Saturday, December 27, 2008
The People with Whom We Work and Live
First and foremost, above is a picture of Linda speaking at the swearing in ceremony. The Minister of Education requested that her speech be translated. Linda's Program Director called and informed Linda that her speech has been published in a national education newsletter.Above is a picture of our host family in Shirvan. The father, Hafiz, works for the electric utility as a dispatcher. The mother, Kanule, is a Russian teacher. The children are Fidan, the daughter age 9, and Nijat, the son age 6. Everyone is learning to speak English.Their home is actually owned by Kanule's parents who live in Moscow. The family would be unable to afford such housing on their income of $500.00 per month. They are fortunate in that both are employed and have a regular income. There are some extras in the home such as heat, satellite TV (Turkish), and a computer. Fidan has taught herself English with computer programs and watching English speaking children's programming on the religious channels of their satellite dish. Her pronounciation is quite good. Often Fidan serves as a translater for us when our Azerbaijani fails in the home.Kanule's English is in the early stages with limited vocabulary, less of an ability to pronounce correctly, and grammatical errors. She teaches 3 Russian classes of 45 minutes each. She teaches 6 days a week. (We will write about the educational system in a later post).Hafiz is in the beginning stage of learning English. He attends adult classes at the Turkish school near the home. He has diffulty prouncing sounds, he is learning the verb to be. He has been on vacation while we have been here. He receives 40 days vacation per year. The one day he was called in to work was an 11 hour day.Nijat is very active and demonstrates classic symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome. The family is aware that he is different, but coping skills are negliable. Linda will attempt to find any resources available here for them.In the picture with Linda are teachers from School Number 9 with the male Director who corresponds to a Principal. Linda has been observing their classes for 2 weeks to determine with whom she should work. The teaching styles vary, and Linda is deciding what classes and teachers would most benefit from her presence.Denney is pictured with the Director of the Central Library. The library is open each day from 09:00 until 18:00. Denney is there on Monday through Friday from 09:30 - 12:30 and 14:30 - 17:30. The number of hours that Denney puts in at the library will need to be reduced as he expands activities within the community. During the morning he conducts a conversation club for 1 hour with college students. The afternoon has a 1 hour conversation club with a very diverse group of anyone who wants to show up that day.The club meetings are presently held in the computer room which is funded by USAID in a program called IATP (Internet Access and Training Program). There are 9 computers and a server. 5 of the computers have internet access. The classes (independent study) offered are Word, Excel, and Internet. The Internet usage is primarily chatting, email, and some searches for information. It is free access (slow), and there is normally people waiting.The women with Denney in the computer room are staff at the library. The most important person is Alma on the far right. She is the computer room supervisor and my counter part. There will be more about people in another post. The young woman wearing jeans translates for Denney with the Director. Again, more about people in future posts.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
I am working this Christmas Eve, but my director has been very kind and understanding and I will not be working on Christmas. Linda and I will be sharing Christmas Eve with our host family and 2 other volunteers, Kelsy and Joyce. Joyce is coming from Lankaran. Linda, Joyce and Kelsy will prepare food for tonight for everyone.
Tomorrow, Christmas Day, Linda and I will read scripture and listen to Christmas music all day. We have a ham, a present from Debbie and Edna, we have saved for Christmas day. We are enjoying all the energy bars, hot chocolate, teas, candy, cookies, beef jerkey, canned meat, dried fruits, oatmeal, and everything else that you are so thoughtful to send to us.
Life in Shirvan is quite good right now. The weather has not been as severe as it has in Kansas City. We are adjusting, but must improve our language skills. We can negotiate the markets and initial greetings, but not much beyond that.
There is a music school here in Shirvan, and we are going to a concert on December 29. That will help us integrate into our community. We are always looking for community events to attend.
Our work is basically to be an English speaker and improve the skills of anyone who desires to improve. The computer skills are Excel and Word. The use of the internet is primarily email and chatting.
