Time flew during summer activity week!

I took a week long break after the last day of school, and tried to sleep in for a few days. But the dogs, ducks and chickens next door don't have the sense God gave geese. They would join in the call to prayer at 4:30AM with howling, quacking and crowing. So I'd get up too, make coffee and read the news on the internet.

I spent that week preparing for Summer activities for 10 and 11 year old kids at my school. That meant finding some easy-to-teach games that require minimal supplies. As much as I'd love to purchase paint, markers, paper, yarn, crayons, etc for these kids, I decided they could learn a few games to play when I'm no longer here. Also, to me my school kids are especially weak in team-playing. Most focus on individual sports and accomplishments rather than playing as a member of a team.

Although I used a Games for Girl Scouts book, I got the best assist from PCV Elaine who stayed with me for a week. Each afternoon we plotted how to fill up 3 hours of time for the following day. Each morning we'd arrive at my school at 9:30 wondering how many kids would show up. There were about a dozen kids each day, but 22 different kids over the entire week. Three boys were quite surprised the first day when we told them not to come back because they were particularly rude to me and Elaine. That was an unplanned lesson: that there are consequences for bad behavior.

Each day started with the name game. That was followed by "Who's the Leader", 4 Corners, and the daily favorite, "Down by the banks of the Hanky-Panky . . ." Outdoors the kids practiced throwing and catching frisbees, played relay games, London Bridge, and gently tossed water balloons. Indoors, Elaine provided marshmallows and spaghetti for tower building by teams. One day they made origami helicopters, and another day colored cards depicting summer activities to give to their mothers!

Of course, the best part was having another PCV to unwind with, and beer and chips seemed the best way to do that! Elaine also made sure the cow and calf in my yard had water.

A Week of Frustrations & Inspirations

It's been a frustrating week as the school year closes. Every little thing looms large due to the discomfort I have in my left foot. The smallest problem becomes a bigger irritant – slimy slugs leave a trail on my kitchen sink, biking boys trick me by braking in front of me, teachers chat with each other during class, the store is out of my favorite tandir bread. Grrrr. I've yet to find the word for “crabby” in the Azerbaijan language. Even my English teachers know I'm irritable.

Wednesday I decided to stay home from school and try to stay off my feet. It has been a month since my foot became swollen and painful on the top - not at the ankle. I saw an orthopedist in Baku, but I haven't started feeling relief until this past week by taking ibupropen daily and riding not walking to and from school. I'm paying more attention to how fast I walk, the shoes I wear, and the amount of gravel I walk on. I suspect it was sharp gravel under the ball of my foot that caused this problem initially.

This morning I'm sitting outside in the sunshine waiting for either the water truck to come by or a “master” to arrive who can repair the water pump so that it fills the water tank for my house. I only need to fill it about every 6 weeks but wıthout water I can't cook, bathe, wash clothes, etc. It's a frustrating weekend when I can't do household chores. Well . . . there is one thing I learned to do for my mental health back in Minnesota: pull weeds! My yard is without the grazing of a cow and her calf. One of them snapped the electric wire leading from my house to the water pump, so the landlady won't allow the farmer use my yard again. (My neighbor Sakit spliced the electric line, but the pump still doesn't work.)

I do a little self-talk to get me out of my pissy mood by thinking instead about all the positive things that happened last week. Here goes:

• great language sessions with my student Georgie; he loves the visual dictionary
• Georgie brought me tandir bread from his father's store
• I killed those slugs with slug pellets
• my home phone and internet are working again
• a shy 5^th form boy started speaking English in class this past week
• students gave me many red roses on Friday
• I introduced another English teacher to the new restaurant in Masalli
• the new school director requires assembly and national song before school starts each day
• I am reading All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
• Facetime video chats with Anton, Tracy, and Deb S. this past week!

For added interest, here are a couple photos from a weekend in Baku with PCVs Elaine and Suzi. 

We went to the site Atashgah where Zoroastrianism began (fire worshipers) plus located several homes (now museums) of early 20^th century oil barons, and the Aristocrats Society in the old city. Best of all we had great meals (Shamrock burgers and Caesar salads and white wine) and laughs (don't ask about whales) together.