I survived!!

So I survived my first week in Azerbaijan!!!

 

Its been a busy first week. We moved in with our host families, (lots of time spent looking up words in Azeri one painful word at a time) Eating the local foods (delicious, Ill devote a blog to that later) learning how to use public transport and beginning to learn the local language. Salam!

We even had a short tutorial about using a squat toilet. Yes, there is more to it than just squatting. The advice is to roll your pants up or tuck up your skirt, the correct squatting position was shown, (its important to use the correct position to make sure that you don’t miss and don’t urinate on yourself… and Im told everyone urinates on themselves at least once, use the water (water can looking item) to clean yourself or if you are a picky American (like me) carry TP and hand sanitizer everywhere, and don’t throw the TP in the toilet. You laugh, but all of this is very important to success as a Peace Corps Volunteer!

 

Seriously (actually, that was serious) Its been a good first week with a lot of frustrations. Mostly the stuff you would expect. How will I ever figure out the bus system on my own, will I ever speak better than a 4 year old, will I be an effective PCV and what if I cant squat long enough…. (When I’m having digestive problems)

 

I do know from past experience, if I work hard, listen to PC and ask for help, all will work out.

 

“Some see the glass as half empty and ask, why? Others see the glass as half full and say “I can take a bath in that.” PCV

 

Ok, now Im answering a random question that I was asked many times before I left America:

Is Azerbaijan in the Middle East, Asia or E. Europe?

Azerbaijan occupies the southeastern part of the Caucasus, descending to the Caspian Sea, between Iran and the Russian Federation (Dagestan). If you consider the Caucasus Mountains as the conventional ‘border’ between the continents of Europe and Asia, this means that Azerbaijan falls halfway in Europe and half in Asia.  Books, newspapers, and airlines classify Azerbaijan in different locations, including as part of the Middle East.  Azerbaijan is truly at the intersection of East and West; its origin spans hundreds of years beginning when the early caravan trade route Silk Way crisscrossed the region linking Europe and Asia.

 

And, Here are just a couple of cultural tips that PC has given us to read in our cultural manual:

 

·         Yawning and stretching – If you are stretching in public (i.e., when you yawn and stretch your arms), you should cover the yawn with one hand, and with the other, gently tap your chest a few times (with the palm open and flat against your chest).  This chest tapping is to ‘prevent’ you from passing your hardships on to others. For any reason if you are stretching your arms and aren’t doing sports or aerobics, do the chest tapping.   

 

It is believed that for women and children, sitting on cement are bad for your health (bad for reproductive health.

 

Yawn…..

Ok, until next time. And, here is the PC mailing address for me while I am in training until Dec 6^th:

 

RR youth, be good, have fun, talk to your parents and don’t play chubby bunny. You know who you are!

 

I miss all of you.