Hocus Pocus

One of the kids favorite games recently is to get one of the wands from our dress-up drawer and 'cast spells' on the teacher.  I've spent my fair share of time chasing them around the room as various animals, but this one with Colleen was downright epic.  They decided to branch out from animals, and the results were pretty hilarious.  To give you a hint, in the opening shot she is being the Azerbaijan flag!



I'll tell you what.  If nothing else, kindergarten is never boring!

Up in the Air

Hey.  Sorry it's been so long since I last posted.  It's just that since New Year's, nothing particularly blog-worthy has happened.  Work.  Kids. Watching Downton Abbey with my roommates.  In lieu of a story, allow me to share a bit of the culture we live in (or at least work in- I don't know how this compares to the country as a whole).

One thing we've marvelled at since starting work at our school is how little things are planned in advance.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm fairly used to that after all my years abroad.  But some of the particular instances here crack me up a bit.  At one point we were asked to make out a long-term plan, detailing the topics we're going to teach in each subject for the rest of the year.  That's fairly standard, as I understand it.  But no one was able to tell us how many weeks we'd be teaching, or when school ends.  Huh.  Okay.  We just made an educated guess and planned weeks worth of topics without tying them down to particular dates. 

Then there was the time we found out on Wednesday that we wouldn't have school Friday.  It's not that someone forgot to tell us.  They had just found out themselves.  A week before New Years, we asked when the holiday would start and how long it would be and were told that we'd find out next week (a day or two beforehand).  And this last Friday we left work not knowing if there would be school on Monday, since Sunday was a national holiday!  We had to call someone over the weekend to find out. :)

None of this bothers us.  It's mostly just funny.  But one particular situation has us even more up in the air than usual.  Since we have four teachers and only five students, I've long wondered how the school could justify it.  A while ago they decided that they would have us teach an extra conversation lesson each week, with me staying at our school to work with the other classes, and Colleen going to a nearby elementary school.  But nothing ever came of it and we had almost forgotten about it.  Until last Thursday, when P dropped a bomb on us- they had decided to send Colleen to teach full-time at the other school, leaving me to take over the kindergarten group.  But Friday afternoon we still hadn't heard any firm details, so Colleen wasn't sure where she should go to work on Monday, let alone what kind of lessons she should prepare. 

Without any more information, we decided to carry on as usual, but I would be prepared to take over any day that they decided to whisk her away to the other school.  Apparently someone from the head office was coming by on Monday to work out the details.  Except that they didn't.  So another week passed.  At this point, we don't even know if it's still going to happen.  But if it does, it will probably happen quickly, without much advance notice.  Ah, flexibility!

It gives new meaning to the passage "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matt 6:34).  We really don't know what tomorrow will bring.  That's always true, wherever you live.  It's just easier to remember it here! 

Happy New Year!!!

This is now the 4th country I've celebrated New Year's Eve in.  It's not quite as big a deal here as it was in Russia or Kazakhstan, but it was still pretty spectacular.  It certainly put any New Year I've spent in America to shame, if only because of the events at the end of the night.  Intrigued?  Then read on...



The local butcher shop getting ready for the holiday- seeing as I have
a long-standing fear of turkeys, this made me a bit nervous

 

This year was definitely different from previous years. First of all, the weather was simply gorgeous. It was warmer than it has been in weeks (in the 50's) and the sun was shining. We met a teacher from Rachael's school downtown, and after she left for some last minute shopping, the three of us walked up and down the park by the water.



Just a bit different from New Years Eve in KZ or Russia!

Have I mentioned what a beautiful city we live in?

But of course there were still New Years trees and Grandfather Frost (like Santa).

 



I can see our house from here!  This is why we have such a phenominal
view from our apartment- we live at the end of nowhere!

The sun sets on 2012

Shortly after the sun went down we headed home to chill out for the evening.  We watched a movie and then went out on our balcony at midnight.  Now this is where the spactacular part comes in.  If you've read any of my posts about the holiday from years past, you know that fireworks are a huge part of the celebration.  Everyone and their brother buys as many as they can and then sets them off in their courtyard or off of their balconies at midnight.  And they don't have any kind of laws restricting who can buy the really big ones, so it's lightyears beyond anything you've seen at home. 

