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

Holiday Travel Adventures

PICTURES: The first is of Linda, Bill and Dorothy at the Mingachevir reservoir. Second the reservoir with the mountains in the background. Third is of the beautiful river running through the center of Mingachevir, and note the fantastic river walk – outstanding. Fourth, I could not resist a shot of the public toilet with the semi-private door. Bill has a better picture with me inside looking out at everyone with the door closed. Finally, even the most beautiful spots on this earth has to have a few turkeys.
We had another busy week following Thanksgiving. We were very fortunate in that Matt and Andrew called on Thanksgiving evening after we had published the last blog. It was good to hear their voices.
During the Qurban bayram (Sacrifice Holiday) Linda and I traveled to Barda to visit with our friends Bill and Dorothy Colcord. We left our home about 10:00 a.m. and arrived at Bill and Dorothy’s a little after 2:00 p.m. which means it was a great trip, and we did not have to wait long for bus connections.
When we arrived at their home there were 2 of the younger Volunteers finishing up a Scrabble game with Dorothy. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent in great conversation and good food. Bill and Dorothy are much like us and receive many delicious offerings from the U.S. Linda had brought a Duncan Hines Brownie Mix and they turned out perfect. We also learned a new use for lavash, which is a flat bread much like a flour tortilla. We cut the lavash into squares or diamonds, coat with a little olive oil, season, bake 3 minutes on each side, and then we have cheap warm chips – tasty.
On Saturday we all four traveled north and east to Mingachevir. Mingachevir is celebrating its 61st year as a city. A new city it is very clean, has wide streets, and has a reservoir which also produces hydro-electric power. There is the large reservoir with mountains in the background. The river then runs through the center of the city. It has become quite the Azerbaijan tourist spot. Mingachevir is one of the choice assignments for Volunteers. There is abundant housing, clean, great bazaar, hotels, and good restaurants by Azerbaijan standards. The weather can get a little cold in the winter, but there is water recreation in the summer. The reservoir is a beautiful shade of blue.
After returning in the early evening (we cannot travel outside of site except during daylight due to road and mass transit conditions) we again enjoyed good conversation, food, and then movie time. Dorothy had access to a projector and Bill connected his laptop. Bill projected the movie A Christmas Story, which if you can believe they had never seen. Yes, the movie A Christmas Story about Ralphie and Red Rider BB gun, they had never viewed this masterpiece of the cinema. I, on the other hand, recited the dialogue along with the actors.
Dorothy and Linda went to sleep while Bill and I enjoyed the second feature, Pretty Woman.
Sunday we returned home and Monday was still the holiday, so Linda spent the day washing, cleaning, and I ground meat, shopped, and defrosted the fridge. All in all a great holiday was had here in Azerbaijan.

Recently Linda broke a tooth, but was in no pain. She contacted the Peace Corps Medical Officer, Fuad, and he arranged a dental appointment for her. Since we are due for an annual examination and cleaning, Fuad made an appointment for both of us. The dental work is contracted to a group named American Dental Transplant Clinic. The dentists are graduates of dental schools in the United States. The clinic has the latest technology. The x-rays are digital and are viewed within seconds. Linda had her tooth repaired, but we both need further work done. I will have a couple of fillings and a root canal. Linda will have a couple of fillings, but one is complicated. We will keep everyone posted, but the dental care is impressive.

When I went to the post office after the holiday, all the Hopewell cards had arrived for Linda. In all she received 25 birthday cards – thanks to each and every one of you. Linda and I are back at work until the Azerbaijan World Unification holiday on December 31, and then the New Year celebration.

Next week a picture of our Christmas tree! Thanks to Betty Woollums for giving us the inspiration, and Betty Matheney for sending all the old Christmas cards which we are using for decorations!

