Ming's Got a Mural.

When I was pleading for money in March for my 2nd year Environmental Project, it was mainly for what has just been completed in Mingechevir today... a mural.

I have had this in mind since I came to Azerbaijan to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. I didn't quite know what was going to be done, but I knew I wanted to bring a mural to wherever I was placed. And, now, it's done. There was a scare the morning of the first session because of an untimely rain (morning session was cancelled), but the rain eventually decided to stay in the looming clouds over our heads and give us some relatively cooler work days. This project has been one of my main focuses for the past year and now there's finally tangible evidence of the work. Awesome. This past week, there were 3 days completely dedicated to the mural and the completion of this project as a whole. My Azeri counterparts were all peaches and did the jobs they were supposed to do. Our artist was fantastic and accommodating, the Ministry connection's faith never failed and connected us to the right people in the Excom and media and Lale was exactly who she's always been to me - a patient, kind and supportive friend. I'm incredibly proud of this project and am glad to have been able to complete it. Now, on to the paperwork...

Below, you can see the progression of the sessions. I hope you enjoy. Thank you all so much, again, for your donations. Because of your funding, Mingechevir has its first legit public art.

Softballin': A Year Later

For the past 2 months, Mingechevir has been practicing softball twice a week for the Spring season. Practice has been great - very high attendance rates, lots of veteran players, and quite fun. A few weeks ago was supposed to be our first tournament in Mingechevir, but we were sadly rained out. So, this past weekend was the first Western Tournament in Gence.

Remarkably, and a feat in and of itself, the entire team showed up at the meeting spot at the designated time and we left ahead of schedule. I was quite proud. Unfortunately, some hot heads early in the tournament day made some of my pride fade away.

We played 3 games, all 40 minutes long. Our first game was against Sheki. We had an early lead, but our team got a bit too cocky and sloppy late in the game. We finished up 12-11 Mingechevir. The second game was against a new team, Tovuz. Tovuz had already won their first game against Gence at 7-6 and that was our fate, as well. This game, though, is quite notable because each team had an air of bad sportsmanship stinking up the field. It was the most intense game and, for me, the most frustrating. In a way, I wish both teams could've lost this one. The final game was the opposite of everything the 2nd game was and spirits were high as we went against our 'rivals,' Gence. After threatening to pull people out of the game, the team was able to push aside their attitudes and start supporting other teams. We were able to win the final game 13-7. Currently, we're tied for first with Tovuz with a 2-1 record.

I've been working with this project for 3 seasons now and it's still one of the most fun things I get to do. Even though this round had problems that we had never had before, we do have a fantastic group of kids. Sometimes, though, as much as I hate to admit it, this team needs to learn how to lose... something they've really never had to do before. Hopefully, they'll learn from this first tournament for the next 2 (of which I'll sadly be absent from) and come out on top the right way.

Flower Holiday.

Once upon a time, I took things seriously. Well, serious enough. I don't know if that's the case so much anymore. There's a lot that goes on here that I can't take serious. Like this, for example. I read about it awhile ago and forwarded it on to a friend. You can read what his thoughts are about it here.

I don't use this medium as a place to really talk about this country per se, but more of me in this country. I do this because I would definitely have an issue being PC (in PC, haha). And, that's an issue because, as PCVs, we're supposed to take the middle way in a lot of instances. Anyone who's really ever talked to me knows this is just not my style. So, I save my opinions, for the most part, for Skype dates, emails, and any other means of communication.

I bring all this up because today was the culmination of what I find absurd here. Today was Flower Holiday. I understand the need to celebrate random things. Fremont has the Daffodil Festival, Wilmington has Azalea Fest, and, heck, Mt. Olive has a Pickle Festival! I find all these quite entertaining. I think I understand these a bit more because they're quirky, particular, and little small town/regional things and not National Holidays. To be fair, though, Flower Holiday was something added onto the celebration of Heydar Aliyev's birthday and was not originally just some random thing to celebrate. But, still, there's something up with that original celebration.

