The pictures are first, the family to whom we have given our Christmas tree. The second picture is of the memorial to the national tragedy which took place on January 20, 1990. This Wednesday we will be laying flowers at this memorial to remember the 133 people that the Soviet Army brutally murdered just before the fall of the Soviet Union. The final picture is explained better below, her name is Neylah.
We are reading that the weather is moderating a bit in the Midwest. The weather here has been unusually mild. This week there was one day that it must have been 50 degrees and sunny. The citizens of Shirvan are a bit concerned that they will not see a snow this year. My counterpart said the snow was good because it killed the bacteria. As I recall my biology class, I don’t think so. But, I listened and did not mention the importance of the snow as a source of nitrogen for the soil.
The Azerbaijan Peace Corps Volunteers have a quarterly newsletter entitled the AZLander. The newsletter includes antidotes, advice, and adventures of the Volunteers. I am working on submitting an article on a mature (read old) volunteer running in Shirvan. What sparked this interest in writing was an unusual experience this week.
I have written before that I continue my jogging here in Azerbaijan. I have run (using a very loose definition of the word) on a regular basis for about 40 years. I told Linda, that I think I have finally run around the world at least in accumulated mileage.
In Shirvan the running has been a valuable asset. People are amazed that a man as old as I exercise regularly in public. Everyone knows it is good for the health, but I still get asked the occasional why? Last month we were returning from Salyan and on the bus one man said he knew who I was – the running American.
Well, this week, Neylah asked if she could run with me. Neylah and her sister, Gunay, are university students. They both come to my 10:00 a.m. MWF conversation club and are a joy! They attend the university in Baku for a month every quarter and take what is referred to as correspondence courses. They have had many cultural experiences and are a couple of the most independent thinking women I have met.
So, now I say I will meet them in park at 8:00 a.m. I am there a couple of minutes early, dressed in athletic pants, sweatshirt, hat, and gloves. They arrive similarly attired, but in bright colors. We begin to run in the park which is a long median (about 2 KM) about 20 meters wide. There are 2 walking lanes with trees and roses in the middle and trees and roses between the walkway and the street. The walkway is made up of tiles about 1 foot square, and there are 10 tiles across.
I am expecting a lot of stares, but everyone is very nice. Gunay drops out after about 1 minute saying she really doesn’t like this. Neylah is really faster than I and I breathe hard and try to keep up. As we run I try to make small talk, and near the end of the park where we are to turn around are two newly completed apartment buildings. I comment they are beautiful buildings, and her response is “I’ve never been by here before.” This is an active person who has lived all her life in Shirvan and goes to school in Baku. Her walking in the park is limited. I think of her as an adventuresome female in the best sense of the word, but I am shocked that she has limited her walking in her home town to such a small area. That limitation is a reflection of the protection of the young women by their families and society. We ran together for about 20 minutes. When we passed by our meeting place, she went home, and I finished my jog.
Andrew continues to recover from is minor surgery, but has been a bit too active and may have had a slight setback. Linda has been ill this week missing two days of school and her conversation clubs, but she is doing much better. We visited a preschool today which will be the subject of next week’s blog.
Take care our dear friends and family as we anxiously look forward to our return to the good old U.S.A.
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