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.

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.

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.

A Kick in the Face.

Sometimes, as I'm sure you're all aware, things just don't go right.  Today was one of those days.  The days where everything goes wrong - where one bad something falls right after the previous bad thing.  

I began my day on the hunt for money.  ATMs get really crazy at the end of the month and just causes me migraines that last all day.  I was hoping to beat the crowds and I did!  But!  I also got behind one of those people who have multiple ATM cards.  To make matters worse, the ATM was only giving out 1 manat bills at 20 manat increments.  So, after waiting behind one person for over 20 minutes, I had to leave to go to work.  Fail.

I strolled onward to work unable to pay my phone, water and gas bills because my lack of money as it all remained in my bank account.  Minding my own business and hiding behind my sunglasses, I tried to breathe and let go of the too typical ATM challenge.  Then, out of no where, pops in my old counterpart/director from my first Host Organization.  I had quite a few issues with this guy and I always like to tell myself he doesn't exist outside of those horrible stories I tell of him.  But there he was.  Existing.  And yelling my name.  I shouted out that I was on my way to work and moved on.  Fail.

I arrive at the lyceum and heard 

the loud children upstairs from outside.  'Oh, geez,' I thought.  After my Tuesday experience, I was not excited to step in that room.  I get into a classroom and I try to be happy and positive, I really do.  But the kids! 

They yell and don't listen and I either have to talk over them, yelling to be heard, or just sit there miserable while all of them yell.  Not fun.  The director at that school wants me to tach them English songs, so I went with 'Twinkle, Twinkle' and 'BINGO.'  The problem with this class is that I have no place being in that room.  They speak very little to no English.  Not to sound exclusive, but since I've come to Mingechevir I've worked with Intermediate skills at the lowest.  I'm not trained to be a TEFL and not having an Azeri teacher with me makes for a very rambunctious classroom with more disciplining than teaching.  I end up kicking a couple kids out, not letting really late ones in, semi teaching some songs, and playing a disastrous game of 'Simon Says'.  Fail.

I had a Skype date with a friend, too.  So, I thought, this will make up for my bad day.  I go over to the fancy hotel and wireless doesn't work.  Fail.

So, I walk home breathing in the Fall air, looking around at the plants that still live and the colors of it all.  I glance at the fountains and the sunset trying to fill my mind with positive things and focus on the good as opposed to the full blown migraine and day's frustrations. With some Fall-type tunes in my head, I stopped at a different ATM and successfully got money, stopped by the store with the nice cheese lady and, though they didn't have my chocolate milk (I didn't let it bother me), got some banana juice instead and yogurt.  I finished my walk home to rest a little when I get a call.  I didn't know the number.  I don't usually answer when I don't know the number, but with new trainees in country, I decided to, just in case.  And, I'm glad I did.  It was Nazim!  He is one of my best students and only real male Azerbaijani friend!  He's in the Army right now (as it's mandatory for all males here).  It was nice to chat with him and see how he's faring where he is (a not very safe region).  I immediately updated Lale that I heard from him.  Finally, something good.

Now, something very good is about to happen.  Step Up and brownie night with Sitemates Laura and Alexis.  It might sound a little lame watching Step Up again this month (once in my film club), but nothing's wrong with dance parties, cute guys, and a bit of chocolate overload.  My migraine is already subsiding...

Thank goodness for the simple things.  

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