I provided a rather lengthy article, so if you're not into reading all that, read this (even with the nonsensical English, you get the gist):

It is necessary to page chronicle of life of this nice person, read, study and propagandize reading, studying it, because the life of Heydar Aliyev is a history of Azerbaijan we lived through.

...He left us at his 81st year - at the top of wisdom, leadership. However, he had become apart only partially. Heydar Aliyev will always stay with us with his ideas, with the works, which he couldn't finish, big plans, desires in 10, 20, 50, 100-year future of Azerbaijan. Heydar Aliyev was raised to this top by nation, its trust and belief. The highest top he was able to conquer was the soul of the nation. From that top along with yesterday and today of Azerbaijan, the future, prosperous tomorrow can be seen obviously. Let us be able to move in the light of that top thinking about tomorrow of Azerbaijan...

This was from one of the main (and only) news sources. It's legit press. Nationalistic and not too free press. Here's a link to an Azeri blogger that has some of the same thoughts as me.

Don't get me wrong, I like getting flowers as much as the next girl and I received a lovely bunch of them today (seen above) from one of my favorite students, Nigar. But, this is the snowball of the ridiculousness that is life here sometimes. One absurd thing leads to another... to another.

Oh, Azerbaijan...

So It's Begun (Part 2)

It's happened. The event I surely knew was coming, but was successfully able to keep myself in denial about. My sitemate, Andrea, is currently on her plane ride back to America. Peace Corps has sent her back to the States (where she was on medical hold for 2 months December - February) to resolve her injured foot.

What?! I know. Trust me, I know.

Coming to Mingechevir last last December, I barely knew Andrea and wasn't sure how and/or if we would even get along. Luckily, my fears were based on pure ignorance and turned out to be not even remotely true. Andrea became a source of sanity for me. She became my go-to person. More so, she became what I would, in any world (Peace Corps or "normal"), call a genuine friend.

A big part of my Mingechevir has left, but I truly am fortunate to have had the sitemates I've had for as long as I have. It's going to be strange not finishing out my service with her and, in the short term, that aforementioned Environmental Project. All I can hope for is that she gets what she needs done to get her as fixed as possible. Well, that plus constant Skype dates.

A 2nd Year Project.

Now that I've been at site for over a year, I'm a bit more respected within the community. Well, at least with the officials (who are the ones that really make or break you big project wise). It has made my 2nd year significantly easier, but also quite a bit busier. When we first become volunteers, I think the majority of us realize our bigger projects are held for the 2nd year because of the trust gained within the 1st year of just being bumbling, looking for volunteer work foreigners.

I've been committing my 2nd year of service to a couple bigger projects and ones that I hold close to my heart. The biggest project currently on my plate is Mingechevir's Environmental one. This idea has been months in the making. In November, Sitemate Andrea and I sat down with the idea of an Art Contest (which is currently being held citywide) promoting the environment and youth's role in it. This idea seemed like it could fit in beautifully with a mural project I'd been toying with since I arrived in this country (the winner of the Art Contest will be the basis for the city's mural). From there it grew a little bit more to include an Environmental Club (which me and Sitemate Sean will be teaching), utilization of the local newspaper to feature youth, and perhaps a couple little gardens. While we're upping the antes this year around, we're not forgetting the yearly Clean Up that past Ming volunteers began and continued.

Here's where we need you guys' help. The costs of this project is around $550. This will include all the supplies we need, majority being for the mural. We've actually gotten quite a bit of support from the community in kind wise including rooms for the club, some free labor, a wall for the mural, newspaper space, and some other things. I have tried my best to not ask for donations in the past, but if you can give a little, it will be thoroughly appreciated. And! Your donation is tax deductible... right on time, yeah?

If you'd like to donate, click here.

I've Been Adopted.

I have a new xanam friend. Her name is Rosa. A couple posts back, I actually introduced her. It was her birthday party I unknowingly walked into after that random ride from Baku.

