Hi Mom!

Just thought I would throw that out there in case you are still awake. Weather is great this morning here. Overcast and a little windy. I'm not wearing a jacket, it's great! See you in a week! Love You!!!!

A little advice

So about this time last year I was trolling the internet for information on Azerbaijan since I was getting excited to go halfway across the world. I found some PCV blogs and figured for those out there looking like I was last year I would offer some advice you won't find elsewhere.

1.) When you first get to Azerbaijan during orientation your picture will be taken, probably in fornt of an Azeri flag. That picture will follow you for the next 27 months. It will be on your I.D. card, it will be up in every staff members office, it will be on a giant map in the office, basically you can't escape it. So make yourself look pretty (or ridiculous) and get ready to see it and have it be seen for a long time!

2.) When you first get here and find a public bathroom but can't decide which door to go into, dudes you are K and ladies you are Q.

3.) Start practicing telling people that you "feel ill" because sick is a bad word in Azeri.

4.) So is polk.

5.) Bring a roll of toilet paper or a travel pack of kleenex. You will have t.p. in staging and orientation but once you get dropped off with your host family all bets are off. Technically the host fam is supposed to provide you with toilet paper but it doesn't always happen and once that bus pulls away leaving you with all your stuff and no language ability it might be a couple days before you can hit up a store. Be prepared.

6.)During orientation the Peace Corps gives you: a medical kit with everything from pepto to condoms to avian flu medication, a water filter that is rather large and cumbersome but effective, and a smoke detector. During PST you will also get a sleeping bag that is warm but huge and heavy and a fire extingusher. To this add a bucnh of books and training manuals all of which you get to lug to your permanent site on your own.  Pack accordingly.

7.) Speaking of packing, Azerbaijan gets cold EVERYWHERE and hot EVERYWHERE. You have to pack for both. Enjoy.

Georgia, Day 1

I made it into Georgia with Hannah and her friend Joy yesterday. We met an Azeri guy at the border who lives in a village just across the border and he helped us find a bus into Tbilisi. After we checked into the guest house we went to the Peace Corps Georgia office and got some help getting info, directions, and suggestions from their amazing safety and security officer Nino. Then went to a restaurant with another PCV from Azerbaijan, and a German Volunteer. Dinner was great and not because of the food. The owners were a family and their grandpa gave us some of his homemade wine and "chacha" which is like Georgian grappa. It was interesting to hear a mix or Russian, Georgian, English, German, and Azerbaijani being spoken at one table but I loved it. Then this morning I talked with one of the Peace Corps Trainees who was in town about how their program is. The differences and similarities were really interesting and I gotta say although Georgia is great and seems like a place I could be happy I have realized that I have settled in in Azerbaijan and come to terms with it. Oddly enough it feels like home. Not my only home by any means but I have gotten pretty comfortable there. Can't wait for the next few days here in Georgia though!

So much to update

I went over to Devechi awhile ago to hike up to Gala Alti, an old run down castle type thing. You have to go through the sanitorium to get there but it was pretty fun.

Then to Sheki. I went up to the day camp a couple weeks ago for sports and games week and had a blast! I got to run around with kids all day playing frisbee, volleyball, softball, and some bad ass relay races. I had an amazing time and the kids were pretty awesome as well. Didn't get a chance to see much of Sheki itself but I don't really mind, it just means I will have to go back sometime.Judo day


A few of the girls with Lucy and I. I have since broke those sunglasses.

After Sheki I went over to Ganja for the day to check out Mingechevir vs. Ganja softball. It was crazy hot out that day but was worth it for the first game. Not gonna lie, left during the second in search of shade and cold beverages.

On to G.L.O.W.! Last week we had our Girls Leading Our World camp and it was great. We had 49 girls and 8 Azerbaijani women come and help with the camp that covered topics such as leadership, gender, self-discoverym, and community development. We also made tie dye shirts and s'mores. The girls were great and I think they had a good time despite all the teaching we tried to do. "Boom chicka AIDS"

Finally, FOURTH OF JULY!!!!!!!
Basically we enjoyed the fact that we were American at Jake's house. It was great!

Nothing goes as planned

Lately anything that I have been planning doesn't go according to plan. I have thus deduced that I should just stop planning. Things come up if I tryto plan anything more than 3 days in advance. Case in point, I have been trying to register with the local police to get my I.D. card and went to the office on Tuesday. Tuesday the guy said come Friday. I went today and now he says to come Monday. Unfortunately this means not getting up to a camp I was going to on Sunday. However I take solice in the fact tht I don't have as bad a wedgie as this kid: That makes me feel better.

That life doesn't work

Gender roles in Azerbaijan are difficult to explain,so I'm not gonna try. Lets just say they are different from America. I was riding on a bus the other day and the guy next to me obviously is not aware that I do not abide by his definition of gender roles as he proceeded to grope me with his elbow for about an hour. After I shoved a book and sweatshirt between us he then resorted to new tactics. He would try and sit with his legs apart so his leg would brush mine. This got him what I now call my "look of impending fury" and he would stop. After the bus stopped for a break and we were back on the road he aquired a piece of paper and wrote his phone number on it. He then ever so casually tossed it onto my lap. I promptly brushed it off on to the floor with a look of disgust. In his final attempt he grabbed another person's cll phone with a larger screen than his and typed in his number to show me. At this point I wanted to tell him "Dude, life doesn't work like that! You can't just assume any girl on a bus is interested in you, you have no right to be such an ass." unfortunately my language skills do not allow for such on the fly translations in my head and the previous sentence came out simply "That life doesn't work (in Azeri) Asshole (in English)"

Summer is here!!!

And that means 2 things: heat and camps! I live in quba, one of the northern regions of Azerbaijan and it was freezing in the winter. Seriously. Frozen pipes, feet upon feet of snow, hell I can still see snow in the mountains of Quba. And yet now that it is halfway through June I am sweating my ass off. It is profoundly hot. It was 102 degrees F in Quba on Friday. I don't care what they say about Azerbaijan having 9 climatic zones or whatever, it is hot everywhere. But yay for camps! I am hoping to help out with 4 camp this summer plus a camp like schedule of events at our local orphanage in Quba. Should be fun!