Linda Visits a Kindergarten (pre-school)

PICTURES: Hopefully many of you will recognize my mother, decked out in her purple outfit. She is now 88 and has been a resident at her nursing home now for one year. Of course, adjustment had been difficult at first, but Katherine reports she is happy and doing well. Katherine is so good to go and see her every day and the staff says Katherine spoils her. Kim and John also support mother in many ways. They each take mother on outings. The second photo is of my sister Katherine and her husband Larry. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary while we were in Azerbaijan. Being separated from family and missing significant events is at times difficult, but we hope to make up for it in the future. We look towards celebrating mother’s 90th on June 19, 2011.
Linda is working with 2 junior high teachers in Harrisonville in a pen-pal project. Linda has 11 participants, 6 boys, 5 girls. These two are handsome representatives. This week Linda has mailed their letters and pictures to the teachers in Harrisonville. Last year Linda worked with about a dozen college students in a pen-pal project with students in Archie, Missouri.

Everything is fine in Azerbaijan, and in fact sometimes I wonder about what to write because everything seems so normal and routine now. The marketing, water preparation, and repairs all seem quite boring. However, two weeks ago while we were in Baku for a dentist appointment, we had guests the night before and I had been text messaging them on my phone while we were on a bus. When we transferred busses I put the phone in the outside pocket of my jacket, something I rarely do. The bus was crowded, and you probably already guessed, my cell phone was stolen. It is a bit inconvenient while I wait to see if the police find the phone through the IMEI code. The Peace Corps can contact me through Linda’s phone, but Linda and I are limited in contacting each other.

I have begun a new program at the Library. I show 2 episodes of Monk using a projector focused on a white board each Saturday at 11:00. We add the English subtitles. The university students and graduates follow along, and have come to love the character of Monk. We all forget how fast Americans speak and our extensive use of slang.

This week Linda and I visited a private pre-school in Shirvan. The couple that run the pre-school had been active in local government and have now purchased the facilities of a once government run pre-school-kindergarten. The couple were a host family for an RPCV, Karen Wrightsman, and are quite familiar with Peace Corps.

Linda returned on Friday to observe and the following are her observations:

The kindergarten is privately operated. The public school system in Azerbaijan does not provide kindergarten; so parents must pay for private kindergarten services. The kindergarten I observed is housed in an old Soviet building that the owners have repaired. Kindergarten opens at 6:00 in the morning and closes at 6:00 at night. The children are served breakfast and lunch. The 4-5 year old class had 14 students that will all be going to first form (first grade) next year. Their teacher has a degree from college (college is a two year program in AZ). She had an assistant that does not have a degree. The children said poems, counted to 20, named pictures of domestic animals, and vegetables – all in English. Their pronouncing of English words could be improved, but they were close. Each room has a large room with child-size tables, a TV, teacher’s desk and a cabinet with supplies. Adjoining the room is a bathroom and a sleep room. The facilities were very clean and modern. Each child has a bed and takes an afternoon nap. Academics are done in the morning and also after naptime.
The other classroom I observed had 13 students, ages 5-6 who will be going to first form next year. They have the same schedule, room, supplies and curriculum as the previous room. These students also recited a few poems and could introduce themselves.
The school has a large room for assemblies and a kitchen for food prep.
There are rooms for children from 9 months to age 6 years.
A person for America that saw this kindergarten would think that the kindergarten programs in Azerbaijan are wonderful. However, only some larger towns have kindergartens and this one is one of the best in the area. The cost is 60 manat per month per child. The original cost per month was 20 manat. However, now because the facility is so much better, the cost has gone up to 60 manat per month. They added cost is put back into the kindergarten so that constantly improvements are being made. A teacher is usually paid 150 – 250 manat per month. So many teachers and other people would not be able to afford this wonderful kindergarten. All these children were very nicely dressed. I saw no child that appeared to have a handicap. Three-fourths of the students were boys. (Most Azerbaijanis still feel that education of males is most important). Clearly, kindergarten is available, but only to those families that can afford it or will strictly budget their resources for early education. These students do get a wonderful start in English education.
They requested DVDs so their children could hear spoken English. They have one (Children Little) that they have played until it is worn out.