Today after my club at School 13, I went back up to Rosa's (she lives in IDP housing in the school) to say hello and tutor with Little Rosa and Tural. Little Rosa forgot and didn't tell me, but Rosa xanam welcomed me in nonetheless. I hung out, ate some fruit, and chatted a bit with her; and, soon, the awkward 'I want to leave, but don't know how' time hit. Instead of being able to successfully maneuver my way out of the room, I found myself pretending to nap on the couch for a good amount of time under Rosa's instruction. Rosa was sweet, covered me up and told me that I should come very often since we both live alone. She also told me that I was now her daughter.

I eventually almost made a successful getaway (I really wanted to come home and sleep), but I was then informed I couldn't leave because she was making me dinner. So close. It's funny the silly little situations I can get into here.

Side note on this day: I've always heard how small our sites really are and how everyone talks about everyone else, especially the foreigners. I got inklings of this this past week hearing little things about Ming visitors, but today at Rosa's it fully hit me. Lankaran Aaron was here last week and I heard a bit about him from others kind of in my circle on the streets (because he's quite tall and handsome). Today Rosa and her daughter was talking about him, too! They kept asking me questions about him whilst I was laying on the couch and, yes, commented on his handsomeness.

Pancake Day!

One weekly event I look forward to is Pancake Day with my best Azeri friend, Lale.

I started cooking a little with her before she left for PST, but it was after she returned that we started doing pancakes. One night for dinner I made us breakfast and discovered Lale's affinity for the delectable treat. Since then, we've started Pancake Day. The main goal, aside from eating and getting quality time in, of this delicious day is to make a new pancake every time we get together. We've only done this for 3 weeks now, but we've done plain, chocolate chip, and apple cinnamon pancakes and I don't see us stopping anytime soon (so you can keep on sending the syrup my way :)). It's a day that we both look forward to to catch up, chat, laugh, eat, and unwind. Ah, the simple things.

This past Pancake Day was a bit more exciting, too, as our friend Nazim is back in town on a 10 day leave from the Army. It was great to see him again, though I don't think he enjoyed the pancakes as much as Lale and I do. To each their own.

A Random Azeri Day.

I've been back and forth from Mingechevir to Baku a couple times this month for various reasons. A big milestone visit was MSC (Mid-Service Conference), a little late. My 2nd visit was a follow-up visit because of Medical things from MSC. I'm all and well, just in case you're concerned. I roll in Friday for follow up things, end up spraining my ankle Saturday (minor- no worries), doctor appointments out the wazoo Sunday and Monday, and relaxing the ankle until Thursday. The supposed to be 2 day trip ended up to be much longer. Thank goodness for friends and other lovely characters in Baku for making it quite a nice trip. This turn of events set me up for something I never could have predicted - the best Azeri day I've experienced during the entirety of my service.

Not wanting to hop on the 5 hour marshrutka (overfilled van) ride from Baku to Mingechevir, I wasted a good amount of time in the Peace Corps lounge Thursday morning. I finally motivated myself to leave the lounge after a couple hours to make the journey back. I cannot express this enough... I hate traveling in this country. Typical traveling here includes being stared at and harassed, cramped spaces, no leg room, bumpy roads that give me headaches, and overall lameness. I get to the bus station and I find my marshrutka. As soon as I put my bags in the back and make my way to the back section of the van, the driver asks if I would like to sit in the front. Usually this doesn't happen because I'm a girl and only men sit in the front (most times). I say yes because the front is loads more comfortable. Score. Since I'm a girl, a xanam (old lady) rolls up and sits in the front with me. Double score.