Happy Thanksgiving from Azerbaijan

We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We hope you are all with family and friends.
The second in command at the U.S. Embassy in Baku, Don Lu, opened his home to the AZ6 Volunteers for a Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday, November 21. There were 50 of 55 Volunteers attending. Don Lu is a RPCV who served in his 20’s. He is very impressive and has helped us to understand Azerbaijan’s current political situation.
The second photo is of the PCV shoes left at the door.
The Third photo is of Thanksgiving table and you might recognize mashed potatoes and stove top stuffing. The fourth photo is of Denney carving the turkey (see description below). Finally, there is a picture of Leslie Schoolfield, an AZ6 in Salyan, Denney and Linda celebrating Thanksgiving in Azerbaijan.

It has been a full week with being in Baku last Saturday for the Thanksgiving dinner hosted by Don Lu. There was a lot of delicious turkey and soft drinks provided by the Embassy. The AZ6 Volunteers each brought a dish. There were lots of apple dishes, potatoes, pasta, salads, pumpkin pies, and even one pecan pie. The food was wonderful, and the housing for U.S. officials is really fantastic.
After the dinner all the Volunteers had a talent show (more next week with pictures). Then we were hosted by Americans living and working Baku. Linda and I were hosted by Peter and Stephanie Stasser. Peter is with the Department of Justice and works with prosecutors helping with procedures and techniques. They have 2 college age children. Stephanie’s father was a university professor in Thailand. Peter was a prosecutor in New Orleans and has served overseas in Malawi, Georgia, Philippines, and now Azerbaijan. They will be leaving Azerbaijan in the next 6 months for a new assignment. They were very kind to us. Peter drove us to church on Sunday. They have a lovely home, and Stephanie is quite an artist. We had wonderful conversations with them. It was a fantastic break.
It is interesting though that boredom can be a problem for everyone serving overseas. When we returned to the Stasser’s home they were watching a DVD of season 3 of the Beverly Hillbillies.

We celebrated Thanksgiving in the traditional manner. We had a turkey, it is small and here in Azerbaijan it is called a chicken. Linda put together wonderful green beans, mashed potatoes. We were going to have a wonderful dessert, but the electricity went off about 2:00 p.m. and was off until 5:30. So, you might note in the pictures above, we celebrated by candle light.
On Friday we will travel to Barda to spend time with our friends Bill and Dorothy.

When there is a significant American holiday such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, Volunteers do not work. Then Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (November 27-30) has been declared non-work days by the Milli Mejlis (Parliament). The non-work days are to mark Qurban. Qurban means sacrifice and is a significant remembrance in the Muslim world. It is a time when sheep are slaughtered as a sacrifice and those who are able will give meat to the poor. Families may go together and slaughter one sheep. The remembrance is of Abraham’s going to sacrifice his son Ishmael, but God provides a lamb instead. The term slaughter is not used, but instead “cut” indicating how the lamb is to be killed. The lamb is pointed towards Mecca, a prayer is said, then the throat is cut. After the lamb has bled to death, the head and the legs at the knee are removed. Then the meat is butchered in the customary proportions.

Any time during a Muslim holy day there is an emphasis on charitable giving, similar to our providing meals during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

We wish for you the very best, and thank you always for your support. My brother John and his wife Kim called us Thanksgiving morning here. It was so good to hear their voices, and we begin to look forward to being reunited. A special thank you to all those who sent Linda a birthday card. The church in Archie was especially well represented. Linda and I are faithful to send our birthday offerings to the Missouri Baptist Children's Home through Hopewell Baptist Church.

On a sadder note, the Peace has lost its fourth Volunteer this year due to death. It was a 23 year old young woman, graduate of Stanford, serving in Monaco and died following an illness. For more information on the Peace Corps go to www.peacecorps.gov

AZ7 a Great Group

Pictured above are (left to right) Clarissa, Linda, and Jade. They are a part of the AZ7 Volunteers. They will be sworn in and deployed to their sites on December 10. Overall it is a very outstanding group.