The price of oil dropping is good for the US, but it has affected the economy here negatively. Those fortunate enough to work for the oil companies may be facing some layoffs. We know the economy in the US is suffering also. Let's all hope that the bottom of the negative trends is either here or approaching quickly, and the upturn will begin.
I will include pictures with my next post. I have a wonderful picutre of Linda speaking at our swearing in ceremony. Everyone would have been so proud of her. She shared that now was the time in our lives for us to give back to the world and especially Azerbaijan. She wore a skarf she purchased in Baku and stated that she wore the skarf to have something from Azerbaijan, but in 2 years she will have the people and memories in her heart.
Denney's current hair style is a cross between a buzz cut and chaos. He wears a european style hat most of the time.
The New Year's holiday here last one week with an emphasis on being with family and extended relatives.
Please post any questions you might want us to answer in the comments and we'll do our best.
God Bless you all.
Tomorrow, Christmas Day, Linda and I will read scripture and listen to Christmas music all day. We have a ham, a present from Debbie and Edna, we have saved for Christmas day. We are enjoying all the energy bars, hot chocolate, teas, candy, cookies, beef jerkey, canned meat, dried fruits, oatmeal, and everything else that you are so thoughtful to send to us.
Life in Shirvan is quite good right now. The weather has not been as severe as it has in Kansas City. We are adjusting, but must improve our language skills. We can negotiate the markets and initial greetings, but not much beyond that.
There is a music school here in Shirvan, and we are going to a concert on December 29. That will help us integrate into our community. We are always looking for community events to attend.
Our work is basically to be an English speaker and improve the skills of anyone who desires to improve. The computer skills are Excel and Word. The use of the internet is primarily email and chatting.
The price of oil dropping is good for the US, but it has affected the economy here negatively. Those fortunate enough to work for the oil companies may be facing some layoffs. We know the economy in the US is suffering also. Let's all hope that the bottom of the negative trends is either here or approaching quickly, and the upturn will begin.
I will include pictures with my next post. I have a wonderful picutre of Linda speaking at our swearing in ceremony. Everyone would have been so proud of her. She shared that now was the time in our lives for us to give back to the world and especially Azerbaijan. She wore a skarf she purchased in Baku and stated that she wore the skarf to have something from Azerbaijan, but in 2 years she will have the people and memories in her heart.
Denney's current hair style is a cross between a buzz cut and chaos. He wears a european style hat most of the time.
The New Year's holiday here last one week with an emphasis on being with family and extended relatives.
Please post any questions you might want us to answer in the comments and we'll do our best.
God Bless you all.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Christmas in Azerbaijan Approaches
Christmas approaches, but there is no Christmas music. The holiday here is New Year's Eve. That is when the presents are given. There are many Christmas trees, and we will post a picture of our host family's tree in the next posting.
Above are a few pictures:A classroom in one of the older schools in Lankaran, Linda and Kevin (PCT) with our host family in Saray. The view of the kitchen in Saray from the door of our room. Grilling in Saray, and the view from our door to the dining area.
We are getting our mail at the new address in about 2 weeks so far. We appreciate all your thoughts and cards.
Linda's birthday was a huge success and she received 24 cards and other assorted gifts such as peanut butter.
Linda is observing in classrooms this week and next. She will then decide on whom of the 9 English teachers to work with.
I am at the library each day and have conversation clubs in the morning and afternoon.
Our new host family in Shirvan are wonderful to us. We are warm, safe, and learning our way around our new city.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Back on the Blog
I have the details of the blog worked out so that we can update more often. I know it has been over 2 months since we posted anything.
Training is going well and we appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers.
A little about our future home for the next two years. We will be in Shirvan (formerly calledAli-Bayramli), and if you want information look up the former name. The city just changed its name recently. It is a city of about 68,000. It has 3 vocational schools past secondary education, but no colleges or universities. It has 16 secondary schools. Linda will be teaching English and working with teachers at one of the 16 schools. She finds out which school on November 14.