We figured that, considering our view, we'd be able to see most of the fireworks across the city from our balcony, and we definitely got that part right.  It was pretty great.  What we did not count on, however, was the view we would get of the ones going off in our own courtyard.  In the past my roommates and I have always gone outside to watch the show.  This time, we were on the 10th floor.  Which means they were exploding right in front of us.  Literally 20-30 feet away.  It was spectacular and terrifying all at the same time.  This is some of the video I took.  You can definitely hear us flipping out in the background:

 

 

I think Rachael was right, though, in saying that the best part was probably our neighbors on the next balcony, looking at us like we were crazy!  What's up with these weird American girls, shrieking and laughing and cowering in the corner of their balcony?  Even the little girl was laughing at us! 

 

Once we got back inside and let the adrenaline rush subside, we poured ourselves another glass of bubbly (well, kind of- it was a carbonated fruit juice of some kind) and paused for one last group photo.

  

Happy New Year!

So that's all for now.  Happy New Year from Baku!  I hope 2012 was wonderful and that 2013 will be even better. :)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like... Oh Wait, Nevermind

Celebrating the holidays overseas is never quite like in America.  Last year, for instance, my roommates and I found ourselves out doing some last minute shopping on Christmas morning and only opening presents that afternoon.  Our dinner also included shashlik, the Kazakh version of a kebab.  Not exactly Norman Rockwell-esque, but we made it work!

This year, however, has been the least Christmas-y of all my years overseas.  We never seemed to have time or energy to decorate or prepare anything during the week, and the between sickness and other issues, the weekends got away from us as well.  Before we knew it, it was December 21st, and we had yet to even buy a tree.  We found a small one on top of Colleen's wardrobe, but we never even put it up.

Our one attempt at seasonal decorations

This long weekend was a much needed break for all three of us.  We took a day to just chill out and do nothing, and then a day to do a deep-cleaning of our apartment.  I cooked, which is something that sadly falls by the wayside too often when we're teaching.  We hung out and watched movies.  It was a wonderful time to do all those things (including just relax) that we usually don't have time for. 

On the 24th we went to an American-run coffee shop to indulge in some holiday-themed coffee drinks (for Rachael and Colleen) and hot chocolate (for me).  Then we wandered downtown for an hour and a half looking for a mythical Mexican restaurant we'd heard about.  We finally settled for dinner at a nice place near fountain square.

Today we never even got out of our PJ's (which is why you'll see no pictures of us!)  We spent the day watching Christmas movies and cooking.  Rachael made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and we had my mom's amazing pot roast + green beans and rolls for dinner. 

Dinner and a movie: "Miracle on 34th Street"

It was a lovely day, but despite the themed movies and the late-night skype with my parents, it just didn't feel like Christmas. 

One could assume that without all the usual trappings of the holiday in America (and don't get me wrong- I love the usual trappings!) I might have been able to focus more on the reason for it all.  And that should have been the case.  But unfortunately, that did not happen, at least for me.  In all honesty, it was just an extra day off work.

I don't want to let this one slide.  I think I'm going to take a day during our next holiday (for New Years) to celebrate Christmas again.  No decorations, gifts, heartwarming movies, or special meals.  Just me, Him, the Book, and the greatest story ever told.  Maybe some carols.  Anyway, that's the plan.  Please feel free to hold me accountable on this. 

A Day in the Life of a Kindergarten Teacher

Okay, I'll come straight out and say it... my main motivation in writing this particular entry is the excuse to include a bunch of pictures and show everyone how adorable our students are.  Consider yourself warned.  :)  So, having said that, here is a typical day in the life of these two kindergarten teachers:

8:45-9:10- Students arrive at school.  They put their coats away and are free to play until class starts.  Since our first lesson is art, often either Colleen or I are cutting, gathering, or arranging things for whatever the day's project is.  At some point a crowd of curious 5-year-olds will surround us, with a chorus of "Teacher, what is this?"

