Sheki!

Swearing-in was successful and I am in Sheki. But I am exhausted. It is difficult to adjust to a new culture. I will write more when I can. And hopefully post pictures!

Getting excited

Next week, if all goes well, I will swear in and become a Peace Corps volunteer. The next day I will be shipped off to Sheki. I'm glad I have something to look forward to during this holiday season. It's hard to be away from home!

Here's a photo of myself and my Sheki counterpart. Fellow Sheki-mate Irene and her counterpart are also in the photo.

I'm going to Sheki!

Yesterday Peace Corps held a sweet ceremony to reveal where each of the 31 teachers will be sent. "Drum roll please....AMANDA! You are going to DEVACHI! Woooo! Come on up here and place the yellow flag on the map!" I already knew I was going to Sheki but I was anxious to see where my new friends are going off to. Beth will be near Tovuz, Sierra and Irene will be with me, Stephanie will be about 90 minutes north of me and Gale will be in Mingachevir.

I will teach at the Sheki branch (or 'brunch' as the notification document informed me) of the Azerbaijan Teacher's Institute. Apparently I've won a PC prize because a PC staff member said, "Oh! Sheki! It's a lovely place. You will be on holiday for 2 years." The more I learn about Sheki, the more her statement seems true. An ancient, clean city on the Silk Road surrounded by mountains with a glorious springtime of flowers and trees. And - get this! - Sheki has a reputation as Azerbaijan's most humorous city. All jokes originate in Sheki. Also, rumor has it there is a women only teahouse there.

Q: Am I stoked? A: Yes.

Due to my practicum, my language skills are behind my clustermates but they improve daily. As long as I keep talking during the interview and remember to ask questions, I think I can pull off a Novice-High rating from the Language Assessment exam week after next. That's one level below the required Intermediate-Low rating but I anticipate PC will still send me to Sheki but then pay for a tutor. In truth, I want a tutor. I think I will learn more quickly with individual instruction.

More info about Sheki here and here and photos.

Rollercoaster

Every day is a rollercoaster of emotions. My mood changes by the hour.

Stuff that bums me out:

Waking up and wishing I were with my favorite person
Walking through 1/4 mile of mud twice a day
The dead cat near Beth's house
Cramming onto buses
Speaking my classroom Azeri and not being understood
All the damn Masazir construction that screws up my daily, and expensive, commute to Sumgayit

Stuff that makes it worthwhile:

Unhurried, sunlit mornings in the kitchen with my mother, an Azerbaijani language teacher
Persimmon jam
Freshly baked bread
Kittens
My awesome and beautiful host sister
My adorable host cousins
Moments of genuine Azeri hospitality
Azeri teachers of English who are excited to speak English with me
The slow but perceptible improvement in my Azeri language skills
My host relatives' excitement and enjoyment of my Azeri cultural learning

Yesterday was a typical rollercoaster day. I managed to have my first moment of mutual comprehension with my host mother's mother - yay! I looked at crafty blogs describing apple cider and Halloween treats and got really homesick - boo! I did a decent impromptu American-style English lesson to 8th grade students - yay! I walked home through the mud in near dark - boo! My host mother and relatives gather together to help me practice for my language assessment interview - yay!

I keep on keepin' on.

Shira and I in Gobustan.

Life is good

I don't have much time to write but here's a quick update - I will be a teacher trainer at a teacher's college. Yay! Next month I'll find out which city I will be posted in. My practicum is at a local university. It's been interesting to observe a different method of instruction than I have practiced and was taught in. The week after next I'll actually get to teach. My goal is to model interactive and student-centered instruction. Also I'd like to give the university lecturers some teaching materials and methods that don't require intensive preparation. All of the lecturers are female and in Azerbaijan females are expected to cook and clean in addition to all of their job duties. Not much different than the U.S., really.

This weekend I will travel to Ujar to visit a real, live PC volunteer. From what I've been told, Ujar is similar to Fresno. Hot, flat, and uninteresting. (Sorry Fresno!)