I will be in the central library and have met once with the director. The director is interested in computer programs for the library. Outside of the library I will be conducting English Clubs and working with sports when I can. There will be 2 other PC Volunteers at the site. Jessie who is training with me now is in his early 2o's and will be working through a school. There is an AZ5 Kelsey who is also TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) volunteer.
A little about the country. The Azerbaijan people are very kind and want to learn to speak English. The language is similiar to Turkish, and we are learning it slowly. The weather is about like Chicago or KC, but very few buildings have heating systems. The temperature outdoors has been in the 40's and in our home the 50's. We can see our breath in the "haman", that is bathroom".
The Peace Corps gives us medical kits, water filters, and sleeping bags. The sleeping bags are wonderful, and in the winter many hours are spent there. During the day Linda and I wear 3-4 layers of clothing. Usually we wear 2-3 indoors. At night we can cover up and study and read, but our hands get very cold. Our host family says it is Azerbaijan, not America.
The discomforts are really quite small, and as our country director reminds us, we are here for Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan is not here for us. Your love and support help make the discomforts easy to adjust to. It is a matter of adjustment.
I just attended a class concerning the education system in Azerbaijan. The system is very centralized and all curriculum and schedules are established in Baku then implemented throughout the country. The starting teacher is paid approximately 20 dollars per week, and teaches about 3 hours a day. With experience a teacher can make as much as 50 dollars a week.
Capitalism is quite an adjustment for a nation only 17 years old.
There are many nights I lay in bed and cannot believe we are 4000 miles from KC and family, and are living in a country which was once a member of the Soviet Union.
The computers are all in Russian, and Russian is spoken by many of the older citizens.
My own computer has not been connected to the internet for 2 months, so when I do get access with it, it will take several days to download updates and security information.
I currently access the internet through internet clubs or cafes for about a dollar an hour. The machines are very basic and met the needs. Most of the youth in the internet cafes and clubs play games and do not access the internet for information.
Linda and I attend language class during the morning, and train at other locations in the afternoons. We are mastering the public transportation system.
A promise: everyone wants pictures. I will attempt a picture or 2 on my next post to see how long it takes to up load.
Training is going well and we appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers.
A little about our future home for the next two years. We will be in Shirvan (formerly calledAli-Bayramli), and if you want information look up the former name. The city just changed its name recently. It is a city of about 68,000. It has 3 vocational schools past secondary education, but no colleges or universities. It has 16 secondary schools. Linda will be teaching English and working with teachers at one of the 16 schools. She finds out which school on November 14.
I will be in the central library and have met once with the director. The director is interested in computer programs for the library. Outside of the library I will be conducting English Clubs and working with sports when I can. There will be 2 other PC Volunteers at the site. Jessie who is training with me now is in his early 2o's and will be working through a school. There is an AZ5 Kelsey who is also TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) volunteer.
A little about the country. The Azerbaijan people are very kind and want to learn to speak English. The language is similiar to Turkish, and we are learning it slowly. The weather is about like Chicago or KC, but very few buildings have heating systems. The temperature outdoors has been in the 40's and in our home the 50's. We can see our breath in the "haman", that is bathroom".
The Peace Corps gives us medical kits, water filters, and sleeping bags. The sleeping bags are wonderful, and in the winter many hours are spent there. During the day Linda and I wear 3-4 layers of clothing. Usually we wear 2-3 indoors. At night we can cover up and study and read, but our hands get very cold. Our host family says it is Azerbaijan, not America.
The discomforts are really quite small, and as our country director reminds us, we are here for Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan is not here for us. Your love and support help make the discomforts easy to adjust to. It is a matter of adjustment.
I just attended a class concerning the education system in Azerbaijan. The system is very centralized and all curriculum and schedules are established in Baku then implemented throughout the country. The starting teacher is paid approximately 20 dollars per week, and teaches about 3 hours a day. With experience a teacher can make as much as 50 dollars a week.