We are happy to hear that the weather has moderated, and know you are always in our thoughts and prayers.

Someone runs with me

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.

The Holidays Are Over

Recently a fellow Volunteer, Linda Gies, traveled from Ganja to Neftjala through Salyan and back through Shirvan. She was supporting another Volunteer's work in Neftjala. The pictures are from Linda Gies.

Linda G's first stop was in Salyan where she visited with Leslie and observed her work in Salyan. The first picture is of Leslie's counterpart conducting an upper level class. That is typical dress during the winter months. The school uniforms are mandatory again after the Spring Equinox. Now, it is warmth that is important.

The lower level class is to illustrate the universal joy and beauty of children all over the world. No matter where kids are kids.

Linda G traveled with Peace Corps staff from Salyan to Neftjala. Before leaving Salyan they wanted to eat lunch at a restaurant. The driver inquired where they might purchase a meal since not all places are open to women. Amazing as it may seem to us, the driver was told no where in Salyan, but at the restaurants between towns a meal could be purchased.

They stopped and to make a rest stop and eat, and Linda G caught a great picture of this restroom - Kishi is Azerbaijan for "Men's". That's right - men's and men's. The women's was in another location and available, but the picutre is very funny.

In Neftjala a volunteer Jordyn has a drama club. They performed their second play of the year, the Wizard of Oz. Jordyn was creative in using sheets for background scenery. The sheets were painted by a parent. The play was presented three times to a full house every performance. These are some of the little successes that inspire us all.

The holidays are over, and we get back to the routines of our work. Then one evening Linda looked at our Christmas tree (New Year's tree) and knew we had to give it to someone who might appreciate it. The neighbors across the way have 3 small children. They are very bright and a joy to be around. Linda invited the mother over and through the translation program on the laptop (Dilmanc 2.5) communicated that she wanted them to have our tree, lights and decorations for next year. The mother had to ask her husband first, but later knocked at our door, and with the children by her side we took photos, and then presented our tree to them. Smiles abounded as I carried the tree from its old home to the new. Again, it is one of those special moments. I will post the picture next week.

To all our family and friends in the United States. We have been reading about the weather. You are constantly in our thoughts and prayers during the snow storms and exceedingly low temperatures. We started looking around and thinking maybe we should send packages to the United States with hand warmers, hats, and gloves. Stay warm, and Linda wants everyone to know she is following the Jayhawks from afar.

A post script: This week while we were in Baku traveling to the dentist my telephone was stolen from my pocket. I have filed an incident report with the Peace Corps and provided information. I will probably get another phone and number within the next few weeks. The police find the cell phones in about 60% of the reported cases.

Happy New Year 2010 Is Finally Here

PICTURES: The day after Christmas we traveled to Salyan to celebrate Christmas, left to right are 3 AZ7s, Clarissa, Melissa, Beth, and 3 AZ6s, Jordyn, Leslie, and Linda. Next, we begin New Year’s Eve with supper around 6:00 p.m. Toasting with tea and Diet Dr. Pepper while the table is set with deviled eggs, a ham from the U.S. courtesy of Richard and Gloria Bray, sweet potatoes from the U.S. and for dessert Yummy Bars. We walked around Shirvan and there is Linda and Denney, no wait, I think that might be a young Azerbaijani man having a great New Year’s Eve. People gathered to have family photos made (explanation below), and finally Linda in front of the Heydar Aliev monument “To you Shirvanites Happy Holiday”.

Back to Christmas, last week were pictures of the celebration in Shirvan at Jesse’s, our site mate. Frank commented that some of the Volunteers look very young, and they are. The young Volunteers are very brave and we admire their vitality. However, there is a definite and natural division between many of the younger Volunteers and us. At Jesse’s it was an atmosphere of a Frat Party – disorganized, come what may, lots of alcohol, and 13 people sleeping on the floor. We felt very uncomfortable and attempted to relieve our discomfort through chosen conversations with a few of the attendees. They had met earlier in the day and had gone to the Bazaar together, put names on stockings, and then later called us that they were at Jesse’s. We are definitely left out and separated, but also more at ease with that situation. We left early around 10:00 p.m. with the excuse and reality that we are old. The chosen conversations were good, but we were certainly not “a part” of the group.
On Saturday the 26th we traveled to Leslie’s and had an enjoyable meal with more traditional Christmas dishes. We enjoyed good conversation and I got to help Leslie with some of her computer issues. We spent the night while Clarissa and Jordyn returned to their homes in Neftjala. There was plenty of space, and we were all comfortable and private. Linda and I returned home on Sunday morning feeling very good about our time in Salyan.
Then Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. I went to a Christmas party at the home of an Azerbaijani Christian family. It was 3 hours of music, devotion, food, and then games. There were 20 people there and even though I struggled to understand even a portion of what was said, it was a wonderful time.

