The Year of 2 Thanksgivings.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Top 3, at the very least. I've always been fond of the day, but a few years ago I experienced a Thanksgiving that I will never forget. Ever since that lovely Thanksgiving I find that I look forward to the next one with much anticipation. Last year was my first Thanksgiving in Azerbaijan, but this year was my first real Thanksgiving in Azerbaijan. And, I had 2 of them! I definitely made up for my McDonalds Thanksgiving last year (though it was still nice in its own taste of America kind of way).

My first Thanksgiving was the Peace Corps' Thanksgiving - the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Almost all of my group went to Baku to celebrate at the Charge D'affaires' place. It was a wonderful and generous invitation for him to extend. Meredith, the Country Director, and he provided turkeys and drinks and all the volunteers brought everything else - potluck style. Everything was delicious. We were all also able to stay with American Embassy workers and families. I cannot even begin to express how amazing the family I stayed with was. They were warm, welcoming, friendly and truly American. I was finally able to be in a family dynamic again and I realized how much I miss it. My stay with the family was more incredible than I ever imagined it to be. Not only was it a slice of America family wise,

it was also a complete revisit to the amenities and lifestyle I once took for granted. For the first time in over a year, I was able to use a washer... and a dryer! I currently smell like Bounce fabric softener and it is glorious! It was spectacular to catch up with old friends, eat incredible food, spend some time in Baku, meet new people, and watch a fabulous talent show (that included a speedo, Disney tunes, and human pyramids).

Mingechevir also had our own little Thanksgiving on the actual day. We did another potluck event and I made stuffing and mac and cheese. There was a good amount of more great food and I am still full! It was nice to have a small event after our huge Baku get together and spend quality time with those I spend so much time with. We also had 2 guests, but it was still intimate and great. Not only did I get to eat more yummy food and hang out with people I enjoy, I was also able to Skype my family back home and see everyone! Everyone! I saw my mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law, and the baby! It was the first time I was able to see the baby and my brother as a dad. It was nice to "see" them and spend some of both our holidays with each other, even though we're worlds away.

This year I have a lot to be thankful for. I've come a long way in a year even though, at times, it feels like I've gone no where at all. My support networks are strong and I know I have stellar people in both of my worlds, friends and family. Being with my American Embassy family, I realized I'm able to find wonder in the simple things that exist back home. I have beautiful people in my life in Azerbaijan ranging from my first host family to expat friends and, of course, my Peace Corps family. And, finally, I have an incredible amount of things and opportunities to look forward to in the future. Who knows where I'll be or what I'll be planning on doing a year from now, but I'm thankful for all the prospects - as scary as they may be.

Let Them Eat Cake...

... and lasagna.  

There's never too small a celebration for us in Ming.  Any excuse to have cake or a dance party is good enough for us.  So, when we have a legit reason for it, we go all out.  Tonight we celebrated Andrea's birthday (a few days early)!  And, in tow, was a special birthday cake and made from absolute scratch lasagna, per her request.

My feat of the day was making the lasagna.  We don't have lasagna noodles here, so I had to make them... from scratch.  Since I was being all fancy and putting in the work, I decided to make them with spinach, too.  It took hours.  Prepping, mixing, kneading, resting, rolling, drying, boiling, cooling, draining... whoa.  But, in the end, they were awesome.  I also made 2 sauces for it and, of course, used lots of cheese.

Making things from scratch isn't abnormal for me anymore, but this seemed a bit intimidating to me.  I doubt I'll get to spend 5-6 hours on one dish once I get back to the States or wherever, so I'll enjoy it while I can.  

Last year on Andrea's birthday, we found out Laura was going to be our sitemate.  This year, I found out making a lasagna is worth all the work because good food goes far for our mental health.  Then, add a cake (of which we may or may not have had a giant slice each) and we're good to go.

Happy Birthday, Andrea!  Here's to another year of knowing you.

Ah, To be an American High School Student...

I work with some really great youth.  Of the special few, 2 of the girls I've made really great relationships with the past year, with tons of practice and work, have made it to the 3rd round of FLEX.

