Dig a hole, burn some wood?

Dear Friends,

It's me Tim! First off, a few answers to questions from friends to address: *There are many stray dogs and cats in Azerbaijan. There are animals everywhere really! My host family has a dog, a goose or two and chickens. My family's dog is really friendly, but most of the people here do not see dogs and cats as loveable creatures like we do back home. I've seen people throw rocks at dogs and cats in order to keep them away. It's really strange to see that kind of aggression towards animals we are so used to domesticating. When I get my permanent site, I am thinking about adopting a dog or cat. *The weather here is fairly comparable to Wisconsin weather. It has been nice recently, but soon it will all turn to cold and frozen dirt because there are no sidewalks in Saray (the village I live in). Since there are no sidewalks, I am constantly walking in a combination of droppings from the farm animals that roam the paths, and mud. It gets really sketchy when it rains. I try not to think about it too much. *The language is difficult to learn right now, I'm not gonna lie. There are a lot of sounds I am not familiar making with my tongue, but it's coming a little easier every day. Also there are a ton of suffixes in Azeri and those determine the tenses in which you are speaking. The suffixes are difficult to memorize, but with hours of language class everyday and talking with my host family, it's getting easier. *I'll have my permanent address in about a month or so, when I get it, I'll post it.

A couple weeks back, we all took a trip to Gobustan that has ancient etchings in rocks from cavemen that are older than the Egyptian pyramids. The engravings were fairly anti-climatic though. The day was saved when we visited the mud volcanoes! These were actually really cool.

This past weekend, a couple other volunteers and myself went to visit current volunteers in Mengechivir, which is a region in the middle of the country. It's the 3rd or 4th largest city in Azerbaijan, and it has recently been given funding for some reason and it is cleaned up and really nice. There isn't trash everywhere like in Saray and Sumgayit. (Sumagayit is the second largest city, next to the capital, Baku). My village has waste management, but people tend to burn their trash rather than let waste management take it. Once or twice a week, people will burn their trash in large piles on the sides of the roads. I know, this is terrible for the environment, but AZ doesn't have the greatest waste management practices and/or are uneducated/unaware about the effects burning trash has on the environment. There is garbage everywhere, and when it is burning and I'm breathing it in, I fear for my health. This happens daily.

The volunteers we stayed with were a married couple. They met in the Peace Corps and then got married. They were super-nice and hospitable. They cooked for us like 4 times including chocolate chip pancakes and burritos (separate meals), which were very tasty. Thanks Nate and Mariko! It was interesting to hear from them what volunteer life is like from their prospective. We did some fun stuff including: ate a lot of food not bathed in grease, butter, and/or oil, walked to the reservoir and walked along the stony beach, played softball with Nate's youth development group which included two young Azeri's, girls from Spain, France and Germany, and a guy from Iceland! It was fun to watch them take batting practice, because many of them have never held a bat, let alone seen a baseball game. Watched season 1 of The Office, and The Zohan (Adam Sandler movie that is absolutely ridiculous,), had many interesting conversations with Europeans, and wished I had my skateboard cause there was fun looking stuff to skate there. (I prolly would've gotten even more strange looks than I normally get if I would have had it, because no one skates here! Boards can be bought in Baku but no one rides them. People just carry them around like accessories which is kinda lame).

A couple weeks back, another volunteer and I were on our way home from language class when we noticed two very large tents set up in the middle of the street. Curious, we wandered over. We were greeted by many Azeri boys screaming, “What is your name?” and “How are you?” in broken English. Soon a couple of the older guys invited us to go eat with them. We said, “Ok” and were led into a tent. They served us great food and tried to get us to drink excessive amounts of alcohol. The big drink Azerbaijan is vodka (something to do with Russia) and the stuff they were drinking was like rocket fuel. I felt like I was in an episode of ‘No Reservations’. I looked on in horror (kidding, sort of) as some of the men drank shots at a very rapid pace. We soon realized that we were at some sort of bachelor’s or wedding celebration. I was glad that the other volunteer I was with knew a little bit of Russian or else we would have been sitting in almost silence with a ton of people staring at us watching us eat soup. After eating, it was time to dance! Dancing is so different here, but in a really cool way. It involves a lot of pointed toes and wavy hands. It's like riverdance in Azerbaijan. I’ve been practicing in my spare time when no one is at the house. By the next wedding, I’ll be ready.

Also, I’ve put some new pics up! Included are: my family’s pomegranate trees! (so tasty. And my host mom makes pomegranate juice which is amazing!), my first wa-wa (in Philadelphia), mud volcanoes, a soccer field by my school with a horse grazing (there is actually a little boy no more than twelve that rides this horse around the village all day. It’s so cool. He is the nicest kid too. He offered me a ride the other day!) And finally, the family dog Tuzik.

Before I go watch tons and tons of the Sopranos, I hope everyone has a really fun Halloween. I’m a little bummed I won’t be able to attend, but I’ll be there in true French spirit.

Big Hugs,

Your friend,

Tim