December 31 to January 4 are non-work days in celebration of 2 holidays. December 31 is World Azerbaijan Unification Day. It is a day when Azerbaijan people all over the world remember their homeland and culture. In Azerbaijan it is New Year’s Eve! The day is filled with people going to the Bazaar and buying fruit, nuts, meat, and preparing big meals for their families. The meals include capital salad, kabob, plov, dolmas, cakes, and tea.
FOOD DEFINITIONS: Plov – rice with lots of butter, chicken or beef or mutton cooked with onions caramelized in oil and sometimes with egg, dates, raisins, and can have variations of dried fruit and black-eyed peas. Dolma – the central ingredients are mutton, rice, onion, cilantros, and dill, mixed together and folded with leaves of either grape or cabbage. The grape leaf dolma is more traditional during the holidays and the cabbage leaf dolma is more of a common meal dolma. There is also what is called 3 sister dolma which is the meat, onion, rice, cilantros, dill mixture stuffed into tomato, eggplant, and bell pepper. Capital salad is made with diced cooked potato, onion, peas, carrot, cilantros or some green seasoning and mayonnaise or yogurt.

During the day there are firecrackers going off all over the city, and it is a bit amazing that more people do not get injured.

Then about 8:00 p.m. it settled down, and Linda and I conjectured that everyone was eating their evening meal. My Counterpart came to our home with her 2 children and brought us plov, capital salad, and pickles. Our neighbor then brought us grape leaf dolmas. Linda and I had already eaten the meal described above, but deeply appreciated what became my late night snack and lunch on January 1.

Linda and I went for a walk around Shirvan’s parks at 10:00 p.m. There are 3 major and 1 minor New Year’s trees in Shirvan. People come to these trees and can have family photos made for just a few manat. Families and friends continue to have their pictures made at the trees for about another week. At the trees there are characters with whom the photos are made. There is Shaxta Baba (Grandfather Frost – Santa Claus), Snow Girl, and usually either a large Mickey Mouse-like or Donald Duck-like. A great picture would have been when we walked by and Mickey was taking a smoke break. At the 10:00 – 11:00 p.m. hour there were always dozens of families waiting in line.

We returned home at 11:15 and awaited the midnight hour when we opened our window on the balcon (porch), and watched the neighbors shooting firecrackers, roman candles, and a few other assorted explosive devices.

All that is missing is football!

We wish for all of you the very best in 2010.
To all our friends and family in the Midwest you still have our sympathy and thoughts during the snowstorm and extremely cold temperatures. Update on Andrew is that he is doing very well. He has had some of the stitches removed and plans to go back to school on Monday.

Bayraminiz Mubarek (Happy Holidays)

PICTURES: This event was hosted by our site mate Jesse in his apartment. There were 16 Volunteers from vious sites mostly in the southern sector of Azerbaijan. Jesse is in the hat preparing food. It was a typical younger Volunteer gathering - 13 slept in Jesse's apartment, crowded, taying up late talking and consuming. Sleeping bags on the floor provided bedding. We enjoy talking with the Volunteers and admire their commitment and sacrifice, but we went home around 10:00 p.m. There is a natural and distinct division between the older and younger volunteers. Picutred with Linda is Todd who is here with his wife Sarah. They are a terrific couple, but have had disastrous housing experiences at their site of Kurdimer. In 2 weeks they are about to hopefully move to their 3rd residence. The present house does not provide food and they only havewhat they can prepare for themselves under very difficult circumstances. They are hoping to get into a new residence with a widow this next week. Volunteers must live with a host family for 4 months before they can consider moving into their own residence. Sarah is an experienced teacher, they are a fine couple, but housing difficulties have thoroughly discouraged them. Please give them your prayers and thoughts.

