Baseball and Sacrifices: July 4th in November!

The grillmaster at work

Our picnic table, notice the hind leg hanging in the background on the right and the intestines and head on the ground to the left!

Nothing like eating a freshly grilled piece of meat while the decapitated head of the animal sits at your feet, it’s lifeless eyes staring at you. I almost felt bad about savagely tearing at the late sheep’s tender shoulder, almost. This was my Gurban holiday!

Gurban holiday (the holiday of sacrifice) is one of the most celebrated holidays in Azerbaijan, and in the Muslim world. At my house, Gurban is the perfect combination of Thanksgiving and July 4^th/Canada Day! It all began a week before. Nicat’s uncle pulled up to the house in his tiny 2-door sedan. Nicat asked me to help him. When I asked why, he said that the sheep for the Gurban holiday were in the back of the sedan. Live sheep in the back of his car? How? To my surprise, there were actually 2 sheep in the back of the sedan! PETA would definitely have had something to say about this! Anyway, one of the days of (it is a two day holiday), November 16, I had language class in the morning, but after that, my cluster all made their way over to my house where we watched my host-father slaughter a sheep. The sheep was skinned and chopped up into 12 separate bags containing 1 kilo of meat each. These bags were distributed to other families and friends in the area as recognition of my family’s love and thanks.

Of course, no holiday, especially one in Azerbaijan, would be complete without a feast! My host-father and mother prepared a delectable spread of kebabs (grilled on a makeshift spit in the backyard), pickled tomatoes and onions (unspeakably delicious), cherry juice, bread, and about 10 different kinds of cakes and candies. I think I ate about half of that sheep myself. Being outside grilling, celebrating with family, and giving thanks for the friends and family in our lives couldn’t help but send me down memory lane. I expected to get a little homesick around this time of year, first seeing Azeris celebrate such a momentous holiday with one another, and then watching as my own holiday season flew by from half-way across the world. However, as nice as it would be to be around my own family and friends back home, I am around family and friends here, and I don’t feel homesick at all. The Azeris and my fellow PCTs that I have met thus far have been so remarkably hospitable that I feel completely at home and happy here, now.

In other news, my friend Brad came to Khirdalan this past Sunday, our one day off. I was recently given baseball gear by a departing PCV. So, on Sunday, equipped with my Expos hat, instead of our usual soccer game, Brad and I introduced the neighborhood to the sport of baseball, and in particular, the games “500” and “Pickle”. Despite the language barrier, and the confusion with baseball being neither a contact sport, nor a sport that requires the use of your feet when throwing and catching, it was a fabulous success. The entire neighborhood was entertained for hours! There was quite a crowd watching us as well. The only thing stranger than an American playing soccer is Azerbaijanis playing baseball!

On a more serious note, I was meaning to comment on the recent parliamentary elections that took place here in Azerbaijan on November 7, the 4^th parliamentary elections since the fall of the Soviet Union. According to the Peace Corps mission, it is my responsibility to:

1. To help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women. 

2. To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served.

3. To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of all Americans.

Because of this 3^rd proclamation, I feel the need, however brief it is, to inform the readers of the current evens of this country. The elections were to vote for new members of the 125-seat parliament for its next 5-year term under a majoritarian election system with only one round of voting. Although the elections were peaceful, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), who sent more than 400 monitors to the elections, found that “the conduct of these elections overall was not sufficient to constitute meaningful progress in the democratic development of the country.” Azerbaijani opposition has frequently accused the West of muting its criticism for fear of losing out to Russia in the battle for Azerbaijan's oil and gas in the Caspian Sea.

The US State Department, however, agreed with the findings, asserting that the:

Pre-election environment was characterized by a lack of balanced media coverage of candidates, continued restrictions on fundamental freedoms of assembly and expression, and a deficient candidate registration process that, taken together, resulted in an uneven playing field for candidates. On Election Day, observers from the U.S. Embassy in Baku, like their OSCE/ODIHR counterparts, noted serious violations of election procedures, including ballot box stuffing.