We eventually get on the road and the front seat is a pleasant place to be. We're all joking, laughing, and enjoying our time. We stop at a little store and the driver buys me and the xanam sunflower seeds and drinks. Amazing. We continue on our journey still comfortable. Eventually we arrive at the midway stopping point for the break and I was getting hungry, so I ask the xanam to let me out of the front seat. She begins to follow me as she knows no one else. The rest stop, of course, has no salads, so we get tea and watch some Olympic hockey on the TV while chatting away. Before we left, she had the driver stop to buy me bananas and mandarins. Azerbaijan really decided to let me have a good day. The xanam continues to talk to me telling me that she's going to a birthday party and I'm going with her. I decided that the day was working in my favor, so I just agreed.

Me and the xanam make random observations on the

road and laugh about all the sights. She points out a midget and yells that he is little - I laugh hysterically. I love midget humor. We get to Mingechevir and she makes the driver drive us into town. We get off the marshrutka and we're right by my apartment and we go to School 13 to the party. I was surprised as I have never been in IDP (Internally Displaced People) housing. This family lives in a section of a school that I sometimes teach at. I go in with the xanam, eat salads, and thoroughly enjoy my random Azeri day/night. I had to leave come about 9:30 because I was exhausted from Baku. When I left, I had a gang of people following me to walk me home. I left my new friends with promises to go back basically every Tuesday and to call my new xanam friend, Samaya, when I return to Baku to walk the boulevard with her.

I think things are taking a turn for the better. And, on another very positive note, I've got news that my landlord in Russia is not planning on returning for another year. This girl is not planning on having to move. I win.

Ming Pride.

This is why I'm at the best site in all of Peace Corps Azerbaijan... in my completely unbias opinion.

Amazing.

AZBasketball.

Over New Years, me and Laura decided we wanted to start playing basketball at the sports stadium. So, one day while we were being worthless, food coma-ed zombies, we wandered into the sports store to dribble some balls. It was going to happen.

We returned to Mingechevir and found a ball. Success. We weren't sure when time was going to be on our sides, but it didn't matter. Fast forward to Friday and my plans for work fell through, so we headed to the stadium with no idea what to really expect. In our sports-type/comfy clothes, we made our way over to discover a group of kids playing soccer in the one court. After speaking with the kids' coach, we learned they were going to be there for an hour. It was a nice day, so we sat, watched, chatted and waited. The coach was incredibly nice (he made the jerk Azer boys leave when they were harassing us) and the kids were pretty darned cute (they're not yet at that age where the switch for overt rudeness has been turned on). I was surprised when one of the little kids yelled "Yapon" (Japan) at me and the coach shooed him off and yelled. That's definitely not something I'm used to. It was welcomed. Anyways, when the kids were done, the coach gave us the motion to take the court. So, we did.

Laura and I had a good 15 minutes being just us and a few of those straggler kids. We let them shoot when they were nice and talked a little with them. Soon, though, the court was home to a ton of new people including many boys, 4 girls (!!!) and 2 coaches (one a woman). They invited us to play with them. Azeri basketball is something fierce where all those rules of the homeland are completely thrown out the window. It was dirty. And fun. For one game, it was me and Laura on separate teams playing with just boys. The second game was us, the girls, and the boys. The last game was just girls. We continued to play like good Americans until the end when the girls got a bit scary and started drawing blood. It was such a random and fun experience that neither me nor Laura expected. We talked with the coach and arranged to meet again.

Sunday, we returned at our arranged time (they were late). We had Alexis and Sean in tow for this round. We only played one game (we won), but it still held all the crazy the first day did. And, it was another fun day. Elbows were thrown, grabbing and fouls happened all over the place, and it was loud. Though there was a bit more harassment this time around, I still had a blast.

I do think that by us just being out there, doing what we do, really does show Azeris how we are. We're making our presence known, talking to new people, and playing hard (with a supportive attitude that I think might be lacking on the other team's side). We clap when the other team scores, laugh (a bit uncontrollably) all throughout, and have fun. Sure, I love winning, but I love having fun more. It makes me excited to reach Softball season again.

Hectic Holidays.

