Spring Break

From March 20 until March 29 Linda and I did not have to go to school or the library. It is Novruz - spring holiday. One of the customs of Novruz is for children to throw there hat down in front of a door, knock and hide. The owner of the home is to open the door, take the hat inside, fill with nuts, candy, maybe money, fruit, baked goods (palkhava or shakarbra), and return the hat to the door. Most of the students in my conversation clubs said that they had 3-6 children knock on their door. We had more than 60. We felt bad because we did not have the expected treats for them, nor could we have afforded it for 60 plus hats. So, consequently we quit answering the knocks for a couple of days.
After the actural Spring Equinox we relaxed and one day went to Baku so that Linda could get a hair cut. We could buy season 4 of House. Eat a nice hamburger and fries. We also walked for a couple of hours along what is called the Boulevard. It is a national park for about 3 kilometers along the Caspian. We walked from one end to the other, plus a bit. It was beautiful, but windy. The good weather and the holiday brought out many people. There is an amusement area in the first two picutres. If you look very closely there is a sign "Six Flags over Azerbaijan", or maybe I just imagined the sign.
During the break most of the Volunteers travel and visit each other. Two Volunteers from Salyan came to spend a day and night with us. Leslie is the older Volunteer and Beth is the younger. We walked all around Shirvan, ate at a Turkish cafe, shopped and showed all the sights of Shirvan to Beth since it was her first trip to Shirvan.
We have said many times how brave young female Volunteers are. I have become more aware of the difficulties of the Asian-American Volunteers in Azerbaijan. Everyone says Beth is from Japan or China when actually she is an American of Korean decent. We always emphasize to everyone we introduced her to, the American. They would attempt to correct us. There are Chinese immigrants that come to Azerbaijan and sell items on the streets. Most Azerbaijani people assume that the Asian-Americans are part of these sellers. Beth has been stopped by the police in Salyan and asked what she is selling. She has riden in a taxi and asked what she sells. She explains that she is a United States Peace Corps Volunteer and works at the library in Salyan. The driver then asked, "so, what are you selling?"
The people of Shirvan are very kind to us, and we feel very accepted, but when we walked with Beth there were many stares that were not as friendly. Linda and I both noticed it. Every American should be exceedingly proud of every American that volunteers with the Peace Corps, and especially proud of the Asian and African Americans who so much share what America is to be about.

The last two pictures are of our future Olympic Center in Shirvan. Almost every city in Azerbaijan has an Olympic Center. They have exercise equipment, swimming pools, basketball courts, and football field. Citizens are allowed to use at no costs. There is a hotel in each Olympic Center and the cost is set at 50 AZN a night. Now, the reality, ours has begun with ground leveling, a small basement, and fences with picutres of Olympic competitors. Where there are Olympic Centers they are primarily unused and many times money is extracted from patrons. Girls rarely use any of the facilities. In Barda we have Volunteers who have promoted the use and given swimming lessons. The facilities quickly deteriorate, but are still the nicest sports facilities around. I commented to a Volunteer in another city that when we come to visit, we will stay at the Olympic Center, and her response was that was where the prostitutes worked in her city.

Next week - the President of Azerbaijan visits Shirvan.