Site Visit

So I just wrote a blog and for some reason it deleted itself. So here I go again....

This weekend I went on a site visit to Oguz. That is a small town located in the mountains. We stayed with a current volunteer for 3 nights and found out more about what we will be experiencing in the months to come. It was definitely a nice getaway, first of all because I was glad to leave Sumgayit where I have been stuck for the past month, and secondly due to the cooler temperature. We got to hike in the mountains for a bit too which was nice. Other than that all we did was eat and sleep and observe the daily routines of the locals. Again I was struck by the culture in regard to gender issues. All of the young women in town were really bored due to the fact they had literally NOTHING to do. Unlike guys who have cafes, pool halls, and sports to participate in, girls only have a newly opened "girls only" internet club, and walking around the streets. Dull huh? Our volunteer was not very entertained herself. She had 2 conversation clubs a few times a week and in the rest of the time does tie bo or watches DVD in addition to whatever chores she has to do. Basically I need to find ways to entertain myself so I don't go crazy. So far DVDs and my Ipod have been good friends to me, so if any of you get bored do send me some mixed CDs!!

To finish this off, I have to say all of the prep paper work I have read is completely true. Training turns you into an emotional rollercoaster. Somedays I am frustrated as hell and ready to leave, then on the next I am motivated again. I cannot wait to get over this wave of permanent PMS, because currently it is driving me insane. Mostly though I am pretty positive, so no worries!! ;)

that's it from me for now!!

Host Family Life

I am starting to get used to my new way of life. My host family is very nice and very liberal in their views in comparison to those of other volunteers. The reason for that is that they are actually from Baku, which is quite a tourist attraction and modern. The ones I interact with the most are the mom, who is a housewife and the two older sisters, who are home only in the evenings. The youngest sister is also always at home but she is shy and doesn’t really talk to me. The father, who is a car repair I pretty much never see. He works from early in the morning till late at night and then probably goes out with friends. There is also a grandmother who has her own room and doesn’t really interact with the rest of the family much. The communication methods I am using are quite interesting. I speak a mix of Bulgarian, Russian and Azeri, and definitely cannot have any meaningful conversations. If I have something important to say I wait for the sisters to come home, since one speaks good English and have her play translator.
I am really happy with the food here. Everything is organic and without preservatives and all that crap. In the summer Azeri’s eat lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, salami and the meals consist of lots meat, bread, oily sauces great for dipping, and about 29438547 cups of tea a day. We were told by the Peace Corps to be careful with what we eat. For example never to have milk, yogurt, and cheese that are not pasteurized, to wash everything we eat with boiled H2O, and not to even brush our teeth with the local water. Well I have already broken all these rules. I figure I need to train my stomach to the local tastes and have to say that my body definitely hated me until right about now.
My Peace Corps training as a whole is going well. Every Monday through Saturday we have language training from 9 till 1, and then it is “Self Directed Learning” time which I don’t think any of us are actually using. In a few weeks we start model school, which is something like a 2-week summer school program. I am kind of nervous about it, especially since I have to write my own lesson plans, get really nervous talking in front of people, and oh yeah I have never been a teacher!
When it comes to being homesick…yeah, I am, A LOT! But I guess that’s unavoidable. The good thing is everybody has been great in keeping in touch and writing me emails which always cheer me up.

1st Host Family

So yesterday I moved into my first host family. It ended being only a 10 min walk from where our hotel was which is good because I know that area. My family seems really nice too. Its a mom, dad, three daughters in their 20s, 3 kittens, and a big scary dog that wants to eat me. The house is not as bad as I thought. My room is big but the bed kind of sucks because its a box spring with a bunch of pads on it. It hurts a lot to sleep on it, but I guess I'll have to manage. The toilet is also not bad, it is a flush one, except that I have to manually flush it with buckets. I also feel that I am getting fatter by the second because the mom won't stop feeding me. Since we can't really understand each other all she does is feed me tea and sweets and then two hours later gives me a huge meal. I cant say no because I don't want to offend which results in me eating without being hungry. One of my host sisters speaks really good English so thats good. She has a degree in English actually and translates for me at night. My Azerbaijani language skills are still no where and I am starting to think I will never get it. The language sounds cool, but its like nothing I have ever heard. As much as I was worried about not going to be able to communicate I actually ended up having an internet cafe right by my house, so I will actually be on quite frequently if not daily. I also have a cell phone which if you are interested you can have. The only way to call me for cheap though would be to go to noblecom.com and buy a phone card which makes phone calls only a few cents per minute. Otherwise if you have ATT/Cingular or T-Mobile you can text me for 15c a min. So again shoot me an email and I can give you the number. I miss everyone very much and am very homesick so the more emails I get the better I'll feel. Much love!

First few days...

So we arrived in Azerbaijan yesterday. It was the longest day of flying in life due to major delays. We are currently in a hotel in Sumgayit which is the second biggest city and is only 45 min away from Baku. My first impressions of Azerbaijan are good. It reminds me of Bulgaria about 15 years ago. The architecture is old Soveit, crumbling paint, boxy apartments,laundry hanging from balconies and a satelite dish here and there. Pretty much 90% of the cars are old Soviet Ladas and Moskvich-es from about 20 years ago and they actually look kind of cool. I havent had much of an impression of the people yet due to the fact that we have just dealt with our coordinators and peace corps staff. I move into my host family on Monday (in 4 days) and start intensive language training then as well. We learned some basic introductions today and i have to say Azeri sounds pretty cool I cannot wait to be fluent. So thats it for now.. We have already had a power and a water outtage and i can only imagine what a village will be like. I will update again when i can. Much love!

ABOUT TO LEAVE

So this is my blog spot, I guess when i have internet it will be my e-diary so you can keep tabs on me. I am currently in Philadelphia getting ready to depart and am scared and excited at the same time. I hope you all will write me and won't forget about your favorite Bulgarian! Keep checking for updates