I've been a bit MIA this past month, but I assure you it's for good reason. With the arrival of our new sitemates and the holiday season sneaking up behind us, this season has been particularly festive and filled with socializing and work. So, since I haven't updated as much, I'll just take you through the highlights.

Sitemate arrival. We got 4 new sitemates this month! With the arrival of new people, there were also welcome dinners, tours around town, general hanging out, and getting to know the new Ming family (while not forgetting those who've left).

Lale's return. Lale's back and I'm SO happy about it!

Sitemate Sean's birthday. Sean is one of the new sitemates here in Ming and, for his birthday, his friends came into town and spent it with him. We had great food, played fun games, and overall had a great time.

Christmas baking with my girls.

My girls came over after Sean's birthday festivities to bake Christmas cookies! As you (might) can see, the cutting out of cookies weren't the most traditional, but it was delicious and fun all the same. We made sugar cookies and chocolate mint.

Visitors!. Ming's had a ton of visitors this past month. As always, fun, but also tiring.

Sitemate Laura's birthday!!!. Laura is our Christmas baby, so we started celebrating early with a Chinese inspired dinner with homemade fortune cookies! I made fortune cookies for the first time in my life and, let me tell you, it wasn't nearly as easy as I thought they'd be. Some of our favorite 6s came to town to celebrate the birth of Laura and we played games all through the night.

Sheki Christmas. Sheki Danielle hosted a TON of PCVs for a Holiday Hoorah and it was great! There were cookies, Christmas movies, music, the fabulous hotel, Secret Santa, hot showers, and warmth (both company and temperature wise). What else could've we asked for?! Thank you Danielle for a great time!

So, friends, Merry (belated) Christmas! Happy (belated) birthdays to Natalie and Sarah, too! Next up, Baku New Years.

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.

Softballin': Fall Fun.

I love softball.  

We play softball in Mingechevir and it is awesome.  This season was something a bit different... it was all AZ6.  The experience was tumultuous but, in the end, it proved successful.  Not only was it AZ6 running it in the country - in Mingechevir, it was only girls.  I know that doesn't sound like a big deal for all you people back home who're able to mingle with the opposite sex and enjoy the company of anyone you choose but, here, it's a big deal.  The season started off slow with bad weather and very low attendance, but the past 2 weeks were pretty incredible and we were able to gain some very valuable players.  We even named one of our favorite guys, Mensur, Captain!  

Today was the one and only Fall Tournament for this year.  Only 2 teams participated, but it was fun nonetheless.  Tim, Lucy, and Danielle traveled in (though Danielle had to take an emergency trip home) and brought much team spirit and support.  Rolling into town this morning was Gence bringing Mathias, Chris, Katie, Elmer and a really great team.  With my Cubs gear on and a strong team led by a new Captain, we played.

The first game was a close one and Mingechevir squeezed out a 16-15 win with only minutes left on the clock.  Mensur did fabulously guiding our team, creating a line up and manning the field.  We even had a new All-Star player, Allahverdi, shine through the sweetest slide into second I've ever witnessed!  My girls (Sabina and Sama) even came out and played quite wonderfully.  It was a tight game and Gence definitely gave us a run for our money!

The second game was very low in points for the first few innings and Mingechevir's defense was phenomenal - I am so proud!  We were leading that game 8-5 (I think) with only 15 minutes left when the whole game took a huge turn for the worse...  In true stereotypical Azeri male fashion, a group of guys show up and try to force us off the field even though there was another free field right across the way.  Things escalated very quickly and reached a very frustrating peak which included a bit of physical contact from the Azeri guys toward one of our Volunteers.  We were seriously being attacked... over a field.  Since it was near the end of the game, we decided to be the bigger people and leave, letting them treat the guests of their country so badly.  What gets my goat is that they pushed out the kids!  The kids!  Thanks guys for being so selfish.