We wrote about Connie and Sarah who were part of the original 61 AZ7. AZ7 training began in Philadelphia as did ours. They lost one person there who decided they could not go. After arriving in Azerbaijan they lost a second person due to health reasons, an allergic reaction to the pollution. Connie will be going to Qazax in the far northwest corner of Azerbaijan, and Sarah to Xachmaz which is in the north east corner.

Now for an even more interesting part of the story. While in Philadelphia there were 2 other countries staging at the same time. One of them was Turkmenistan. On the morning they were to leave, the Director of Central Asia and Eastern Europe region of the Peace Corps came to tell them that Turkmenistan had decided that it would not host new volunteers in 2009 and would wait until 2010 (after 17 years of continually receiving of volunteers). The group was devastated to say the least. One couple was like us and had sold their home. The Peace Corps did everything they could. They returned the group to their homes and said they would try to place them as quickly as possible, but it could be months.

Azerbaijan Peace Corps expanded its AZ7 group to include 7 more for the program of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). They joined the 9 week training - two weeks late. They have been working very hard to catch up with the cultural and language training. They missed the Peace Corps Volunteer site visits. To help with their training the 7 went to 5 sites nearest to Baku. That is how we got to meet and spend time with Clarissa and Jade.

Clarissa is a Chinese American (as she has to repeatedly explain to the Azerbaijanis that she meets). Her grandfather still lives in Hon Kong, her brother in Hawaii, and her parents in Berkley, California. She loves the Berkley area. She had researched and planned on serving in the Peace Corps for several years. She is very dedicated and wants to share herself with the people of Azerbaijan.

Jade's grandfather immigrated to the United States in 1950 from Tehran, Iran. Jade is from the Seattle area and had wanted to serve in the Peace Corps since she entered the University. Jade fits right into the Azerbaijani appearance.

We were very impressed with their dedication and desire to be good volunteers - consequently they will be great volunteers. Clarissa is going to Neftchala, and Jade to Masalli which are in the southern sector of Azerbaijan, and only a couple of hours from us. We hope to be able to keep in contact with them during next year.

The ethnicity of the AZ7s is enhanced by Sharif Hussanein who is one of the 7 from the Turkmenistan group. He was born in the Sudan, escaped the genocides with his older brother. He ended up through many circumstances in Florida, and is a graduate of Florida State University, and a U.S. citizen. He wants to serve the United States through the Peace Corps. He arrived in Azerbaijan and was told by the host family that they wanted a real American and he could not stay with them. The Peace Corps immediately found alternative housing for him. His attitude is always positive. Children at the school where he trains will lick their fingers and rub his skin, and he just smiles. Linda met him during one of her presentations and was captivated by his special qualities.

We try to explain to our co-workers here in Azerbaijan, that these are really more American than we. They represent the very best of our nation - God Bless the U.S.A.

Saturday, November 21 we will travel to Baku and be housed by an American family working in Azerbaijan and living in Baku. In the afternoon 55 AZ6 volunteers will go to the home of Don Lou who is with the Embassy staff in Baku. Don Lou is a RPCV and has great affection for the volunteers.

One other note: Robert Kelsay commented that Linda was wearing an Oregon Ducks tee-shirt in one of the photos. When volunteers go home, they generally leave as much as they can in Azerbaijan for volunteers and Azerbaijanis. Linda inherited the shirt from an AZ5 - she is still a Baylor Bear, Kansas Jayhawk, and Central Missouri Mule through and through.

Half-way through Training and Service

Pictures: This week I am reminiscing a little. The first picture is of Thanksgiving 2008 in the village of Saray with 3 Trainee clusters represented. We gathered for Thanksgiving pot luck dinner and also to surprise Linda on her birthday. The sign says “Your 60 years life – celebrate/congratulations.”
The third picture was taken at a cultural event during our training. We visited the ancient site of Gobustan, and here are most of the older group eating lunch together. The 3 on the far right have all Early Terminated, ET, due to family and adjustment issues.
The fourth picture is of Denney looking into a “Mud Volcano”. These are unique to the area and are a result of gas erupting through the mud. They are not hot, but can be a little dangerous in that this year one of the AZ7’s sunk down to his belly in mud when the crust broke.
Finally is one of my favorite pictures of Linda at Sheki.