There are, however, positives to take out of these elections. The OSCE/ODHIR noticed that “some technical aspects of the election, including centralized registration and the inclusion of record numbers of domestic observers, constituted improvements, as did a modest increase in the percentage of female candidates.” These are very important improvements that must not be overlooked. Inshallah, things will only improve from here. For more information on Azerbaijan, www.EurasiaNet.org and the following blog, http://flyingcarpetsandbrokenpipelines.blogspot.com/, are wonderful resources. I have many other news sources if anyone is interested, just ask.

 Lastly, I had my counterpart conference on Thursday. I cannot tell you how excited I am! My counterpart is a wonderful old woman who speaks absolutely NO English! She is incredibly bright, and despite my language deficiencies, we had wonderful conversations about the next 2 years. She has high hopes, as do I, and is so excited to begin working with me. She trusts me completely and is willing to entertain any ideas I have. I really believe that she is grateful for having me and fully understands that I am a volunteer who is to be her partner, NOT her employee. She also made it clear that she does not want me rushing into anything. This is a policy that Peace Corps deeply supports, but she brought it up herself. She firmly believes that getting to know my site and my community and gaining people’s trust is my first task before any concrete work can begin. I am so fortunate for everything and cannot wait to begin my service!

PS, for my cluster’s Thanksgiving party, I was in charge of getting the turkey. I successfully got the bird. Nevertheless, I must admit that, as embarrassing as it is, I could not bring myself to kill the thing and had to have my 15-year-old brother do it for me. They got a great laugh out of my apprehension. Later, they told me it was okay, and that I needed to start smaller. So, this week it seems as though I will be killing our dinner, a chicken. 

The boys hard at work

July 4th Azerbaijan style!

At Last!

Nate, Dan, and I at an Irish Pub (Finnegan's) in Baku

The grave of former president Heydar Aliyev

The largest flag in the world, on the shores of the Caspian

Martyr's Lane: Dedicated to those killed by the Soviet Army in Baku during Black January in 1990

I held off writing my next entry for so long in order to have something truly exciting to talk about in this post! Voila, permanent site placement! It doesn’t get much more exciting than that! I am very thrilled to inform you all that I have been assigned to Balakan, the northern most region of Azerbaijan. For the next 2 years, I will be living and working in this mountain region that is bordered by Georgia to the west and Russia, specifically Dagestan, to the east. I have little information to offer you all in terms of a description of the region. All I can tell you is that it is exactly what I was looking for and I am so thrilled that my program manager was able to place me in this beautiful part of the country. Aesthetically, Balakan is a small region in the Caucus mountains range and is endowed with many natural wonders. I look forward to exploring the many mountain rivers and verdant forests that occupy most of this bountiful land. This will certainly be a pleasant transition from the bustling, garbage burning, diesel smoking streets of Xirdalan and Sumgayit. I hope that being around such untamed wilderness will afford me the opportunity to initiate projects and clubs focused on environmental responsibility and sustainability.

Speaking of project ideas, I have the unique position of being paired up with two different organizations in Balakan. You see, every PCV is matched with a host organization in their permanent site that correlates with their expertise. Organizations from all over the country apply to work with PCVs. My first organization is the Azerbaijan Women’s Rights Protection Society. From what I have been told thus far, this quaint, 2 room center carries out annual events, including training seminars and forums, has a number of clubs, and hosts round table discussions. The organization also has a youth unit that focuses on capacity building and education. This is, I believe, where my expertise will be most utilized.

My second organization is the Ministry of Youth and Sport. How I will work with this government department remains to be seen. The Ministry of Y&S, I have been told, organizes civil and governmental activities and events related to the problems of youth and their families. They also serve as advisory assistants to youth in need.

My new site.

Welcome to Balakan.

I chose Balakan specifically. I wanted a challenge; I wanted to be a trailblazer so to speak. The sites and the work that volunteers do varies so much, and although all the work in every region is important, I wanted to enter a region as one of the first PCVs to ever work there. Thus far, Balakan has only ever had two TEFLs. They have been there for the past year. In Peace Corps, TEFLs serve as the pioneers, usually entering new regions before anyone else. In December, I, along with a CED (community economic development) named Trey, will move to Balakan to begin our work.  Trey is a funny story! It is such a wonderful coincidence that we were placed in the same region. Trey and I were in the same hotel room, essentially, in Philadelphia for staging. We were seated next to each other on both legs of the flight to Azerbaijan, and we were roommates during welcome week in Baku! It is only fitting that we will spend the next 2 years working side by side. I am excited to learn about his economic development projects, and I know he is equally excited to work with the youth in any projects that I undertake.

