My Two Cents for the AZ8s

AZ8s, we look forward to meeting you! Not that long ago, I was in your shoes. Freaking out over what to pack and what to put everything in, spending as much time as possible with my friends and family, and searching high and low for PC/AZ advice. Here’s my two cents.

Note that this perspective comes from a 37-year-old, female, university TEFL volunteer. I live in Sheki, a relatively liberal city (compared to the villages and most places in the south) with a decent amount of English speakers.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please send them!

1. Pack 2 kinds of clothing: stuff for work and stuff that makes you happy.
1. Work clothing: it’s difficult to overdress around Azeris. Clean, ironed (or polyester), sparkly, dark clothing and heels are the norm. If you’ll be teaching at the schools, bring skirts. Teachers don’t wear pants. Skirts should be knee-length or longer. Full skirts are very unpopular; pencil skirts or A-line skirts are the style. Femininity is key. Tight clothing is the norm. Showing skin is not okay. Guys: shorts are never okay.
2. Stuff that makes you happy: having said the above, wear what makes you happy. You’ll be scrutinized and judged for everything you do and wear on a daily basis so don’t stress about finding clothes to fit in. Your clothes should be tasteful but you’re also coming here to show people a bit of the real America – wear what you feel comfortable in (without showing your  back, midriff, shoulders, cleavage or thighs).
2. Pack clothes that can withstand hand-washing.
1. Cotton doesn’t stand up to hand-washing as well as you think it will. Also, if you can find something to remove armpit stains and/or deodorant stains that actually works while hand-washing please bring me some!
3. Be prepared to gain weight.
1. It WILL happen to you. Guaranteed. You must live with a host family during PST and for the first 4 months at site. The ‘national foods’ include enormous quantities of oil, butter, meat and bread. Bread is used as a utensil and it’s sometimes the only thing you want to eat. PST is overwhelming and it’s so easy to buy Snickers or hazelnut M&Ms during breaks. Thus…weight gain. So bring clothes you can grow into.
2. Pack a yoga mat and bring exercise videos. You’ll have opportunities to swap videos but it’s good to have ones you know you like.
3. Bring running shoes. Women: if you’re lucky and/or pick this battle, you can run in the early morning before people see you.
4. Be prepared to live without daily internet access.
1. During Orientation Week (assuming you’re at the same place we were), you’ll probably have hotel wifi but it’ll be difficult because everyone else will be using it at the same time. Don’t count on getting online.
2. During PST (again, assuming you’re at the same place), there’s a decent internet café near the training school. You’ll go to this school about once a week. During the rest of the week your access will depend on what’s available in your town. Masazir had a small internet café but the computers were terrible and the speed was slow. It was so frustrating that I just gave up.
3. Texting to friends and family in the States is easy and cheap. During Orientation week, you’ll get a handout with tech-related info.
5. Don’t spend all of your Philadelphia/staging money.
1. PC gives you a small chunk of money to get you through staging and the hours and hours of travel between America and Azerbaijan. Don’t spend all of that money! I used my staging money to buy a net-capable cellphone during PST and it saved my sanity.

I was going to say more about the culture but it’s subjective and best left for you to discover on your own.

Have fun in the States and we’ll see you soon!

Update

Time goes by more slowly here. My day is divided by teatimes – breakfast tea, mid-morning tea, tea after lunch, afternoon tea, before-dinner tea (I’ve cut this one out), and after-dinner tea. Semi-weak black tea is the national beverage. For all teatimes except breakfast, it is customary to eat ‘konfet’ (candy) with the tea. This is eaten in lieu of adding sugar to the tea. So that means I am eating WAY more chocolate candy than I should. As a result, I’ve doubled my toothbrushing and exercise activities. The challenge is that the chocolate from Russia is really, really good.


Recently I’ve realized that training (October – mid-December) was far more difficult and emotionally intense than I thought it was. November 2009 will go down as one of the most stressful months of my life. So stressful that I fainted on a public bus. I am incredibly happy that PST is over.

Stephanie visited me last weekend. She’s up in Balakan, about 2 hours north of me, right at the AZ/Georgia border. After I dropped her off at the bus station, I saw a ‘xanim’ (old woman) slip and fall on her butt. It happened right in front of me, as she was walking out of a pharmacy. I stopped to help her but I think I just embarrassed her. I couldn’t remember the ridiculously easy phrase “Are you OK?” (‘Yaxshisiz?’) Of course I remembered it 30 seconds later after I was already on the next street.

Have you heard the phrase ‘Posh Corps’? It’s used to describe Peace Corps volunteers who have easy living conditions. Romania and Bulgaria have reputations for being Posh Corps countries (as compared to sites like Nepal or Mali). I realize that I am living a Posh Corps life. I speak English at home, have easy access to the internet, have 6 American sitemates (six!!), a kind family who respect my privacy, and constant electricity and gas.

Also I live in a large town so it’s easy for me to travel which I will do soon. My calendar has suddenly become full and that helps my mood. I need travel and events to get me through the winter then the lovely spring and summer will take me through to autumn and, before I know it, I will have been here for a year!

Now that I am settling into Sheki I’ve been pondering what to do after PC. My shoulder muscles tighten when I imagine returning to a 40+ hour work week so instead I think about HOW I will return to the States. Stephanie talked about taking a train across Russia and into China. From there, I could grab a cargo ship and sail across the Pacific into Los Angeles. Or, and this is the idea I really like, I could fly to Odessa and take a cargo ship to New York. If I’m not mistaken, this is the route my maternal ancestors took to America. There’s something fitting about taking the same journey that my family members took and I will investigate this more.

I’ve been vaccinated for swine flu! My host mother was very concerned about the vaccination and kept urging me to refuse. I told her that Peace Corps would send me home if I refused (they’re serious about medical stuff) and she told me that Obama didn’t vaccinate his children. Argh. Always with the counter-argument!

*GLOW = Girls Leading Our World. It’s an annual summer camp run by PCVs. I want to help with one or two of them across AZ this summer. Stephanie’s correct that true change will come from PCV interaction with the young boys at ABLE (AZ Boys Leadership Experience) camps. Broadening the minds of the young boys is critical.

Christmas at 'home'

Had a GREAT time with my new American friends at Christmas. People from both years (AZ6 and AZ7) were there – 20-25 of us in all. It was fun because I could really be myself. And I got to be domestic, which I have been craving. Stephanie and I made pancakes while Brandon watched and commented on our lack of artistry. Stephanie is only a couple of hours north of me, in Balakan, last stop before the Georgian border. I’m really glad she’s nearby. Amanda brought the dance tunes and we had a blast. I slept on the floor at Danielle’s house (my sitemate) but it was worth it. It kinda felt like college.


This week I will observe a few more classes then I have a month off (though the students will be busy with exams) before the spring term starts in early February. Shira might stay with me for a couple of days during the first week of January and I might venture out and visit a couple of friends too. Now that we have sworn in and become volunteers we can travel around the country as much as we want. We must be conscious of the amount of time we are away from our jobs but that’s for us to decide (a surprisingly liberal policy for a rule-bound organization like PC). I wish I could go home for Kim’s birthday! But I can’t leave the country until March 10. Sigh.

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.