Capitalism is quite an adjustment for a nation only 17 years old.
There are many nights I lay in bed and cannot believe we are 4000 miles from KC and family, and are living in a country which was once a member of the Soviet Union.
The computers are all in Russian, and Russian is spoken by many of the older citizens.
My own computer has not been connected to the internet for 2 months, so when I do get access with it, it will take several days to download updates and security information.
I currently access the internet through internet clubs or cafes for about a dollar an hour. The machines are very basic and met the needs. Most of the youth in the internet cafes and clubs play games and do not access the internet for information.
Linda and I attend language class during the morning, and train at other locations in the afternoons. We are mastering the public transportation system.
A promise: everyone wants pictures. I will attempt a picture or 2 on my next post to see how long it takes to up load.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
We Are in Country
This will be a quick update with no pictures.
We arrived in Azerbaijan on Tuesday at 21:05. We were in our pretraining hotel by midnight. We slept very well after 13 hours in airplanes and 8 hours in airports.
We have begun our Preservice Training and are able to introduce ourselves, count to a million, and know most of the alphabet. The language will be difficult, but we will make it.
There are 61 Trainees. On Saturday we move to our host families and training communities. Linda and I will be able to stay with the same family, but I will have to travel about 10 minutes by bus each day for my language and program pratical training.
Our training hotel is right on the Caspian Sea, but we have not had time to even walk along the beach yet. The weather has been warm, but rainy and windy.
Saturday is the big event, moving to our host family.
Internet availability is on and off here at the hotel, and will probably less available in the next few weeks.
We arrived in Azerbaijan on Tuesday at 21:05. We were in our pretraining hotel by midnight. We slept very well after 13 hours in airplanes and 8 hours in airports.
We have begun our Preservice Training and are able to introduce ourselves, count to a million, and know most of the alphabet. The language will be difficult, but we will make it.
There are 61 Trainees. On Saturday we move to our host families and training communities. Linda and I will be able to stay with the same family, but I will have to travel about 10 minutes by bus each day for my language and program pratical training.
Our training hotel is right on the Caspian Sea, but we have not had time to even walk along the beach yet. The weather has been warm, but rainy and windy.
Saturday is the big event, moving to our host family.
Internet availability is on and off here at the hotel, and will probably less available in the next few weeks.
Monday, September 22, 2008
On to Azerbaijan
Our staging is complete, and we are about to leave the hotel for JFK. During our instructions last night we were told that we would not have internet or phone privileges for about 2 weeks at least.
Our feelings - we are ready and excited to become members of the Peace Corps and Azerbaijan family. We are both confident and scared. We want to be good representatives of you the citizens of the United States, the Peace Corps, and we want to both contribute and be a part of Azerbaijan.
Denney and Linda - on to our new home.
Our feelings - we are ready and excited to become members of the Peace Corps and Azerbaijan family. We are both confident and scared. We want to be good representatives of you the citizens of the United States, the Peace Corps, and we want to both contribute and be a part of Azerbaijan.
Denney and Linda - on to our new home.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Staging begins
Linda and I have arrived safely in Philadelphia. Linda said as the plane lifted off in KC, "This is the beginning of a new era for us."
We met many wonderful people. Presently there are 63 people here for the staging. We leave Monday for Azerbaijan.
We met many wonderful people. Presently there are 63 people here for the staging. We leave Monday for Azerbaijan.
Friday, September 19, 2008
We are leaving for PA in less than 24 hours
The last of our goodbyes is tonight. We plan to have supper with Matt and Andrew, then Barry Bohlman will take us to the airport at 4:15 a.m. on Saturday 9/20.
We have had a wonderful time getting ready with our trips to Texas and up to Maine. We have had many great times renewing friendships as we prepare for our service in the Peace Corps.
