Housing Policy and Reality

First the pictures, there is a picture of the River Kur which is a major river in Azerbaijan, our source of drinking water and recreation. Linda and I take the bus down to the river and can be there in about 20 minutes after getting on the bus. On a bright sunny day with the temperature in the 60’s we ventured to the park with our host children, Fidan and Nijat. I saw the little girl with the knitted poncho and could not resist the beautiful picture as she prepared to go down the slide. With any bright and beautiful day, everyone does the laundry. Note that the temperature was in the 60’s and I thought shorts would be appropriate, but there were stocking hats and heavy coats. Azerbaijan people think that being cold (or comfortable for me) causes illness.
For the jest of this posting Linda and I are anxiously looking forward to the time when we can move into our own housing, April 10. We thought we would explain the Azerbaijan Peace Corps reasoning for their housing us with families for almost 7 months, and then share our experience so far.
The Azerbaijan Peace Corps is responsible for the lives of over 100 people. During our 10-week training period we lived with a host family. The intent is that the family will help us learn Azerbaijani and that must be the primary language spoken in the host home. The family is also to introduce us to family, friends, and the community. The hosts are to help us adjust and learn the culture. One aspect of security is to be as integrated as possible into the community.
There are certain requirements for hosting. There must be a private room with a lock, and the Trainee/Volunteer must have all keys. There must be a heater, and a toilet within 10 meters of the house. There must be at least 5 hours of electricity per day. The host family must have at least one employed person.
The result is that there can be a great disparity in the housing. One family may consist of a working widow and children where there is little money and housing the Trainee/Volunteer is a major source of income. Another family may have an automobile, indoor toilets, hot water and great comfort. The food varies within the families also.
In our training situation in Saray, the housing was very difficult with strained family relations towards the end of our stay. Linda and I were quite concerned after Linda witnessed the husband throw a chair at his wife, and we spent time with her, but she was not as concerned as we were. There were problems with the gas supply and the water had to be heated by wood. The food was inadequate and the family could not budget the money given them biweekly, so we went to paying them weekly. When we made a biweekly payment, there were new clothes, appliances, but at the end of the two weeks there may be nothing to eat. Our home was dirty and under construction, and very cold. Their cell phones rarely had credit. We notified the PC of the situation and the food improved after we went to a weekly payment.
Now, in Shirvan our family there is food, but unbalanced. The house is actually too warm and uncomfortable at times. The furnishings are very nice and we have Internet access, and hot water when we need it.
The failure in both homes is that they both wanted to learn English more than help us with our Azerbaijan. Neither family has introduced us to neighbors, and only a few family members. All our social and community contacts came as a result of our initiative. We are very fortunate in that the families are not over protective with us as they are with the younger volunteers.
Neither family had a schedule. In Shirvan the family may all be awake and active at midnight, in bed at 11:00 with one or more members at the computer and/or watching TV until 3-4 in the morning. Then the mother rises at 6:00 and gets on the computer usually chatting or listening to music until she and the children leave for school at 7:45. The children and adults always appear tired, and sometimes nap at any and all hours. The father works 12 hour rotating shifts, so his schedule is even less defined than the rest of the family. But, I tutor him in English 3 or 4 nights a week.
As you can imagine after having our own household for over 37 years, we want control of our diet, schedules, and volume of noise. The parents allow privacy, but the children are children and very curious. We will also have more control over cleanliness. Spills and dishes are not cleaned in a timely fashion. Hot water is normally not used to wash dishes, and the dishes sit out overnight. Food is often left out over night, and then served again. We feel God has watched over us in that we have not had any issues with food poisoning.
The Peace Corps works diligently and with great effort to find host families. We pay them about 125 dollars a month per person for housing and three meals a day. They advertise for interested families, and responses and resources vary so much in each community. I think the PC does an extraordinary job, but there are always difficulties. I cannot imagine opening my home to perfect strangers for 4 months. These families who host may have many motives, but certainly express a sense of hospitality and generosity.
It is up to us to find and negotiate our housing after April 10. We are using all our contacts and feel assured we will find something. It may not be much, but it will be ours. The Azerbaijan PC calculates the average rent per person is about 100 dollars a month. Then another 100 is given for food, utilities, travel, clothing, and all other expenses. Budgeting becomes a very important skill especially for the single volunteer, and the younger volunteers who do not have the same quality of support systems that we do.
All in all, piece of cake! Thank you all for your love and support. We are hopefully having an impact on lives. Every day is full of joys, excitement, tedium, and frustrations. I hope it doesn’t sound like we complain too much. We knew it would have ups and downs and difficulties when we committed to service. As one host said to me "This is not America, it is Azerbaijan". Quite an adventure so far – can’t wait till we have our own place to see what happens.