Developing a daily routine

I'm still adjusting to mealtimes which revolve around school times and host mom's tutoring schedule.

I wake up around 6:30 but around 7:30 I can hear hMom putting on water for tea while hDad and children still sleep. That gives me time to make my bed, use the bathroom and get dressed. The teaching materials I prepared the day before are in my bag and ready for me to carry to school.

By 8AM their 9 year-old son Layig has come back from purchasing fresh bread and there may be jam, cheese, hard boiled eggs, peanut butter and tea waiting on the table. I've learned where this bread shop is, so sometimes I go down to buy the bread for family breakfast. We usually eat together but always watch the clock above the piano so that everyone is ready to leave by 8:20 for their nearby school which starts at 8:30. This photo shows coffee, but more often I have tea for breakfast.

My school is farther away and starts at 9 AM, so my hdad has been driving me to school. My classes end at different times each day, so usually I walk home about 1.5 miles for a meal prepared by hMom, who also teaches. This is not the main meal of the day, but often consists of a hearty bowl of soup with more bread, followed by tea.

Then the dining table is cleared so that hMom has a place for the English language learners she tutors in the afternoon as late as 6 PM. Peace Corps has okayed her serving as my tutor also, since my AZ language is pretty abysmal.

Hmom begins preparing dinner after 7PM for an 8PM dinner. This meal is the largest of the day and often has rice or potatoes or pasta plus chicken or ground beef. And always bread. Fresh fruit such as oranges, apples, kiwi or bananas are sometimes cut up and served at the end of a large meal. More tea. This photo is from a special birthday dinner of plov and roast chicken plus salads.

To me, 8PM is really late to be eating, but I manage. I say goodnight around 10PM but the children are often still up past 11 PM watching stupid movies - IMHO. Some educational TV here including cultural music.

I think that I've mentioned that my host family lives on the 4th floor of an apartment building, but I think I forgot to mention that there is no elevator. I go up and down 6 flights of stairs - 10 steps each - at least once every day! In the 2 months I've lived here, I hardly notice all the walking I do. I just do it!

20 Yanvar Memorial Day

January 20th is a National Day of Remembrance in Azerbaijan. That is the date in 1990 when Gorbechev ordered Russian troops into Baku to quell a gathering of protestors, and resulted in the deaths of 130 civilians. The people of Azerbaijan were shocked that the military rolled into the city with tanks, and the victims are considered to be martyrs in the cause of AZ independence. A beautiful memorial was erected in Baku called The Martyrs Walk and I was able to visit there last Fall.

Many changes were happening in the Soviet Union at that time, and I think this tragic night will also go down as a milestone in the demise of the USSR. While many remember the downfall of the Berlin Wall, this date was also important as the Azerbaijani people began to choose a new direction for their government. Even Gorbechev has said that sending troops into Baku was the biggest mistake of his leadership.

Because this tragedy happened only 21 years ago, there are many Azerbaijanis who readily recall the events of this date. Many know stories of individual acts of bravery and heroism. The most repeated story is of the newly-wed bride who took her own life after learning that her husband had been killed in the street. 

Schools were closed for the day in Azerbaijan and each major city has a martyrs' memorial where hundreds gather to pay respect. I attended the memorial service in Masalli, added a red carnation at the site, and took several photos of this day. My host mother told me that previously red carnations were given as a symbol of love at weddings. But since January 20, 1990, red carnations are placed on the memorials to these martyrs.