This posting is to express our gratitude to all of you who have demonstrated your love, friendship and care for us. Anytime you acknowledge special people there is the danger of leaving someone out, and we deeply regret anyone we failed to mention.
First, our thanks to all our family and friends in Texas for the wonderful visits and opportunities this past summer.
A special appreciation to Edna Smith for her generous gift of allowing us to live in her home while she traveled. We gave possession of our home on 9/8 and have lived at Edna's until today.
It is wonderful how people have shown ways to participate with us in serving the Peace Corps. Lyle and LaVerna Baker will be taking care of business stateside. John and Wanda Foster have donated storage space for all our memories and special keepsakes. Words fail us in expressing appreciation.
To all the churches, Hopewell, Freeman, and Archie who have hosted us these past weeks and with your promise of prayerful support, we are thankful. To Frank and Joeann Saunders, Chuck and Linda Logue who each housed us for a few nights, you made our visits special.
Dave and Sandy Cole, Barry and Laurie Bohlman, gave us a special night of food and friendship. Linda and my fellow workers who have met us for lunch or refreshment, to say goodbye, and to reflect on our past accomplishments - that will keep us going!
We are ready to go. We are going to try and post on the blog from Philadelphia and New York, and then when we can from Azerbaijan to let you know how our trip is progressing.
Matt, Andrew, and John, it's up to you to keep me posted on our beloved Dallas Cowboys.
God bless you all.
We have had a wonderful time getting ready with our trips to Texas and up to Maine. We have had many great times renewing friendships as we prepare for our service in the Peace Corps.
This posting is to express our gratitude to all of you who have demonstrated your love, friendship and care for us. Anytime you acknowledge special people there is the danger of leaving someone out, and we deeply regret anyone we failed to mention.
First, our thanks to all our family and friends in Texas for the wonderful visits and opportunities this past summer.
A special appreciation to Edna Smith for her generous gift of allowing us to live in her home while she traveled. We gave possession of our home on 9/8 and have lived at Edna's until today.
It is wonderful how people have shown ways to participate with us in serving the Peace Corps. Lyle and LaVerna Baker will be taking care of business stateside. John and Wanda Foster have donated storage space for all our memories and special keepsakes. Words fail us in expressing appreciation.
To all the churches, Hopewell, Freeman, and Archie who have hosted us these past weeks and with your promise of prayerful support, we are thankful. To Frank and Joeann Saunders, Chuck and Linda Logue who each housed us for a few nights, you made our visits special.
Dave and Sandy Cole, Barry and Laurie Bohlman, gave us a special night of food and friendship. Linda and my fellow workers who have met us for lunch or refreshment, to say goodbye, and to reflect on our past accomplishments - that will keep us going!
We are ready to go. We are going to try and post on the blog from Philadelphia and New York, and then when we can from Azerbaijan to let you know how our trip is progressing.
Matt, Andrew, and John, it's up to you to keep me posted on our beloved Dallas Cowboys.
God bless you all.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Celebrating Christmas On Labor Day
We gathered together as a family to have Christmas before we leave for Azerbaijan.
Matthew, Andrew, Linda, and I had a "traditional" Christmas dinner at Abuelos Mexican Restaurant. Afterwards we opened presents. It was a wonderful time.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Continuing to Get Ready
We have our plane tickets to Philadelphia where our Staging will take place. We leave Kansas City at 6:00 a.m. and arrive in Philadelphia at 11:00. The staging is a time of Peace Corps orientation and team building with all of the AZ6 group. We have heard there will be 65 of us.
On 9/22 at 11:00 a.m. we load on a bus for JFK and are scheduled to fly out to Frankfurt at 9:45 p.m. The flight is 8 hours, then we will fly to Baku which is another 5 hour flight.
We went back to visit the Freeman Baptist Church on August 24. We had a wonderful time renewing friendships. It is comforting to know so many people will be praying for us, and supporting us with their concerns.
We plan to go to Hopewell on September 7 and Archie on September 14.
