The Next Best Place

Friends,

Well hey, it’s been awhile. Summer has come and gone way too fast. Here is a recap of the best stuff.

ABLE Camp: This camp (Azerbaijani Boys Leadership Experience) was last month and it was a good one. Boys from all around the country got to come together for 4 epic days of games, leadership presentations, community awareness, project ideas, and bonfires to name a few. The kids got a chance to interact with other boys their age, volunteers and Azerbaijanis who studied in America for 1 year of high school. They learned about how to be a leader in their community, how to implement projects, gender roles, and academic opportunities in America. They also learned how to throw a football and play capture the flag (they liked this one especially). The food wasn’t’ the best but the cabin style houses made up for it. It’s the first time that I have slept on a real mattress for more than two days in a long time! It left my back feeling pretty good. The boys seemed to really enjoy camp and it gave them a lot of confidence going into the new school year. Definitely one of the best things I have been apart of thus far in Azerbaijan.

Sheki Day Camp: This camp was special because the kids who attended were the best I have ever worked with. Enthusiasm, respect, gratitude, and patience are a few of the ways I can describe these kids. A stark contrast to the children at my school! The camp was 4 weeks long, but I only attended 1 of those weeks. My week was arts and crafts week, which turned out to be a lot cooler than I expected. We made kites, piñatas, soap carvings (I made a goldfish), tie-dyed t-shirts, painted a mural in the center of town and had a huge water fight. Very fun camp put on by a few dedicated volunteers. I hope we can replicate the experience for next summer.

Softball: Playing any other sport besides soccer is awesome. I like soccer, don’t get me wrong, but it’s all the kids’ play. Seriously. So when I heard there was going to be a softball meet, I jumped at the opportunity. The kids here really like it, and it’s good for them to learn something different/something about American sports. Yours truly went 3-5 with a triple and two singles. It was a lot of fun, but the amount of Cubs gear I saw out there was sickening. Go Crew.

Istanbul/Olympos: I recently visited Turkey, a place I have wanted to go for some time. I traveled there by myself, something I had never done up until this point. Travelling solo is pretty cool, I must say. Istanbul was an interesting place to travel to. It has a lot of history, but at the same time I was disappointed that there was so much development. It is definitely a place to shop, if that is what you want to do. The best things were the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofya. So beautiful. The Turks are a really kind people. Interesting and helpful, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with some really great people. This was definitely one of my favorite parts about the trip. After I exhausted Istanbul, I traveled down South to Olymos, off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Here I stayed in a tree house (just like Swiss family Robinson) and went to a very pretty beach everyday. I swam a lot, and ate a lot of seafood and okra. It was all very delicious and I find myself wanting these foods all the time now. I need to stop watching ‘No Reservations’ because I get super hungry every time that I do.

Other news: School started on the 15th this month. The first week was very disorganized. Confusing and complicated sum it up pretty well (sigh). Hopefully, there will be a schedule soon. The 23rd of this month is also the 1-year mark of my PC service. Quite the accomplishment! It’s hard to believe I have been here an entire year already! One down, one to go. One group of volunteers has recently left the country (AZ5’s) and the new group (AZ7’s) will be here shortly. This means that my group (AZ6) kind of has ‘veteran status’ and will be showing the new volunteers the ropes and how to navigate a squat toilet.

Some of you have wanted to send a package my way. If you are one of these super people, I promise to give you backrubs and feed you grapes/candy of your choice when I get back. My address is:

Tim Coné
Lahij Settlement
Ismayilli Region
Azerbaijan Republic

I am fond of beef jerky, tuna, chunky pb, hot sauces, spices, mouth wash, good coffee, music magazines, trail mix and other assorted nut medleys.

As you know, I don’t update my blog as much as I would like to. I tend to respond more timely to emails, so if you have questions, want updates, relationship advice, etc… email me at timrcone@yahoo.com.

trc