Spring is around the corner

Pictures: These are again from participants in my conversation clubs. The first is a game played during the spring celebration of Novruz. Last Tuesday was the first of four Tuesdays which celebrate; water, fire, air, and earth. Each Tuesday a bonfire is built with the final Tuesday having the biggest and most bonfires. A person will jump over the fire three times, leaving all the bad things in his character in the fire and getting ready for the new year. This game is with 2 eggs, usually hard boiled. The shells are clashed to together and the one that breaks is the loser.

The second picutre is of a nice catch in the community of Salyan. The fisherman is the brother of Nigar, one of the conversation club photographers. The next 3 photos is the process of preparing "tendir chorek" - oven bread. The oven is a large clay container, a fire built and the container walls become very hot. The fire is dosed and the bread dough is sprinkled with water and stuck to the wall. The bread cooks, is quite tasty especially hot with white cheese - yummy!

As stated above the anticipation of Spring has begun. Even though 4 weeks away from the official holiday everyone is ready. There was a large bonfire outside our apartment building this past Tuesday. We could hear the excitment and then watched from our balcon window young men and boys jumping over the fire after it had burned down to a reasonable size. Note: no girls took part. The gender differences in Azerbaijan are quite significant. One of our primary messages is that women/girls have abilities, talents, worth, and should strive for their goals.

There will be more about Novruz as the holiday approaches.

This week we had a surprise. Our neighbor came to visit on Friday evening with a relative who spoke English quite well. They asked to come in, and the purpose of their visit was to request that we share our home with them for an Engagement Celebration. The daughter Shirboni will become engaged on March 7. The groom comes, brings flowers, jewelry, and the commitment is made. Family and friends gather, have photos and share food. The future bride and groom wear their very best and most beautiful clothes.

During the 3 hour or so celebration men are in one area, and the women are in another. Our neighbors requested that they use our home for one of the areas. We are so honored! Words cannot describe the feeling we had of acceptance. We were so happy that our neighbors felt comfortable enough to share this with us. Shirboni has spent several hours reading with Linda in between her university studies. After they left, Linda was in tears of joy. It will be one those "Peace Corps moments".

To all those still surrounded by snow and cold - Spring is just around the corner!