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.

Toys have their own personalities!

I've been invited to 6 or 7 toys (weddings) since I arrived in Azerbaijan in Sept. 2010. Last night (April 7th), I attended the toy for the daughter of my English teacher Irada. I'm starting to notice that not every toy is the same. In fact this one had the additional intrigue of including my school's director Naila after it became known last week that she has been ousted from her job! Naila and Mother-of-the-Bride Irada were classmates years ago, so that friendship meant Naila was seated with family and friends of the bride. She did not sit with the other teachers. There has been much talk in the teachers' room but my reliable source told me that she had been given a warning already last September. (That issue requires a separate blog.)

At other toys, I've been seated with friends of the couple, but last night I was seated at one of the many tables for teachers. That was the first thing that I noticed was different - the teachers' tables were not up close to the couple's throne. Then the family and friends of the couple walked into the room ahead of the bride and groom - women and men came in separately of course. Also notable to me was the fashion worn by many of the women relatives - and I don't mean 6 inch heels, but stylish, non-black dresses! 

After the grand entrance by the bride and groom, they stood together for a few brief words from their parents, but there was no ceremonial cutting of a red ribbon around the bride's waist. The muscians included a fiddler and the music was a mix of mugam (traditional) and some popular songs. I did chuckle to myself that the musicians were dressed alike in plaid western-style shirts with elbow patches.

The above photo shows the lovely couple Huseyn and Leyla with Irada standing next to her daughter. English teacher Mehpara, best friend of Irada, is standing next to the groom. I'd never seen either of my teachers with their hair down.

The food was similar to every toy I've been to. Individual loaves of bread, bottles of  juice and water on the table, mimosa and capital salads, roast chicken, cucumbers and tomatoes, cooked beef, and platters of kebobs followed by a plate of plain plov with a dish of toppings. I sat with the older women teachers and this was the first time they were snobbish enough to not touch the plov. I guess it didn't meet their standards. I was the only one who thoroughly enjoyed the grilled lamb chops - also a first for me.

 Also a first (for me) at this toy were the male and female teachers dancing together. Well, not really together, but at the same time in separate dancing circles. That was thoroughly enjoyable, but alas I had no one use my camera to get even one photo of me with my school's teachers. There was a video camera taping me, so I'm sure I'm on the wedding video to be played over and over again in the future.

It was also good to see my first counterpart Qafur Muellim who had been forced to retire due to his age. Since I came with my next door neighbor/teacher, I also agreed to leave with her early. That meant missing the balloon drop and wedding cake. For some reason, I was really hungry for ice cream when I got home, but that season doesn't start here until after May 1st.

I'll have a separate picasa album of the many other photos I took.