9:10-9:50- Art.  Every day we have a different project planned, some more involved than others.  We try to use different skills (drawing, tracing, painting, cutting, gluing, weaving) and reinforce the language they're learning.  "What is this?" "What color is it?" "How many are there?" "Is it big or small?"  They have made TP roll binoculars, lion masks, pasta necklaces, and picture frames, along with all the usual coloring and painting projects.  Once Colleen had them make sheep out of a TP roll, paper, and some cotton balls, and it was the biggest hit!  One boy wanted to carry it with him all day, and she had to bring an extra chair to the English lesson for it in order to get him to sit down!

 

10:00-10:40- Breakfast, including time to corral the kids downstairs and wash our hands before and after.  Have I mentioned that we get 2 out of 3 meals at school every day?  It's a pretty sweet deal. :)

 

10:50-11:20- English class.  This is the only part of our day that we were really trained for before we came!  Each week we have a topic like food, animals, or family, which we also try to incorporate into other lessons.  Three or four days out of the week we'll focus on new vocabulary (with a LOT of review the whole way) and the other day or two we teach a grammar concept (like pronouns or basic prepositions) or useful sentences. 

 

The kids pick it up really quickly, but the amazing thing is when we hear them using words or even sentence structures we haven't taught them!  They pick up so much, just from hearing us speaking all day. 

 

11:30-12:00- P.E.  This is probably the hardest lesson to control, but the kids need it after sitting still so much of the morning.  We play soccer, tag, and monkey in the middle.  We work on different skills, like kicking, catching, jumping, climbing, and throwing at a target.  When possible, we also try to play games that reinforce whatever they learned in their English lesson.  In the video below, the kids had to transfer all the noodles from one chair to the other, acting like whatever animal Colleen called out. 

 

 

12:10-12:40- Math (MWF) or Science (Tue/Thur).  Math right now is basically a lot of practice writing the numbers, counting, and saying them in English, although just this week they got their first color-by-numbers picture.  Science is just exploring the world, and learning the words to talk about it.  We've talked about the five senses, the weather, the different seasons, and different kinds of plants.

 

12:40-1:10- Recess!  Everyone's favorite time of day, including the teachers.  As long as they're not in danger of hurting themselves or each other, we get to just chill out for a while and talk. 



F bossing the boys around: a pretty accurate
representation of how things go down in our class

1:10-1:50- Lunch.  Though the kids mostly talk to each other in Azeri and Russian, this is a great time to work on manners- for example, saying "Teacher, can I have ketchup, please" instead of "Teacher, ketchup," and saying please and thank you.

2:00-2:30- Problem Solving lesson.  This is just a fancy way to say that this is the time of day when they play with blocks, put together puzzles, and play with clay. 

2:30-3:00- Music (MWF) or Skills (Tue/Thur).  The skills lesson is a time to do tracing worksheets, as well as do cutting, coloring, and matching activities in their workbooks. 

In the music lesson we teach them songs in English, thus far, mostly ones we grew up with, like "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" and "Rain, Rain, Go Away."  This week they're learning "The Hokey Pokey"!  Whenever possible, we try to find cartoons or videos of the songs to play on our laptops, which they love.

3:00-3:30- Review and Games
3:30-4:00- Snack time.
4:00- The kids go home and the grown-ups collapse in exhaustion!

You may or may not have noticed that there were often 10 minute gaps between classes.  The school here has built-in breaks for the children to play between lessons.

The whole class (at least that day) chillin' on the windowsill

One thing we love to do is teach them little games or tricks.  The latest is the high five thing- "Up high, down low, too slow!"  They can literally do that over and over again for 10 minutes if we let them.  Although they came up with a variation on it all by themselves.  If the person manages to slap your hand before you pull it away, they say "Too fast!"

P teaching them "Thumb War" (after we taught it to her)

So that's it!  Our super cute students.  It's not always easy to teach them (in fact, it almost never is) but it's certainly entertaining!



On a school-wide field trip to a bookstore last week

PS. As if this wasn't enough, I posted a few more on the "Pictures" page, as well as some that are not of the kids... although really, what fun is that?

The Longest Word in the World

Soon after we got here, someone told me that the longest word in the world is Azeri.  Now, I've done some research since then and it seems that it's not actually possible to determine the longest word in the world because there are too many variables.  But I can tell you that if it were possible, I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that my friend was right.