Linda and I have passed the half-way point in our service and training. On December 10 we will mark the half-way point in our service as Volunteers, and will have less than one year remaining. The countdown of our return will begin. So, the subject of this blog is homesickness.

I read the blogs of other Volunteers and Trainees in Azerbaijan when I have time. Homesickness is common to all of us. Everyone has ways of handling the being separated from family and American culture. Serving in the Peace Corps is far different now than even 5 years ago, much less 10, 20, 30, or 50. Through cell phones, television and the internet we keep up with news and are in contact with family and friends on a regular basis. It is this contact that helps the most. Even short emails are always appreciated.
This week we were fortunate to have two phone calls. First, the members of Hopewell Baptist Church had a “Call Linda and Denney Fellowship.” There was a potluck supper and then they called 8:15 p.m. CST which was 6:15 a.m. for us. We were expecting the call and had both been up since 5:00 in anticipation. We had speakerphones on both ends of the call which made it very nice. It was a joy to hear familiar voices. Something like that picks up the spirits.
On Friday night (CST) Andrew called us and we spoke for about 30 minutes. He had had a stressful day, but being able to speak with him helped to make us feel we are still a viable part of his life. He said he would call again on Thanksgiving.
In addition to the telephone calls, we also receive cards and letters. Three weeks or so is the average delivery time. These are nice because they can be read over and over. I also use the cards for Conversation Clubs to discuss the pictures and such.
Many of you have been so instrumental in sending us packages. I know I will leave someone out so I will not list everyone, but some of the highlights have been: spices from many people (I think my sister buys a whole shelf and sends it), For all of you who have sent special foods like peanut butter, French or Italian roast coffee, crackers, cheeses, oatmeal, hot chocolate mixes, Kool-Aid, Crystal Lite, soups and soup mixes, candy, and everything else – too much to mention. These items make life so much more bearable. All the Volunteers comment how these items help overcome the homesickness for American culture.
We are very fortunate to have a reliable mail system. Many Volunteers over the world are not as fortunate. We have timely and safe delivery. We have only lost a couple of items. One electronic package did not arrive at all. Another package was missing a roll of tape after having come open during transit. We also lost one package of Crystal Lite – told you it was valuable.
We offer special thanks to all of you who helped in emergencies with items like makeup, hairspray, and French Press coffee maker.
Last year Billie and Daryl Limpus sent us a CD of the 1985 Christmas program at FBC Archie. There were our sons, and friends’ children singing and performing. It was so emotional and touching.
So, basically, every contact from the U.S.A. is deeply appreciated and helps manage the homesickness.

We miss family and friends most at the holidays, birthdays, and special occasions. The American culture is different. When we are reading books and the characters go to their favorite Pizza place, restaurant, play, or concert, then it hits. When Linda is preparing meals, we realize how much we miss prepared foods. Diet drinks are not found easily, an occasional Coke or Pepsi Light can be purchased. The sugar free drinks from the U.S. are something we did not realize how much we would miss them.

Some volunteers have made trips back to the United States and others have had family visit them here. I believe for us a trip to the United States would not help because I doubt I could get back on the plane to return to Azerbaijan. Chris Gilmore is hoping to come visit us next year, and we are still hoping one or both of our sons could come.

In December and early January we will be getting our physicals and dental examinations, and then late January or early February will be our Mid-service Conference. Then the countdown to our return will begin, and next summer in earnest.

All total out of the 61 we began with there is now 55. There have been 3 younger and 3 older volunteers who Early Terminated. To Early Terminate is respected as the best choice for those individuals at that time. We respect and appreciate anyone who has made the Peace Corps a choice and every minute of service is important. Thank you again for helping make this possible for us through your contacts, support, friendship, love, prayers, and thoughts!