We pushed aside our frustrations, bonded over the absurdity, and took our lovely group photos.  As angry as the last part of the day made me, I can't forget how incredible of a season it's been (even with the slow start).  I got to continue working and deepen relationships I made last season as well as create new ones.  These kids we worked with are truly the special ones, in my opinion.  They're the ones that make me want to be here and the ones I enjoy spending time with.  These are the kids I'll look back on with fond memories and wonder how they turned out while secretly hoping they're still the special ones who're polite, respectful, and full of untarnished life.  They are why I'm here and I'm better for knowing them.

7s Invade Ming.

In no way should invade be taken as a negative term.  In Ming's case, it's the accurate one.  Since the departure of our 4 sitemates and leaving us 4, it sure felt like a lot of people were in Mingechevir for a few days over the AZ7 PCV visits.  We were fortunate enough to host 6 new trainees and, I hope, fun was had by all.  

The purpose of a PCV visit is to get a glimpse into PCV life.  Although most of it is accurate, some of it isn't as well since some of us take a lighter schedule while guests are in town or they might just catch us at a time when not too much is on your plate.  I was very glad mine came on days I actually do work, so that was, at least, something.  Last year on my PCV visit, we didn't do work at all, really, but did get a chance to finally relax from training stress (which is the more beneficial aspect to the visit, I think...).  So, I tried to find a healthy balance of work and fun.

The PCTs came in on Sunday and we were able to greet them and bring them all back to my place for the evening.  I cooked dinner, baked a big apple pie and served up some made from scratch banana nut muffins and biscottis.  It was nice getting to all hang out together the first night (and for all the subsequent ones) and kept many of the possible introductory awkward pauses at a minimum.  

Monday I was able to take my Trainees around Mingechevir for a walk before my afternoon Film Club.  I'm extremely proud of my FLEX girls, so it was great to be able to show them off a bit.  We watched our film, chatted for a bit, then it was time for us to go off to softball.  

Softball season is winding down this week with our tournament on Sunday, so we had enough people come out to play a game with us, the Trainees, and our kids.  I had a blast.  I love softball.  The night ended with us going down to Mingechevir's only haunt, the Wild West, where we had dinner, drinks, and an amazing (on the house) fruit platter at the end of the meal.  Laura and I were also able to take our Trainees through the city to look at all the lights (which would have been a shame not to... being in the Light City and all).

Continuing the tour of Mingechevir, we walked up to the reservoir the next morning.  We spent time there for a bit and I found a new spinny ride reminiscent of those dangerous playground spin rides.  Fun.  And dizzying.  My group had work at 2, so we headed back to change clothes before I started work at a new place.  This was a first experience for myself, as well, and it was a bit of trouble.  Basically, I go to a room filled with 25ish kids that don't know English... I think they want me to be a teacher and that is not what I want... at all.  We'll see what happens with that one.  The nice thing about after that, though, was we got to come home and relax before dinner at Laura's.  Our last night together was with good food, great company, and Apple to Apples.

It still amazes me that we've been here for a year and talking with the new people really drives that in so much more.  Having the 7s visit was a great experience and it was truly wonderful getting to know them and begin new friendships.  It was a blast staying up with Kathy and chatting the nights away, watching Anthony Bourdain with Kathy and Eli, talking on the balcony with Derek, experiencing a truly Azer moment (however frustrating) with Jessica and Alisha, walking around with Judy, sharing our first year stories with everyone, playing Apples to Apples with a new group of people, getting to chat with the ones I didn't really get to when I went in for Hub Day and to hear about what they're going through right now while also thinking how me and my group felt the same then as they do now.

As exciting as all that was, I was beat the day after.  I said my goodbyes in the early morning, went back to bed, woke up for a bit and then slept til the next morning.  

Next up, Softball Sunday.

So It Ends.

Mingechevir has been saying goodbye to loved volunteers slowly.  June marked Cindy's departure.  September was blue as Bev made her way back to the West Coast.  And, now, we've said our 'so longs' and 'heleliks' to Nate and Mariko.  Last week, Nate and Mariko hosted their final Hub Night and it was a bittersweet event.  We ate good food, played fun games, cleared out their apartment of stuff and took our final Ming pictures.  