We have already had Thanksgiving on August 16 with Matt and Andrew. Linda fixed all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes, and we had a wonderful time. We plan celebrating Christmas on Labor Day. It was fun to go Christmas shopping in August.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
We Are Preparing to Begin
HISTORY
In the summer of 2007 we decided to retire from our jobs sometime during 2008. Linda began researching what options would be ours in retirement. One of the best resource books was "Don't Retire, Rewire". The book suggested we look for ways to do what we enjoy and would bring us personal fulfillment.
Linda ordered information from the Peace Corps, and we attended informational meetings at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. The best resource for finding out who are Peace Corps Volunteers and what they do is http://www.peacecorps.gov/.
We applied on November 7 to see what might develop. We were nominated for the Region of Africa in the program of Education on December 4. Following nomination came the medical, vision, and legal evaluations. In March and early April we communicated with the Peace Corps as they considered where we might be able to serve. Our approach was always that we would go wherever the Peace Corps thought was best. We were excited to learn that we had become Invitees to serve in Azerbaijan.
Both of us are motivated by the feeling that we have been truely blessed, and it is time for us to give back to our country through service in the Peace Corps and to the people of Azerbaijan. Now is the time we can do this because our health is excellent, our sons are independent, and our skills are still current.
Denney retired on March 14, Linda on June 4. Since then we have been visiting relatives, traveling to the east coast and up to Maine, selling our home, donating a lot of possessions to charities, and making arrangements for our serving.
We are fortunate to have friends and family who will be taking care of our business. We appreciate all who contribute to our lives through friendship, well wishes, and prayers.
ARE WE SCARED?
We are anxious to begin this new era of our lives. We have been researching and learning about the nation of Azerbaijan. We are routing for them in the Olympics and felt a great pride when we witnessed via television the Azerbaijani delegation to the Beijing Olympics.
The current PC Volunteers serving in Azerbaijan have been very kind to respond to our emails and request for information and insight.
We feel ready to begin. We are to leave Kansas City for our staging (orientation) in Philadelphia and we should arrive in Azerbaijan on September 23.
In the summer of 2007 we decided to retire from our jobs sometime during 2008. Linda began researching what options would be ours in retirement. One of the best resource books was "Don't Retire, Rewire". The book suggested we look for ways to do what we enjoy and would bring us personal fulfillment.
Linda ordered information from the Peace Corps, and we attended informational meetings at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. The best resource for finding out who are Peace Corps Volunteers and what they do is http://www.peacecorps.gov/.
We applied on November 7 to see what might develop. We were nominated for the Region of Africa in the program of Education on December 4. Following nomination came the medical, vision, and legal evaluations. In March and early April we communicated with the Peace Corps as they considered where we might be able to serve. Our approach was always that we would go wherever the Peace Corps thought was best. We were excited to learn that we had become Invitees to serve in Azerbaijan.
Both of us are motivated by the feeling that we have been truely blessed, and it is time for us to give back to our country through service in the Peace Corps and to the people of Azerbaijan. Now is the time we can do this because our health is excellent, our sons are independent, and our skills are still current.
Denney retired on March 14, Linda on June 4. Since then we have been visiting relatives, traveling to the east coast and up to Maine, selling our home, donating a lot of possessions to charities, and making arrangements for our serving.
We are fortunate to have friends and family who will be taking care of our business. We appreciate all who contribute to our lives through friendship, well wishes, and prayers.
ARE WE SCARED?
We are anxious to begin this new era of our lives. We have been researching and learning about the nation of Azerbaijan. We are routing for them in the Olympics and felt a great pride when we witnessed via television the Azerbaijani delegation to the Beijing Olympics.
The current PC Volunteers serving in Azerbaijan have been very kind to respond to our emails and request for information and insight.
We feel ready to begin. We are to leave Kansas City for our staging (orientation) in Philadelphia and we should arrive in Azerbaijan on September 23.
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