FLEX?  What's that you ask?  FLEX stands for Future Leaders Exchange and it's a US sponsored program that sends youth from post-Soviet states to America to be a high school student for a year.  Through American Councils, youth all over these countries take tests to qualify for the opportunity.  The 1st round weeds out the ones who shouldn't even be in the room for lack of English knowledge.  The 2nd round is a quite a bit more difficult and only 15% of the original pool make it to the 3rd round to write more essays and interview.  From the 3rd round, only about 50 people from the batch will be invited to study in America and usually only half of that number are from the regions of the country.  Given my calculations, that would average 4-6 from each region testing site (where usually over 800 take the 1st rounds' test).

I've worked with my girls pretty intensely the past few months, beginning in July.  It began as a film and writing club, but has since moved to watching Gilmore Girls (and movies, still), listening to podcasts, and reading books in English.  They've wrote essays and/or short stories for every movie we've watched, we've discussed issues, reviewed grammar and have built vocabulary (I'm pretty confident that my girls are the only ones to correctly use extraordinarily in their essays - I'm leaving my mark).  We've posed question after question, situation after situation, for anything I thought could pop up on the tests.  I wanted my girls to be able to show everyone how great I know they are.  They wrote their essays Monday (one of which was one I posed to them as a timed assignment the day before) and one had her interviews today.  My other girl is interviewing tomorrow.

I'm so proud and lucky to be working with these girls.  And, what's really amazing about this program is if they make it through, I might be able to see them in my environment!  It's been such an incredible experience being there to support them throughout these testing sessions.  Not only has it been great seeing them come out of testings confident and smiling, but I've also been able to see other kids, too, with all of their hopes and dreams unfolding slowly in front of them.  I've been able to see supportive parents who want their kid to have an opportunity they've never imagined would be available.  I've made sure to tell my girls' parents how incredible it is for the girls to get this far and I think they know how big of a feat it is, at least I hope so.  This has been such a motivating experience.

We don't find out until Aprilish if they've been invited to go, but, no matter what, these girls have learned and experienced so much this past year.  And, if they don't make it, they'll definitely rock it out next year.  One of my strongest girls was a smidge too young to take the test this year, so they would be in good company...  

That Second Year Mindset.

With it getting dark 6PM or before, I find that I have a lot of time. Time to watch movies, listen to podcasts and music, read, lesson plan and reflect on my life past and present as well as attempt to try to plan for the future.

I know my posts as of late have been quite reflective on my past year here, but tonight's focal line of thought was about who I was over a year ago when I was still in Wilmington wasting away my summer days hanging out and drinking my nights away downtown. I can't say that fun wasn't had, but that time post college and pre Peace Corps was also something very heavy, uncertain, and confusing. Looking back on my photos from that past life of mine, I can barely recognize that lifestyle anymore and I've come to think when I'm back in that environment, that I don't think I'll take back to it. We'll see, of course, and there will most assuredly be many socially awkward encounters, but I don't see that type of life as mine anymore. I guess, when I really think about it and come down to one feeling about the entirety... I feel so much older than that person then. And, with that thought, a huge part of me feels incredibly absurd as I know how young it is I am and how much life I have yet to live.

I never really understood how people become old and I never thought I really wanted to find that out, but I'm seeing that it just happens. It happens when you're living out commitments and planning for the future ones. It happens when you're reflecting on the past just to realize another day, week, month has passed. Being here a year puts that into perspective for me. And, I know, next year, at this time, I'll be getting ready to jet set out of this popsicle stand in search of my next one.

We're at the point in our service that the next step is all on our minds. We need to take those GREs, think about what it is we want to pursue when we get back, hope that the job market is ready for those ideas of ours... we're figuring out where we want to go afterwards, be it vacation or to live... I feel like it's just one of those times where complete uncertainty just hangs above our heads. I can't speak for the whole of my group, but I know it's on the minds of the ones I've talked to. But, also, while we're in our own heads trying to answer those unpredictable and badgering questions, we're still volunteers. And, I think, having that distraction is incredibly beneficial.

Being here a year has taken its toll, but we're more able to realize what we're actually able to accomplish here and, honestly, life as a volunteer is easier. We're used to this life and we know what is and isn't possible in the environment we're in. I feel successful in the projects and relationships I've invested in. If I can be so content a year in, I'm hoping that by the end of it all I can feel like I've done a good thing and a service to my country, Azerbaijan, and myself.

My countdown has finally taken it's turn. It's no longer counting how many months I've been here, but how little time I feel I have left. Next thing I know it'll be 2010 and my year to go home... granted at the very end of it, but it's the year, nonetheless.