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.