Birthdays in Azerbaijan

Pictures: Denney’s birthday cake – note that even though Linda had the message written out on a piece of paper it is still misspelled. Linda purchased Denney’s cake at the Turkish bakery and surprised him at the Library with the help of the Library staff. Back in November Denney surprised Linda with the help of Peace Corps Trainees. There is the picture of our two language clusters plus a few others who came along. We have a copy of that photo in our family album, which we take with us everywhere. One of the favorite activities to tell the viewer that all of the people in the picture are Americans except 2 who are Azerbaijani, and can you pick out the 2 Azerbaijani? (The answer is at the end of the posting). Denney received 2 special gifts. One is the little figurine from the library staff, and it is of the three characters of Novruz, the most popular national holiday. The other special gift was from the college and university students who collected money and surprised Denney with the original oil painting of the Maiden’s Tower in Baku. I was truly touched by both gifts, but especially from the students.
Linda and I also went to Ujar this past week (more below) and these are the pictures from the day camp we assisted.

Birthdays in Azerbaijan are celebrated much like in the United States. There is a cake with candles – one for every year of age or just one candle. A wish is made and the candle(s) is blown out. Friends and family may give presents. The family of the birthday person comes to their home and has cake and/or a meal.
When students are away from home, their classmates celebrate with the birthday person. The students collect money, and they purchase a cake, and then reserve space at the “buffet” which is the university café. Tea is served at the buffet and the cake is cut.
Cutting the cake is a bit different. A circular piece is cut in the middle, and then slices are cut from the inner circular piece to the outer edge.
Presents can be anything from souvenirs to flowers. In our host family a 10 year old girl was given a beautiful ceramic bowl. If I were the child, I would have been thinking “This is great if I was a grandmother!”
No one here was aware of trick candles that are blown out and then relight. However, there are candles which are mini-sparklers.

Linda and I traveled to Ujar last Tuesday afternoon. The bus ride was about 3 hours. Ujar is to the west of Shirvan, and it necessary for us to go to Hajacabul (the closest town to Shirvan to the north, but on the main east-west highway) to get the bus. We take any bus going west and tell the driver we want to stop in Ujar. Ujar has a wonderful new bus station and it has the best public toilets we have seen in all the bus stations in Azerbaijan. The only problem is that it is on the edge of the city. So when we arrived we took a taxi to meet Wendy.
Wendy is an AZ6, and during training she attended the Bible study group. She is in her early 20’s. Wendy was assisting Candice an AZ5 who will be returning to the United States on August 28.
Summer camps have become a popular project in Azerbaijan. A volunteer will organize and promote anything from a day camp to week long activities. There are 2 large projects where youth travel to a camp and stay in cabins together. The girls camp is called GLOW, Girls Leading Our World, and the boys camp is called ABLE, Azerbaijan Boys Leadership E… These camps have about 45 students and are funded through a SPA (Special Project Assistance) grants from the Peace Corps. A committee will organize each camp and then Volunteers are asked to assist.
Individuals also may hold camps, such as Jane’s Yay Kamp (Jane’s Summer Camp) in Lankaran. Jane organizes activities and has students apply to attend the camp. The camp sessions are 3 hours Monday – Thursday for three weeks with a different theme each week. The themes are usually music, sports, environment, crafts, etc. Jane has around 130 students who come to her school in Lankaran for the camp. Jane has 7 – 10 Volunteers each week who give of their time, travel at their expense, and follow Jane’s directions. Jane houses the Volunteers in her apartment and with the help of the three other Lankaran Volunteers.
The camp in Ujar is for Girls only, and was begun last year by a talented Volunteer named Dana. It was our first experience at helping with one of the several camps. This camp was conducted each Wednesday during the summer and every day the final week.
Our experience was mixed. The girls were enthusiastic and friendly. They responded to any attention from us. The activities were not well planned and there was little organization. The camp itself provided about 3 hours of fill time for the girls. There is so little organized activities for Azerbaijani children in the summers that they will respond to any effort in their behalf. This camp could have provided so much more for the students with just a little more effort in its design and implementation.
Our stay with Wendy and Candice made us appreciate our living conditions in Shirvan. Each had a room with access to a kitchen in a large house. For Volunteers housing can vary with each city and village. We all realize that our conditions will not be easy, but it is up to the Volunteers to make the best of our housing situations. A lot of work cleaning, arranging, and decorating are needed to make it comfortable and attractive. Some Volunteers do not extend the work to their living quarters.
Eating healthy requires budgeting and work, and unfortunately some Volunteers end up eating snack foods, soft drinks, and unbalanced meals. Gaining weight can be a problem.
Personal appearance requires a lot of diligence, but is well worth the effort in regards to respect from Azerbaijan people. It is very easy for Volunteers to give up caring for their general appearance especially their hair.
We returned to Shirvan after the camp on Wednesday, and ready to return to our routines! Maybe we’re getting old.

Answer to the Quiz: the young women in purple and red turtleneck sweaters were our Azerbaijan language and cultural facilitators.