The Azeri language uses a lot of suffixes with words to convey meaning.  For example, the phrase "with my parents" is only one word in Azeri.  To make it a complete sentence- "I am with my parents"- is only 2 words: the pronoun + the rest of the sentence.  Although you could actually leave the pronoun off if you wanted to and have an entire sentence in one word.

valideyn- parent

valideynlǝr- parents

valideynlǝrim- my parents

valideynlǝrimnǝn- with my parents
Mǝn valideynlǝrimnǝnǝm- I am with my parents

And that's a word we've used in a lesson before, having only been studying for a few months.  I can't even imagine what a native speaker could come up with!

Some other fun/interesting things we've learned about the language:

• The verb always goes at the end of the sentence or phrase, not matter how long it is. To use an old example from a friend who studied Kazakh: "I with my friend to Temirtau for New Years went." That one definitely throws us off when we're trying to formulate sentences!
• Our teacher taught us one verb that has at least 6 different meanings: to weigh something, to take a picture, to draw a picture, to smoke a cigarette, to pull, and to spread something (like butter on a piece of bread).
• To make a verb negative, you add an "m" to the middle of the word- "bilirǝm" (I know) becomes "bilmirǝm" (I don't know).  It's kind of an important distinction, but I mess it up all the time.  I once told someone quite emphatically (in Azeri) that I am not studying Azeri.
• The verb for "to understand" literally means "to fall into your head."
• The verb for "to listen" translates as "to hang something on your ear."

Ah, the joys of learning a new language.  Good times.

 

Eating Turkey in Turkey

Let me just start by saying that I have been planning that blog title since this summer! :)  We've been excited about celebrating Thanksgiving with the teams in Turkey since we first heard of the possibility.  But as high as my expectations were (sorry ESI- I broke the first rule of living overseas!), it was even better than I expected.

First of all, Antalya is gorgeous.  From the first glimpse out of the airplane window, I knew it was going to be pretty spectacular.

 

And it only improved on closer acquaintance.  We stayed at a hotel in the old city, with orange trees growing in the courtyard.  It was quite picturesque, to say the least.  Stone pavements, narrow alleys, the occasional stunning view of the Mediterranean, and plenty of charming little carpet and souvenir shops ready to take us tourists for all we were worth! 

 

The cultural center where we had our meetings (the place
with the red shutters), only a 5-10 minute walk from our hotel

 

No filters, no playing around with the colors... and it was even more amazing
in person. (photo credit goes to Stephanie, one of our teachers on the Turkey team)

 

Just chillin' on the Mediterranean.  No big deal.

 

Thursday was our busiest day, by far.  Rachael, Colleen, and I, along with the girls from KZ arrived in the morning after travelling most of the night, and we got there just in time for the first of several group sessions.  The people who run the cultural center (and cafe) where we met agreed to make Thanksgiving dinner for us, which was a huge blessing.  It was absolutely delicious with all the traditional dishes- even pumpkin pie for dessert!  Since we didn't have to cook or clean up, we were free to have most of our sessions that day, which in turn freed up most of the weekend for sightseeing and hanging out.

On Friday afternoon the entire group rented a tour boat to take us up the coast and back.  We started out at 3:30, and it was a two hour tour.  There was one moment in particular, standing at the bow after the sun had set, but before it started getting really dark, that is etched in my memory.  I can't even begin to describe how exquisite it was.  My camera couldn't capture the depth of colors, but here's my best shot anyway.

 



 

But even had I been able to take a perfect picture, to capture all the colors, shadows, and forms, that would only be a fraction of the experience.  Imagine the gentle rocking of the boat, the soft breeze in your face, the air just cool enough to be refreshing without being too cold.  Try to hear the lapping of water against the side of the boat, the faint sound of the guitar as Jim and Rachel play wrship music in the background.  The sound of laughter and conversations is just loud enough to feel enveloped by the easy camaraderie of the group without detracting from the absolute peace and stillness of the moment.  It's the kind of beauty that takes your breath away, that bursts forth in spontaneous praise simply because you can't keep it inside any longer.  Even now I find myself overwhelmed as I remember and try to describe it.  How anyone can experience such beauty and not believe in the One who created it is beyond me.