Jesse and the girls decorated with stockings.

At Jesse's the menu included your traditional Christmas foods, spaghetti, chili, mashed potatoes, cupcakes, tangerines and apple cake. We had an evening of sharing experiences and listening to Christmas music. There were 3 rooms, so there was ample space and oppotrunity to have good conversations.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you! This is a short posting as we prepare to go to Salyan for the day to help celebrate Christmas with Leslie. There will be 7 at Leslie's in Salyan.

The AZ7s have been on site for 2 weeks. This was their first Christmas away and Jesse wanted to make sure everyone had an opportunity not be alone. There were gatherings all over Azerbaijan. We recalled that last year we spent the morning and afternoon listening to Christmas music and watching a DVD of the 1985 FBC Archie Children's Program.

To all our friends and family in the midwest - you have our sympathy and thoughts during the snowstorm and extremely cold temperatures. The same goes for Nancy in New York, and the Goff's in Maine (unless they are in Belize).

The week before Christmas

The pictures are self-evident.
This week was quite ordinary for us with the exception that we learned that our younger son, Andrew, will be having “minor” surgery on Monday, the 21st. He will have the procedure as a day surgery in Harrisonville. Not being there for him is difficult for us. He has taken care of everything with the help of his friends, co-workers, and Matt. The technology of the cell phone gives us the ability to be in contact if necessary, but it is not like being there. We are confident that all will go well.

Winter is quickly approaching. Today I saw a heavy frost and it was very foggy. However, I hate to mention it since we have noted the cold weather in the Mid-west and all the snow to the north of Kansas City. Frank shared with us that they had experienced bitter cold and deep drifting snow. Our weather probably compares more to northern Oklahoma or southern Missouri.
We concentrate on keeping one room warm where we eat and work. It is surprising how warm our little kitchen stays with just using the gas stove and electric oven. I may have mentioned that Linda and I have never seen a working oven in an Azerbaijani stove. Everyone buys a small electric oven. We went for the slightly more expensive and it has a thermostat. The cheaper model is either on or off and controlling the temperature is quite an adventure.
Our oven gets everything done that we need, but just takes a little longer. We have never baked whole potatoes, but do cut up into small pieces, coat with oil and an onion soup mix and heat for about an hour. That is quite tasty. Usually Linda either fries or mashes the potatoes.
We eat a little rice. I prepare the rice using the method of boiling the rice for 10 minutes, pouring off excess water, and cover using a towel for a good seal on top of the pot, and wait five minutes. Linda does not eat as much rice as I. We often have black eyed peas, pinto or kidney beans with cornbread, and I add rice to mine.
Two sisters in one of my conversation clubs traveled to Baku and brought us back a little broccoli. That was quite a treat. We thoroughly enjoy the soup mixes that have been sent to us. There is nothing quite so tasty in this climate than soup.
Again, I know it is much colder in many places in the United States, but it is a different kind of cold here. The difference is that the public buildings and homes have very poor heating methods. On days when Linda has a full load at school, she comes home chilled to the bone. The school has electric wall heaters, but Linda has never experienced them on. The teachers will get a small electric heater and bring to their room, but temperature is usually about 40 – 45 in the rooms. Children keep their coats on the entire time in school, as well as the teachers. A difficult learning environment at best.
The Central Library has no heating system. The computer room has a small electric heater, and I warm up my hands with it. It amazes Linda and me that the buildings in which we work are colder than the outdoors in the winter, and warmer than the outdoors in the summer. Sometimes, I put on my coat and go outside to warm up.
We have Volunteers from Minnesota, Alaska, and other cold weather states who are used to the outdoor cold, but not the indoor discomfort. In the villages some Volunteers sleep in three layers of clothing plus the sleeping bags. The problem is when they read their hands get so cold outside the sleeping bags. Most village and mountain city Volunteers sleep in stocking caps, socks, layers, and the great sleeping bags. Many Volunteers will spend more time in their sleeping bags than out during the month of February.