More on Balakan to come as I receive new information. I meet with my new counterparts next week for a luncheon where we will get acquainted and discuss our expectations for one another.

Ulvi proud of the pizza he made.

Toy Plov (rice cooked like a cake with chicken inside)

This week, there has been a lot of talk about post-Soviet Azerbaijan vs. USSR, and the differences between the two eras. It has been so interesting hearing the varying perspectives. The lesson I have most taken away from such intriguing discussions is that Azerbaijan truly is a country in limbo. Half stuck in Soviet times, yet slowly inching forward. The country is on the brink of transition, yet a significant percentage does not want to move forward; they speak fondly of the order and certainty that accompanied Soviet rule. I realize now how delicate this country is, how uncertain it is of its new identity and the direction it wants to move in. I realize now, more than ever, the importance of listening and understanding, as there is so much more to this country than meets eye.

I will end this blog with a cute little story. The other day I got a knock on my door. When I opened the door, Nicat and my mother handed me a 5-manat bill and told me that it was from my host father. Confusedly, I asked Nicat why I was being given this. He told me, “because,” indicating that it was a gift. I immediately walked into the living room to kindly refuse the sweet gesture. What a mistake that was! When I tried giving him the money back, my father’s eye met mine and I saw in them a rage only matched by the devil! He berated me for what seemed like 5 minutes. Following the verbal scolding, I graciously accepted the money, shook his hand to attempt to regain some semblance of manliness and sat down on the couch, tail between my legs. A minute or two later, after absolute silence, he smiled and spoke a few words to Nicat. Nicat translated that Oktay had said that he wanted to give his sons a small gift, and that because he now considered me one of his three sons, I should accept the gift and be happy.

Later that night, Nicat came barging into my room doing a celebratory dance. He pulled a 10-manat bill out of his pocket and bragged that he had received a bigger gift than I. For my family, 10 manat is a very significant amount of money.

I congratulated him and asked what he was going to spend it on. I thought I was going to have to encourage him to save it instead of spending it frivolously as most 15 year olds would. How wrong I was. He left me speechless when he told me that his friend’s father had just died, so the 10 manat would be given to his friend as a way to help. I insisted that he give my 5 manat to his friend as well, but he refused, claiming that it was his responsibility to make sure his friend had all the money he needed during such difficult times. When’s the last time a 15-year-old boy you know did something so selfless?

Azerbaijani Mud Slapping

No, this is not actually a cultural thing, it’s just a game played by two immature Americans (myself included) when given a volcano of mud to play with!

YD Crew

Snakes: Don't Pass Through

The Musical Talents of The Family

Ulvi Checking Himself Out...Lookin' Buff!

Learning to Wrestle With the Boys

Yesterday, AZ8s went on a cultural day, venturing to Gobustan and the nearby mud volcanoes. Gobustan, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is famous for its prehistoric, sacred rock carvings. There are more than 6,000 carvings dating back to between 5,000 and 40,000 years. The mud volcanoes are self-explanatory. However, approximately 30 minutes walk away from the site, the bus drivers stopped and refused to drive any further. We were forced to walk the rest of the way. I did not mind the trek, as we actually came across a small oil field with little, exposed pools of thick, bubbling Azeri oil (picture to come). I do not have many pictures of this site. A fellow PCT, Josh, was kind enough to take my camera and keep it out of danger as I childishly frolicked around the mud volcanoes (pictures below).