 

Besides the boat tour, we spent our days in sessions, exploring the city, and just hanging out with friends we hadn't seen in months.  Several of us got together two out of the three nights for swing dancing parties!  The first night there were only three of us, so we spent the evening looking up fun new moves on youtube and trying to figure them out.  I haven't laughed so much in ages.   And I have to say, one of the highlights of the weekend was getting to hang out with our guy friends.  After living for months in a culture where the genders don't mix very much, on an all-girl team, it was a refreshing change!



This is the first time, at least in my years with ESI, that we've had more than two city teams together for the holidays, let alone four countries.  So many phenomenal people in one place, singing, laughing, crying, hugging, playing, walking, talking, dancing, and praising together is something you don't get every day.  I am so thankful for all the wonderful people we're privileged to know, and for the opportunity to spend time with each other in one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.  I only wish it could have lasted longer.

The whole group of us on Thanksgiving- 31 in all.

And now it's time to go back to our respective cities, jobs, and friends, refreshed and encouraged.  Although Rachael, Colleen, and I are already planning our next trip back to Turkey!

I've posted more pictures of the trip on my "Pictures" page, if you want to check them out.

The Lover of My Soul

Heads up: this entry is not so much about life in AZ as it is about life anywhere.  I've been thinking some deep thoughts on love and G*d.  It's not particularly polished or thought out, so I apologize if I repeat myself.  I'm just thinking out loud.

Please don't read this and think that I'm writing to share what I have already attained. Far from it. I am writing about the lack, the giant gaping hole I have begun to recognize in my life and my relationship with G*d. 

..............

We know that we are to love G*d.  And we know that He uses human relationships to model what our relationship to Him is to be.  So what does love look like in my life?  I love my family.  I love my friends.  There is a constancy in that love, and a sense of safety.  My family especially has seen me at times of my life that I hate to recall.  They have received the worst of my anger, pettiness, dishonesty, weakness, and pride.  But despite all that, I never fear that they will stop loving me.  I am secure in their love, as I am secure in His.

But though G*d identifies Himself as both our Father and our friend, that is not all.  He is also the bridegroom.  But that is something I have never experienced.  I've never even dated anyone.  So what am I to do with that?  I have been thinking about this quite a bit since this summer.  And while I have never been in such a relationship to experience both sides of it, I realized that I do have a certain familiarity with one side of the equation.  And that's the side I need to focus on right now anyway, because it's the part that is up to me.  I know He loves me.  But how am I to love Him?

Forgive the seeming irreverence, but I need to have a crush on G*d. 

What is it like to have a crush?  Ahh, now that is one thing I know all too well.  I seek out his presence.  I want to spend as much time with him as I can.  I want to know him and be known.  I want to earn his approval, to look beautiful, to say and do the right thing.  I want to show the best version of myself, or even better.  I want to see him smile and know it's just for me.  When he's not around I think about him and talk about him.  I tabulate his charms and virtues.  I admire him and strive to be someone that he might admire.

That is how it should be with G*d.  I should crave His presence, and seek it out as often as possible.  I should delight in reading His word and learning more of who He is.  I should strive to be pleasing and beautiful to Him, to be even better than I really am, because He's worth it.  When I have a crush, it's hard for me to shut up about him (my poor friends!).  How then, should I talk of G*d, who is infinitely more worthy?  I should dwell on His virtues and benefits, and strive to be the person He intended me to be, the person I know He still sees when He looks at me. 

And what is the return on this?  As I said, I know one side of this equation very well, but have yet to experience the other.  I know what I want in a husband, the deepest desires of my heart.  And while I know that no man, no matter how good, will ever be able to be all this for me, I know that G*d can and will be.  He knows me better than I know myself.  He knows the depth and magnitude of my sin in a way that I can't even comprehend, and yet He loves me passionately anyway.  At the same time, He sees good in me even when I don't see it, and He works to draw it out.  He sees the woman He meant me to be.  He protects me from my enemies, and takes care of me.  He comforts me in my grief and rejoices with me in my joy. 

And, well, this last part was hard for me to learn, but profound.

He thinks I am beautiful  Heartbreakingly so.  He craves my presence.  He longs for us to be one.  He loves me as I have always longed to be loved.  Completely.  Unreservedly.  Passionately.  Unendingly. 