Now that we have completed a year of service plus training, we spend a lot of time reflecting on what we have and have not accomplished. Also, we try to realistically assess what we might be able to accomplish in the remaining months. At times it becomes discouraging when thinking that the entire system is flawed. An example is that Friday was a day for “control work” at Linda’s school. Control work is required by the educational system to judge what the students have learned. Essentially it is a set of statements with a blank to be filled. The students must write the entire statement and fill in the word. The teachers either provide the answers or change the answer to the correct one later. It certainly does not measure the students’ knowledge or abilities. It is a complete waste of time for teacher and student, but required. It fills the days with unproductive activity and there are not that many days of educational opportunity provided to begin with.
With the onset of the colder winter and shorter days attendance is lower in my conversation clubs. I have been assisting more with the computers which is never ending maintenance. I have been helping download and install free anti-virus software. On one computer there were 2091 files which needed to be repaired. I offer my laptop to scan flash drives with my McAfee software. Often there are as many as forty viruses on a student’s flash drive. From my counterpart’s flash McAfee removed 137 files.I was feeling quite low with the lack of people recently, but spent a couple of hours assisting a young man in applying for jobs via the internet. As we walked home, he grabbed by hand and said if he could ever do anything for me, please ask. We must always remind ourselves, drop by drop a lake is made.

Down Hill Side

The big news this week was that on Friday we celebrated our anniversary of being Peace Corps Volunteers and moving to Shirvan. The pictures illustrate how we celebrated. First was a toast to the past year and to the countdown of returning to the United States to family and friends. Our dinner consisted of a chicken grill (it looks a lot like our Thanksgiving turkey) and fully loaded mashed potatoes from an instant mix from Betty Woollums.
Next was dessert, Oreo Double Stuffs and cold milk via Nancy Erlich in New York. Finally an evening of watching House and Monk episodes by playing DVDs with Windows Media Player and external speakers. To complete the enjoyment of the viewing Linda had a Diet Dr. Pepper compliments of my cousin Melissa Williamson in Georgetown, Texas. Melissa had sent 2 plastic bottles in a care package, and Linda saved them for this special occasion. We were amazed they made the journey through the mail just fine, and you can see by the expression on Linda’s face – she enjoyed the first, and is saving the second – maybe for Christmas or New Year’s.

The last picture is of our Christmas tree which went up this week. We were inspired by Betty Woollums who sent us some Christmas decorations, and a few holiday cards. The tree was purchased in the local bazaar as was lights for the 220 current. Linda made the decorations from old Christmas cards that Betty Matheney had sent us from John Knox Village last year.
On the television are 3 gifts from Azerbaijanis that we received last year. The angel on the left lights up. The angel and the 2 figures on the right are interesting because we have no idea of their significance. The Santa Claus (Shaxta Baba – grandfather frost) sings Frosty the Snowman.
The heater is very good, and we are fortunate to have it provided by our landlord. It is the type recommended by the Peace Corps as the safest. It is an electric radiator type that heats oil inside. We can also use it to heat or finish drying clothes.
Other Peace Corps Volunteers may heat with wood or gas. The gas can be dangerous and at times in short supply. An example is that in Barda the natural gas is turned off at 11 at night and resumes at 7:00 a.m. The danger is obvious. There can also be extreme variances in pressure. In our apartment there are days where we have no natural gas (usually not consecutive days) or low pressure. There is no notice – we just try to light the stove and most of the time it lights. We have a butane gas burner we can use in emergencies for cooking.
In the villages the Volunteers heat with wood. Wood is very expensive and the Peace Corps provides each volunteer 23 AZN per month for 6 months for heating supplement. One Volunteer, Tim, ordered a season of wood for 150 AZN. It was to be delivered between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. It arrived on the truck at 9:00 p.m. Tim and 2 fellow Volunteers unloaded the truck, then piled in the courtyard, then piled in an orderly fashion around Tim’s humble abode. The process was over 3 hours, and each Volunteer was extremely sore the next few days.

Beside the heater, notice our feet. Because of the dirt and dust no one wears their shoes past the entry way. During the winter it is important to have some warm slippers to wear around the house.

It is quite a psychological lift to realize we are only a year away from returning