It's just beginning to hit me that we're down to the final four for the moment until the 7s come over in December.  While we will have some new faces popping in in the next couple weeks with the 7s coming to visit, we won't have new 'staples' for a bit of time.

So it ends.  This chapter being the newbies in a city where American volunteers have already grown accustomed to the way of life is over.  Now we're the ones who have routines, ideas, and contacts who get to treat the new volunteers as wonderfully as ours treated us.  

Chapter 2 - Year 2 has begun.

Welcome new volunteers!  And, goodbye old friends.  Inshallah I will see you all back stateside.

Hub Nights and Sarah's Survey.

Wednesday nights have been my favorite night of the week since I moved to Mingechevir.  Every Wednesday night, me and my other sitemates get together for dinner.  We rotate houses and responsibilities every week and meet up for a delicious meal, venting sessions, and, sometimes, games!

I've been fortunate enough to have enough sitemates to sustain this type of thing and, also, to have sitemates that are all very good cooks!  It's interesting to see what each house cooks every week as it's typically a reflection of who's house we're at.  I know for yummy and healthy food, there's Alexis'. For rich, layered and aesthetically pleasing? Andrea.  There's always ornate and time consuming wonder dishes at Nate and Mariko's.  Laura's is good for dishes that collaborates everyone's tastes.  At Cindy's, we were always able to rely on delicious dinners that comprised of comfort foods and, sometimes, homemade cinnamon rolls.  I don't count Bev, really, in this rotation as I usually cook there as well as here, but(!) Bev has always provided an open house, kitchen, and mind for any idea that I had for her nights, which I'm grateful for (especially during host family living time).

Hub nights have continued to be a consistent time where I get to spend quality time with my sitemates and enjoy all of their company.  Since Cindy's been gone, it's changed a bit, but I know in the next coming months, it's going to change drastically more.  Soon it'll be down to AZ6s, but, then again, eventually we'll have our new AZ7s to, inshallah, spend this time with.

And, now, for a stellar friend of mine:

This is my really great, fellow 3eb loving, coffee needing, super smart, and totally amazing friend, Sarah.  I met her in a COM class at UNCW that she didn't even need!  Luckily for me, though, she took that unneeded class and we became friends for the duration of our college careers.  We took this picture after a long drive on a school night at the end of a 3eb concert in Richmond; it was awesome.  Hopefully, one day, we'll be incredible professors at the same campus so that we can have coffee dates in or around the library where we can chat about our days, students, publications, and life.  We'll remember the days of Wilmington with joy and spend nights drinking wine and being academics.  But, until then, she's busy being a student and future TA who has a really cute blog.  In said blog, she had a survey and tacked me onto it.  Since I like her a lot and think that it's too adorable she does this, I'm partaking and being a pal.

Here’s how it works: USE ONLY ONE WORD!

1. Where is your cell phone? bed

2. Your hair? mess

3. Your mother? Sunny

4. Your father? reminder

5. Your favorite food? Asian

6. Your dream last night? ill-advised

7. Your favorite drink? coffee

8. Your dream/goal? contentment

9. What room are you in? mine

10. Your hobby? unsure

11. Your fear? failure

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy

13. Where were you last night? home-ish

14. Something that you aren’t? religious

15. Muffins? okay.

16. Wish list item? vacation

17. Where did you grow up? rural

18. Last thing you did? read

19. What are you wearing? PJs

20. Your TV? none

21. Your pets? needy

22. Friends? fabulous

23. Your life? fleeting

24. Your mood? impatient

25. Missing someone? always

26. Vehicle? nonexistent

27. Something you’re not wearing? necklace

28. Your favorite store? Target

29. Your favorite color? royalty

30. When was the last time you laughed? Apples

31. Last time you cried? movie

32. Your best friend? far

33. One place that I go to over and over? beach

34. One person who emails me regularly? Ellen

35. Favorite place to eat? kitchen

Paddle Boating on the Kur.