Over the past week or so, I have warmed up to my host-father enough to get him to teach me how to play N∂rd. This game, along with dominoes, are staples for the Azeri men. I assume it is very similar to Backgammon, but seeing as I have no idea how to play Backgammon, I really have no idea. Either way, you can see men playing N∂rd everywhere, from the Cayxanas (tea houses) and benches in the park to store fronts. I am pleased to say that I have become quite good at the game. Oktay, my father, does not speak a word of English, so I was forced to learn by having him beat my ass and mumble instructions to me for hours on end. He would correct my mistakes by brushing my hands aside and moving for me, without really explaining what I did wrong. Eventually, he stopped correcting my mistakes, and would just shake his head in disgust and laugh whenever I made an incorrect move. I love the guy but he clearly underestimates the language barrier here! Finally, I caught on. The other night, I beat him twice. I think he was more surprised than I was! As it became clear that I would win, he would nonchalantly start a new game without really recognizing that I had just won. We continued playing until he had beaten me enough times to restore his supremacy.

In other news, on October 12, Azerbaijan won in soccer against Turkey, 1-0. It was, in the words of FIFA 2009, a “brilliant corner”. I am not really a fan of soccer. What is amazing, however, is that although I knew the win was completely unprecedented, I had no idea just how important it was. To this day, the only thing shown on the few news channels that my family receives is highlights of the game! It’s everywhere and Azerbaijanis are extremely proud of their team!

This week, we have our mid-PST language proficiency exams! Wish me luck.

Sumgayit and the Caspian Sea

Your Neighborhood Fruit and DVD Store

We also have our site-placement interviews, where I will be able to speak one-on-one with my program manager about exactly what kind of permanent site I am looking for. I also have 4 conversation clubs to teach on Tuesday and Wednesday…busy week!!!

Fish Anyone?

Very Comfortable Bathroom!

Gobustan

Pre Mud Slapping

Post Mud Slapping

I May Have Fallen Into to Volcano

Tuesday Morning Football

That’s right, who needs Monday Night Football when you can have Tuesday Morning Football?! I have spent the last few days in Lenkaran, a fairly large city on the eastern coast, just north of the Iranian border. I travelled here with my fellow PCT Brad, a teacher from Washington State. We came down here for our PCV visit, an opportunity to job shadow a PCV who has been in-country for over a year. We had the good-fortune of staying with Eli, a fellow YD from Alaska. Our first night with Eli, his sitemate Aaron, from Wisconsin, came over with his PCT visitor, Eugene; they are both CED and Aaron works in the local Access Bank. We cooked baked pasta and garlic bread, a refreshing change from my usual diet, and learned about what we can expect in the upcoming months as we complete our PST and move to our permanent sites. Both Aaron and Eli were incredibly welcoming and equally as helpful. I cannot thank them enough for the insight they provided us.

Eventually, Aaron and Eugene went home and we all went to bed, only to wake up at 5am in order to watch MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL…except here it was Tuesday morning! Yes, Eli has internet in his home and he borrowed a projector from one of his offices in order to put the game on the “big screen” so to speak. So, at 5am we were all sprawled out in Eli’s room watching what I think was a Dutch feed of MNF. Unfortunately, the game turned out to be the most boring and disappointing football game I have ever seen…oh well!

The next day, after a warm bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon that Eli had sent from back home, we followed him to work. Eli runs a number of clubs throughout the city, from a TOEFL and GRE prep course for University students interested in studying abroad, to basic English conversation clubs, movie clubs, and even an environmental club focused on keeping the city clean. Many of these clubs take place in the local IREX center. IREX is an international nonprofit that provides innovative programs worldwide, and has numerous computer/resource centers throughout Azerbaijan. Eli is also part of ABLE (Azerbaijani Boys Leadership Experience), a one-week sleep away camp facilitated by PCVs. This is a camp I very much want to be a part of in the future! We sat in the back and watched as he taught a TOEFL prep course. Afterwards, we explored the city, weaving our way through the expansive city bazaar. Then, we met about 10 other PCVs for lunch. Some were AZ6s who will be leaving in a few weeks, while others were AZ7s, whom I hope to have a lot of interactions with over the next year. At lunch I had Tursh Kababs, which are mutton meatballs in a tart green sauce. This dish is unique to Lenkaran and is absolutely delicious!

After lunch, we sat in on a basic debate club, where the students discussed the meaning of happiness and argued whether men or women in Azerbaijan, and America for that matter, were happier. Although at some points getting a response from anyone was like pulling teeth, I was generally very impressed by how insightful some of these students were, despite the language barrier.

