbs.  My host family's apartment has water faucets in our kitchen and bathroom plus a water heater, and this is the water we use for washing dishes, laundry and bathing.

Some resident also make use of a government water truck (Su is the Azeri word for water) but I'm not sure how people use this water. This truck comes around regularly, honks the horn and people (usually women) simply come out of their apartments bringing large containers. The driver uses a hose to fill whatever bucket or container they have.

My family does not use a water truck since we get most water from a holding tank. However, for drinking and cooking my host dad wrestles with 5-8 gallon plastic jugs of mountain spring water. I've seen him carry a jug up the 6 flights of stairs, but mostly he uses a pulley system for bringing the water jugs up to our 4th floor apartment balcony where it's stored until we need it. The water in these jugs is also boiled before cooking or drinking. The only cold water I drink is what I might buy in a store (Coke or Pepsi bottlers).

When I move to my own apartment in April I will need to figure out water better. PC does provide us each with a water filter and we are instructed to boil the water after it is filtered. I've been spoiled and have not had to use my filter at this family's home.

Ignore the graffiti on the brick walls. It's likely not political since it is against the law to speak ill of the president or government officials. Peace Corps assures us that our freedom of speech will be restored at COS (Close Of Service).

Pretty tame here!

Good grief about the headlines today around the world and Wisconsin. Then I read that 12-18 inches of snow are predicted for Minneapolis and feeling a little guilty for leaving. But I got over it!

So I'll write about the fun I had teaching English to 15 year old boys and a few girls yesterday (Saturday). They are such a challenge and often skip, but they knew something special was planned so most showed up. I decided to give each student a different English name on the name tags sent by friends at General Mills. Previously we'd an English class learning the words for personality traits so why not ask each student about their own. They wrote characteristics on the back of the name tags and then I went around the room and printed a different English name for each student. They loved it! Both that they got a new American name, but that they could speak about something more than "I live in Azerbaijan. I have one brother. I am 15." No. They stood up, said their new class-only name and then 4 - 5 character traits.

The best were the 2 boys sitting next to each other who tend to be quiet and not speak during class. When I gave one of them the name "Tom" he immediately ask that his buddy be given the name "Jerry." Those cartoon characters play very well over here, so what could it hurt!

The excitement continued after class when they wanted to have their picture taken with me, but they had already taken off their name tags. Of course, one class decided to give me an Azerbaijani name so I picked Aynur out of a hat. (It means Moonshine and I love it!) I'm never without my camera, so after the requisite cellphone photos, one of the girls snapped a couple photos on my camera.

There's nothing like a site visit from a PC TEFL Program Manager to get those creative juices flowing with new ideas for teaching English. Check out the bed, sunrise and shower I drew on the blackboard to teach "get up"and "shower." That's my 5th grade teacher in this photo who also brought in a visual aid on the same day. Teachers here don't feel comfortable drawing on the blackboard, so I might run a "chalk talk" camp for teachers this Summer. Everything I know about drawing, I read in a book!

Living the Low Tech Life

Patience please. Since Monday Feb. 7th, I have been enduring life without the benefit of telecommunications technology. And if you think that is just about internet access or satellite TV, you haven't been paying attention to all the things that depend on electronic transmission of data.

On that afternoon there was a gas explosion in a telecom building in Masalli which killed 2 people working in the post office next door (This photo was taken after demolition started and is not of the damage itself). Local residents and businesses have not had use of the internet or land line phones since then. But even worse, there are no functioning ATM machines in the city!  Who would have thought about ATMs being disrupted? 

For those of us using bank cards in Masalli, we cannot get funds since the ATMs do not work. 

Transmission of data was restored on Feb 15th - 8 days after the explosion. Unfortunately, I have not had time to walk to the internet cafe until today. I was beginning to think I'd have to implement Plan B which meant traveling to Lenkeran about 40 minutes away to use an ATM machine there.

I was able to send a text message to Anton since he has T-mobile and ask him to let a few others know why I haven't been in touch. Thanks guy.

I didn't relish the idea of writing individual letters that take 2+ weeks to get to the USA. But I'm definitely thinking about what I will do if this should happen again.