Mingechevir's a pretty sweet site, in my opinion.  This idea was further reinforced by a site celebration we had for Nate and Mariko's anniversary where we paddle boated up and down the Kur Cay!  

Ming Bling: 6; The Declaration Boat. 

                        

The happy couple + Ming PCV 

backbones (Lale and Gulshan).

What a splendid way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

It's Always Sunny in Mingechevir (Unless Amy Comes)

As many of you know, I live in Mingechevir, Azerbaijan.  And, as much complaining as I can potentially do (by base fact of being in Azerbaijan), I cannot complain much regarding the city I'm in.  

Last week, we had IST (in-service training) and where 'training' is debatable, it was a good time to see fellow volunteers and all be in one little area for a bit.  So, there half of us were, in Gence, and it turned into something that we all probably expected it to - a venting session.  

Now, how do I put this out there without sounding like Mingechevir residents have that certain air of superiority... we love our city.  Granted, our working situations are on par with other volunteers, but we are all certainly quite happy about where it is we live.  This is not meant to say others aren't happy, but we noticed a difference.

So, during and after IST, I've been thinking about why it is we like Mingechevir so much and thought it would be good to put out into the blog world for my family, friends, and AZ7s (to show that your site directly impacts the type of experience you have).  Before reading the list, please realize all this is in AZ standards!  The awesome bumper cars are awesome, but they also look like death traps (and probably would never be qualified as safe in America).

First of all, we lucked out.  That's all there is to that one.  We got put in a site where 4 sitemates already were.  So, with the incoming 4, that makes 8 people for Mingechevir.  I have 7 great sitemates which, most assuredly, effects my quality of life.  I do not know how we would have survived host family living without our weekly hub nights.  Piggybacking off of luck, we all were able to find apartments for independent living.  It proved to be a difficult task for sitemate Bev when she moved here (6 weeks of searching!), but we were all able to find a place and be moved in within a week of being able.

Secondly, it doesn't always feel like Azerbaijan.  We all know we're in Azerbaijan, but, sometimes, the feel is something different.  We have trash cans throughout the park (and some people use them)! Other volunteers have

 commented on this.

Thirdly, we get visitors and visitors make Azerbaijan feel a little bit smaller when we're all spread out throughout this country.  Agsu Rachel comes a lot and Agdash Brandon can hop a bus and make it a day trip.  It seems like at least every other weekend we have someone here, so that's really nice.  Speaking of visitors, though, it seems clustermate/Guba Amy is the Eeyore of Azerbaijan and makes any sunny day a bit tutqun (gloomy).

Fourthly, our environment.  

We have a cool little area of Azerbaijan here.  No, we don't have those beautiful and soaring mountains, but we do have foothills, a reservoir, a riverwalk (a smidge reminiscent of Wilmington! and has cotton candy), the Kur river (for paddle boats and possibly kayaks), nice parks (with benches), and rides, really random rides.  Lately I've been commenting on how awesome we are because of our bumper cars and swings, and I still think that's totally true.

And, lastly, for the group here, it's a good fit.

 Mingechevir isn't too big, but it isn't too small.  We have a nice bazaar and can get random products we might want.  There's a built in support network since there are quite a few of us.  We have little traditions and enjoy, for the most part, spending time with each other, but we still get plenty of 'me' time.  And, we're all able to find a key Azerbaijani counterpart who's cool to hang out with and is a vital resource for any of our endeavors.

Of course, every site has it's bad parts like the constant harassment, work-related frustrations, the post office, cultural norms and breaking them... but, especially on the blog, I don't like to focus on that and would rather highlight the positive in this random part of the world I had never heard of before.  

Life... it's funny how we get to the places we end up.

(New P.S. I don't know why the font changes.  I tried to fix it, but with no luck).