That night, Brad, Eli, and I cooked lentil burritos and looked through Eli’s pictures of his past year here. Lentils, I have learned, are a fantastic protein substitute for meat here in Azerbaijan, which can be very expensive and sometimes spoiled. My cooking duties were to grate the cheese and pick the tiny rocks out of the bag of lentils prior to cooking them. Mission accomplished! We feasted like kings that night! I also enjoyed looking through Eli’s photos. It was great to see, step-by-step, month-by-month, his experiences as a PCV and a YD facilitator. The following night, we went to Aaron’s house and met a number of AZ6’s who are rapping up their service. We made pizza and drank wine long into the night. As I have learned, PST can be a very long, arduous, and tiring process. Looking at the photomontage of Eli’s life over the past year, spending time with AZ6’s on their way out, and this trip in general, has served to energize and excite me about all that is to come! I cannot wait!

In other news, visa services at Baku’s international airport have been “permanently” shut down. What this means is that Baku will no longer issue visas to foreign citizens upon arrival. Foreigners must now submit a letter of invitation to a local Azerbaijan embassy requesting a visa prior to travel. Many embassies here in Baku have confirmed that they received no warning of the changes. Without any official statements being made by the government, hypotheses as to why this border restriction has been made are widespread. Some suspect it is simply an arbitrary bureaucratic decision; “a Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular department representative, who asked not to be named, answered that: ‘The purpose is that the president ordered the changes.’” Other are associating the closure of visa services with the upcoming elections, suspecting that this closure is far too coincidental, and that it is an attempt to “restrict international scrutiny of the country’s November 7 parliamentary elections.” With no official comments being made, and few in the world even aware that this closure has occurred, these hypotheses will remain just that. Whatever that actual reason, I fear for the repercussions of this decision. The stricter requirements will likely deter businesspeople and tourists from traveling to Azerbaijan and accelerate the process away from democracy. 

Witchcraft and Wizardry

Who knew that being sick could be so inconvenient…and culturally enlightening?!?!

This week, technically Tuesday and Wednesday, we began our conversation clubs (more on these below).  These clubs are a huge deal for PCT’s, as it is our first opportunity to work with locals directly and get a taste of what our job for the next 2 years entails. Unfortunately, everyone in our cluster has recently become ill. I held off longer than anyone, but in the past couple of days, it seems to have hit me the worst. Not only do we have these conversation clubs now, we also have 4 hours of language training every morning…4 VERY important hours that cannot be made up. Despite these illnesses, my fellow PCT’s have been real troopers, and we are all still going strong.

The first night I became sick, I was unable to sleep, AT ALL. At 8am, I got dressed and staggered my way to our class. 8 hours later, I finished my language class, completed 2 conversation clubs, and went home. At home, things got interesting! To my host family, I clearly did not look well. After guzzling some mystery liquid they gave me (made up of herbs and fruit), they had me lie down on the couch and performed some traditional remedy that I will never forget! They are called Bankas: small, round, glass jars. First, my host-father poured oil all over my back and gave me a painfully deep massage. After, one by one, they put a small drop of some liquid inside the Banka, lit a match inside of it, and then suctioned it to my back. They did this 17 times. They then put 37 blankets on top of me and told be to rest for about 30 minutes, at which time they quite painfully pulled the jars off. The picture below shows the after effect. By the way, the marks have not faded at all! Supposedly, the Bankas, which families use a lot back home in their original region of Imishli, are supposed to warm you up/relax you/suck out the bad that is inside of you. The darker the circles that are left behind, the sicker you are. The family was clearly very distraught with the color of my circles. I didn’t dare try and explain that they might just be that color because of my fair Irish/ginger skin; my Azeri is not that good! Anyway, it was a very cool experience, even though it really didn’t do anything to cure my sickness!

