Everyday activity

In This posting I am concentrating on living conditions. First, the toilet is pictured
above. This is the Asian toilet we have at home. It is really first class because it
flushes, so the odor is slight (the brown stains are rust be assured). The method of
approach is to squat, so it is just as well that I do not have a newspaper because my knees
would give out before I finished the Sports section.The quality of the toilets vary. The public toilets you do not want me to describe or
discuss. At the public toilet there is a person who collects a small fee of 25 cents for
it use. This person does not clean, just collects. The lowest level of toilet has no
paper or water for cleaning. Next there is water available at a sink and sometimes there
is a kind of pitcher called an Aftafa. The aftafa is filled with water and somehow is used
to clean oneself, but Linda and I have not figured that one out yet. In many homes and
restaurants there is the European style of cleaning, a flexible water hose with a sprayer
much like the kitchen sprayers in America. The water pressure is tricky and basically you
can be fairly clean and damp, clean and wet, or very clean but water comes out the nose.
You can always spot the PCV because they have little stashes of TP, tissues, napkins, old
language papers, and anything of use in their pockets, purses, and backpacks.In the first class restaurants in the major cities there are hand dryers, but if there is
anything to dry one'shands it is usually a common towel (always damp), and if there is soap
it is a common bar of soap. Hand sanitizer is treasured by all Volunteers.There are
European style toilets in nicer homes and Soviet era apartments. Most of the time these
flush, but some do not have tanks so we add pitchers of water to flush. The trick with the
Asian is developing a sense of aim. With no newpapers to pass the time I have made up
little games for the toilet. As a bombadeer I have practically won WWII all by myself.One last note, paper is available and the quality varies with price. Our prioritized
budget allows for this luxury (necessity).Washing machines are available and are in a few homes. The quality of the washing machine
is nothing like the automatic washers in the USA. The machines basically fill with water
and agitate. The clothes are then hand wrung, water is drained, items are replaced in the
machine for rinsing, and then and hand wrung, and hung out to dry.In our home, like the vast majority of homes in Azerbaijan, the laundry system is the sink
pictured above. Linda hand washes all our clothes and I help with the wringing out. In
Azerbaijan the women do all of the laundry, and I have yet to see a male assist.We are very fortunate and have access to hot water, but have to plan ahead. The hot water
heater is a metal tank heated by gas jets below. The jets are either on or off. We light
the heater about an hour and a half before hot water is needed. Everyone then baths and
clothes are washed, and finally the gas jets are turned off. There are no insulated hot
water tanks. We shower 3 times a week while the family showers on Sunday.Most of the volunteers host homes have some heat, but the volunteers who rent their own
apartments or houses are usually pretty cold. The PC gives $23 a month extra during the
winter months to help with the extra expense of heat. Heaters can be anything from a
radiator system, space heater (wood or gas), to a small hotplate. We are quite warm
because we are in a more moderate climate with only 2 days below freezing so far. We have
had much milder weather than Missouri has had this winter so far, but everyone warns us
that it is coming.There is also a picture of the living room decorated for New Year's eve which they call
Christmas or xmas holiday. The main character is Shafta Baba (Frosty Grandfather) and
there are also trees. There are trees still going up around the city. On the morning of
12/31 the children will arose and opened their presents. The presents are many times
figurines or toy Santas that sing Frosty the Snowman. This year the children in our home
received a doll and a toy helicopter as the big gifts, and then a gift bag with a few small
toys and lots of candy. For the holiday season we were given an angel whose feather wings
light up with different colors, one of the Santas, and a tree ornament of a small stuffed
cow (I'm not making this up), very nice Azerbaijan souveniers. There wass a lot of food
and at midnight people go outside and shot fireworks. The school is out for 1 week and this past week have been several school parties. Linda
and I attended 2 at her school. There was entertainment, music, speeches, and dancing.
Linda and I were big hits just because we attempted dancing along with the students. We
will demonstrate in 2 years when we return, "Enshallah" which means God willing.Coming Attractions: Food, automobiles, and buses.