Kitchen and Bathroom

This blog posting is a bit of this and that. First, the pictures are of our apartment before and after of the toilet and stove area. Can you guess which is which? Linda has done a wonderful job of decorating in a light blue, primarily because her choices of the plastic tubs and materials were red, brown, and blue. One of our good friends had picked red, and we wanted to be more unique.
The curtains are all held in place by Velcro. The refrigerator door seal is very bad and splitting, so we have a Velcro latching system. (Note: thanks to all of you who sent Velcro. That is very handy, and we have some left over for future projects.) The refrigerator is on our balcony not in the kitchen. That location is very popular here. But, to answer your question, no there is no electric outlet on the balcony, so the cord runs through a window into the living room and into an outlet. The fridge is small, but we do have ice thanks to ice trays from the U.S. When Linda comes in from a hard day and has a mug full of ice tea (mug which holds 10 ounces, the glasses hold about 4 and are made for hot tea), she feels on top of the world. I would wager she might be the only person with a mug of iced tea in all of Azerbaijan. The fridge is also self-defrosting. That is, when the electricity is out for 6-8 hours, it defrosts.
The toilet pictures are my favorite, of course. My thanks to everyone who volunteered to mail us a seat. I may still request one through the mail. The issue here is not availability, but is quality. Many of the fixtures are cheaply made plastic which break easily. In many homes, schools and public buildings are fixtures that began with cheap plastic components, then the plastic breaks, and the components are never repaired or replaced. However, obviously quality products would be unaffordable. So instead of doing without, there is broken and non-repaired. I have already used Super Glue on the toilet seat and about every other repair we’ve done.
We will show pictures of the bedroom with our mosquito net and walk-in closet – you walk in the bedroom and you’re in our closet, in a future blog.
Now, here are some experiences that have touched our hearts recently. In the Post Office are several windows along a long counter then across the long narrow room is a table and bench for writing. I had purchased an envelope and stamp for the U.S. to the One Laptop Per Child organization. I was mailing a letter from my counterpart, who wanted to share how much the program was needed in her country, and included a letter from myself. As I approached the table I noted a man standing and reading an official looking letter lying on the table and he stood by reading it. While I was writing the addresses on the envelope, a cell phone began to ring. It was the generic ring so I checked and it was not my phone. The ring was coming from the man standing across the table. He motioned with his head towards his right hand pants pocket. It was then I became aware that his arms were prostheses. I reached into his pocket (not something I would ordinarily do), pressed the answer button on his phone, and held it to his ear until he held the phone in place with his shoulder. He completed his call, I took the phone, concluded the call and replaced in his pocket. A nod of the head from each of us, and we went our separate ways.
Holidays are a main topic in the educational system. Linda went from class to class explaining Memorial Day and Mother’s Day. Students made Linda Mother’s Day cards and gave her presents such as an angel figurine, flowers, and a set of canisters for the kitchen.
For our anniversary four of the ladies from the Library bought Linda a pearl rhinestone silver necklace for about 20 AZN, and signed a card. This was from people who don’t make more that 200 AZN a month. People are always extending signs of appreciation and friendship.
We were invited to an International Museum Day celebration at the History Museum on May 16. One young woman from a Conversation Club served as our interpreter. We were asked to speak just a few minutes each. Everyone was so appreciative of the United States caring about Azerbaijan. Words fail me; I can’t express in this blog the feelings we have. We feel frustrated that we cannot do more, and then feel fulfilled at every little expression of friendship and acknowledgement of appreciation for the Peace Corps.