Regarding the conversation clubs, they are a blast! I have two groups that come successively: one group of 10^th and 11^th forms, and one of 9^th graders. Although it may be easier to explain to all of you readers, it is another thing to explain this to Azeri teenagers who only speak a few words of English. I AM NOT AN ENGLISH TEACHER!!! I do not teach grammar. My conversation clubs are not classes, but opportunities for kids to speak English and practice what they are learning in their actual English classes. I merely facilitate. Thus, I try and have as much fun with the kids as possible. We play games that involve speaking English, learning vocabulary, and practicing basic conversation. The two games that have jumped ahead as the clear favorites are “Simon Says” (to learn body parts) and “Musical Chairs.” In my version of musical chairs, the kids move around listening to the cheesiest, mainstream, top 40 American music I could find (I may have added Celine’s “All By Myself” and Alanis’s “Head Over Feet). When the music stops, they sit down. However, while they listen to the music, the must write down words that they recognize. I then check everyone’s sheet. If they do not have a new word every time, they lose their chair and someone who was previously out gets to come back in. It is a hoot to watch these kids play!

Tomorrow, Thursday, a PCV is coming to speak at our YD technical session. He is staying at my house for the night, so Nicat has informed me that we will be sacrificing one of our ducks and one of our hens to celebrate. Inshallah my stomach is feeling better!

PS: Regarding the title of my last post, “If Aslan = Lion, Does Azerbaijan = Narnia,” our cluster has confirmed that Azerbaijan is, in fact, Narnia. The Azeri word for pomegranate, one of Azerbaijan’s staple crops, is, wait for it…NAR. Coincidence? I think not!

Also, on Monday, I head to Lankaran for 4 days for my PCV visit. 

Check it out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lankaran
Hopefully I don't get lost and stroll into Iran!

Western toilet on the right, our squat toilets on the left

Apple Sale in the Market

Ulvi and Nicat

The Butcher

If Aslan = Lion, Does Azerbaijan = Narnia?

Culture Shock #1,872:

Today was a hub day, which means that all AZ8s met in Sumgayit for general PST. On the bus on the way home I was talking with a fellow PCT from Colorado and Rashad the LCF. We were discussing the American university system and graduate school opportunities. Two elderly Azeri women entered the full bus. Naturally, Rashad and I rose to give them our seats. However, we continued our conversation with Kiersten.  Bear in mind, Rashad is an Azeri. A few minutes after the women sat down, they began telling Kiersten very sternly to refrain from talking to us because it was rude and inappropriate for a woman to talk with men on a public bus! A few minutes after that, another female LCF (Azeri) was hushed by the same women for giving language instructions to a male PCT. It was as if the world was crumbling before their eyes! These women were absolutely beside themselves! We spent the rest of the bus ride in dead silence. To the credit of modern Azeris, Rashad explained that some old women have a rather out of date view of public behavior, and that most Azeris would have no problem with such behavior, especially given that we are foreigners and it was not sexual in any way. Only in Azerbaijan!

My New Workout Program:

I have more or less settled in, and for those of you who know me, that predominantly means being able to workout regularly. My new workout program, however, is not exactly what I had expected. On the weekends, I do my cardio by playing soccer and learning wrestling with all of the boys in the neighborhood. I exercise my back by doing however many pull ups (on the gazebo bar) the boys demand I do; it’s a challenge of manhood. This is usually followed by a deep tissue massage as the boys grope me to feel my muscles! Azeri boys and men are, in fact, quite physically affectionate towards one another, and have no problem feeling ANY muscle they desire, or walking down the street arm in arm. Nicat (15) will often rest his head on my shoulder as I do my language homework at home. I find this rather paradoxical given the cultural norms against public affection for women. It is certainly contrary to Western traditions, but you get used to it pretty quickly. I go on runs after work when the weather permits. They are certainly not like runs back home. It is more like parkour, avoiding speeding buses, jumping from cracked sidewalk to cracked sidewalk, avoiding puddles the size of the Caspian, and occasionally taking the long way around groups of old, judgmental men, or stray, rabid dogs. Personally, I am more afraid of the old men! O ya, and I am usually being followed by 20 or so young boys. For weight training, Nicat and Ulvi come in my room and we blast American rap music and do pushups and sit-ups. They have also begun to take a liking to Johnny Cash and James Taylor among others, however they are unconvinced when I tell them that Celine Dion is the greatest artist of all time…I’m still working on them! Ulvi sits on my back while I do pushups, and Nicat spends the entire time feeling my biceps and looking at his physique in the reflection of the shiny finish of my closet doors. I genuinely treasure this time with the boys. They are such great kids, and they find joy in every little thing.

