Spring is Here

Right now I am sitting in my house while a bunch of children are running crazy around my yard and screaming like the little savages they are. The reason for that is that my landlord’s father died, and they are going through the 7 days of mourning with the whole extended family, which is here from Baku and a number of other regions. I just had to go scold the kids for trying to kick Kiwi, who is terrified and hiding out with with me in the house. Funerals here are very different than what we know to be true. I am not quite sure what happens to the body, but I believe its put in the ground almost immediately after the death, then a huge tent is built on the street where the men mourn. The women mourn too, by whaling, chanting and crying inside the house for 7 days straight. The belief is that if you are not loud enough, and you don’t show how much you miss the person, the soul will know and not go to heaven. Outside the tent and the whaling room, however, it’s like a party, kids a running around, people are chatting and smiling, and the mood is very un-funeral like.

Other than funerals and crazy kids, I've been quite contempt mostly due to the wonderful weather we've been having. Unlike last year when in May the seasons went straight from winter to summer, this year spring DID come. The trees are blooming, bugs are out, and everything is turning green. Not only did it come, but it also kind of infringed on winter, the weather has been in the 60’s and 70’s for all of March and the forecast for this week reaches the 80s every day. Last year at this time I was still running my heater and wearing winter apparel. Spring itself is quite an interesting phenomenon because even though I am already in t-shirts and sandals, the Azeris are still in boots and winter coats. I believe that there is an official date that the winter garments must come off, and until then they MUST wear them no matter how hot it is. Spring is also the season for city beautification, when buildings, streets, and parks, get fixed up and made over. And by that I mean the two streets that the president might see if he were to come to the city. I live right next to the Ex Com and Municipality buildings and everything is getting redone: the park across the street, the chess club, and even the old movie theater which will probably be turned into another man-only teahouse. Additionally all older buildings in the town center are being dressed in these gray Robocop style tiles in order to appear more modern. Its important to mention that while millions of dollars are pouring into this aesthetic city beautification, no school is being shown the same respect, specially mine which is on the verge of collapsing. These renovations are done in case the president were to come or even just drive through the city. Anywhere he goes, a magic paintbrush fixes things along the way and I am convinced that he doesn’t really realize the rundown state of his country and people. Spring is also the time for the biggest holiday in Azerbaijan, Novruz. It is a Muslim holiday which celebrates the start of the Muslim New Year, as well as the beginning of spring. Azeris cook a ton of food and basically force-feed you till you drop for a week straight. I tried so hard to avoid guesting during this time, but alas I failed and am now a fatty. The good thing about Novruz is that school is out for almost 2 weeks, letting me have solitude and giving me time to see my friends.

Other than school work, some other occurrences in my life have involved: PC Prom, which gives us a reason to go to Baku, dress up, and drink; Women's Day Celebration in Goranboy; Developing a program and art contest to teach students about Earth Day through the PC Environmental Committee, writing a PC Environmental blog, and planning an environmental camp with my site mates.

Peace Corps Prom

See? I do stuff….5 months to go!