Additionally, I have begun doing yoga with Dan and Erika on Dan’s balcony. Thank god no one can really see us. Who knows what they’d say about that!

Diet as of late:

I cannot say enough about my host-mother. She is an incredibly generous, hard-working, selfless lady, much like another mom I know! She is a wonderful cook. For breakfast, I never eat much. I have a warm glass of milk, and I mean REAL milk straight from the cow! I also have a cup of tea (of course) and some bread and jam. If she has apples, I bring a couple to work. When I come home for lunch, she has a full meal prepared EVERYDAY!

Lately, dinner has been fantastic, although meat has been a little sparse because prices have apparently risen lately. Every dinner (as is Azeri tradition) is accompanied by cucumbers, tomatoes, pickled vegetables, especially eggplant, and bread…SO MUCH BREAD. Along with these accompaniments, I have had:

Dolma (my favorite): Grape leaves with meat and rice inside covered in real yogurt.

Plov: Rice made with milk and meat broth and beans with sautéed squash.

Peroskis: Fried dough filled with potatoes or meat and vegetables or a combination of it all.

Salted Fish: And when I mean salted, I mean it is actually Fished Salt!!!

Hamburgers: My mother wanted to make me an “American treat”! It consisted of hot dog pieces cut thinly in between two thick pieces of bread with tomatoes and cucumber! I’m going to have to give her a FAIL on this attempt, as sweet as it was, but she makes up for it with just about every other meal I have!

I have also learned a little more about my family from others in the neighborhood. The other night, Dan’s host family introduced us to an English teacher who lives in the neighborhood. She and her family live in the largest house around. Her English is excellent, and both of her children are university students. One is fluent in English, the other in German. Clearly, they are very well off relative to most people in the area. I also get the impression that Dan’s family is quite comfortable. Mine on the other hand, is a little different. My mother is not nearly as publically social as these other moms. For the most part, Sevinc stays in the house working. Additionally, the other fathers seem to be home quite a bit. Oktay, on the other hand, goes to work very early and gets home very late, 7 days a week. Not only that, Nicat is the English teacher’s pupil, and she mentioned that Nicat and Ulvi were both quite rough around the edges academically and behaviorally given the region their family comes from (Imisli in the southwest). This was not meant to be insulting at all. Khirdalan is just a far more developed, forward-thinking city. The Ibayev family (my family) are dear friends with everyone and are very highly respected, but it seems to me that they are a little more blue collar.

Quick Soccer Update

I am being blessed with decent internet access this second, so I just wanted to update you all on the epic soccer game that took place this morning. My neighborhood is a square apartment complex, with a large open center. This middle area has a small metal gazebo and is usually occupied by men who smoke cigarettes and size me up as I pass by on the way to the school. This is where the soccer game took place, and was it ever epic! After many introductions and requests (more like demands) by the older boys to do pull ups on the gazebo in order to prove my manhood (thank god for my “Body by JMart”!), Nate, Dan and I formed a team with many of the younger kids and played against the older boys. Goals were formed with the poles of power lines and big rocks, and play was stopped every few minutes or so to allow women and speeding taxis to pass by. The game grew into a 10 on 10 battle, with another 20 or so older men and younger kids looking on. The boys were all fantastic, but I am proud to say that we pulled through with the upset. I think the score was 10-9; that was of course after one of the older boys joined our side! Either way, everyone had an amazing time, and everyone insisted that we play again next Sunday! It looks like I’ve made a few new friends! It also looks like I need to buy a few soccer balls! I am pleased to have made my way into what seems to be the main circle of teenage boys in the community; this bodes well for future YD projects! They are fantastically energetic, intelligent, and polite young men. Next objective: get to know the women and girls. This is sure to be a far more challenging task!

PS: Following the soccer game, I spent the afternoon learning about the techniques of wrestling, the national sport of Azerbaijan. Great fun!!!