In the words of Charles Wesley's classic hymn, He is the true lover of my soul.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Baku is a fairly large city, with a population of just over 2 million.  It is the capital of the country as well as it's industrial, cultural, and financial center.  And yet in so many ways it has the feel of just one big neighborhood.

The larger grocery stores don't allow you to take bags in (except purses), much like in KZ and Russia, so they provide lockers at the front.  Unlike in KZ and Russia, however, more often than not the lockers don't have locks.  What would be necessary in most major cities in the world is simply overlooked here.  People leave their bags, even their computer bags, in the lockers and just trust that they will still be there when they get back.  And here's the amazing part: they are.

Another impression I've gotten here is that there really are no strangers.  There are simply neighbors you haven't met yet.  Every stranger we have had to ask for help has been so gracious, even going out of their way to make sure we got where we needed to be.  Now I might have chalked that up to hospitality, since I'm obviously a guest in their country, except that I've seen the same general courtesy extended to locals.  One day in the park a girl came up to me and asked if she could borrow  a cell phone.  Unfortunately, I don't have one yet, but the elderly gentleman on the other side of the bench overheard and offered her his phone.  On my way home last week a teenager approached me outside of a little shop and asked if I had 40 qepik (about 50¢).  On the metro, if I feel someone trying to take my bag away from me, I know it's because they want to help me by holding it on their lap.  Rachael has taken several rides with the same taxi driver and one time she realized she didn't have enough money to pay him. So he just told her to pay him the next time.

Welcome to Mayberry.  I love it. 

Now don't worry- I'm still careful.  I keep a tight hold on my purse when out and about, I don't walk down dark alleys, and we never open our door unless we know who it is.  But I have never felt so safe in a large city.  What could be the source of this small town feel in the midst of the big city?  I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure it's because the Azeri people are just generally awesome.  In my humble opinion.  :)

Classroom Shenanigans!





Let me start by saying how stinking adorable our two students are.  Also rambunctious and hard to contain sometimes.  Which description is foremost in my mind depends on the day!  :)  But this post is definitely about the former. 

 

Twice a week after lunch, we work with play-dough.  It's usually free modeling, rather than guided, to let them have fun creating and just playing.  But Thursday, one of the boys was complaining quite loudly that he didn't want to play with clay.  So Colleen and I decided to inject a little silliness into the lesson, in the form of a blue mustache and glasses!  Needless to say, it was a hit. 

 







For the rest of the lesson, they were making variations on a theme, the one common denominator being that every creation ended up on their faces!  And of course, pictures must be taken. 

 

In case you're wondering about the odd angle, it was
the only way we could keep them from falling off!

I'm afraid I may have created a monster, though... one of the boys spent the rest of the day doing silly things and then making a camera motion with his hands, wanting me to take his picture!  After snack time that afternoon, I couldn't get close enough to wipe his face off until did.  My camera might need to take a long break before it's next appearance.   ;)

Having said that, allow me to regale you with one last shot from that day.  They had learned the words fork, spoon, napkin, and cup in their English lesson, so in P.E. they had a "Utensil Relay Race."  Each of them had a plate full of (uncooked) noodles on one side of the room and an empty plate on the other side.  They had to race to move them all using the different utensils we called out.  The fork was the hardest, by far!  It was so funny to see them hunched over them, walking as slowly and carefully as they could.  It was hard to get a good shot, since they were moving, but here's the best I could do.

 

So there you have it.  Our super cute students.  I defy anyone to find cuter ones!   :)

Tying the Knot- AZ Style

This weekend one of our friends and teaching assistants (P) got married, and the other one (T) got engaged!  Add that to the Muslim holiday of Kurban, and it was a pretty exciting weekend.  We didn't get to go to T's engagement ceremony because it was the same night as the wedding.  But we were able to attend P's henna party on Wednesday after school, as well as her wedding on Friday.

The henna party was at P's apartment.  Traditionally, it would only include women in their twenties or younger, but she had invited all the women in her family as well as her fiancé's family.  We started with a delicious dinner her mother had cooked, and then broke out the henna and the Azeri dance music!

 

Some of the highlights of the evening:

·      One of P's friends brought her 11-year-old daughter.  She is studying English and pretty much attached herself to us for the whole of the party!

·       P's future mother-in-law pulling us up from our chairs to dance with her (in the traditional style, which we don't know!)

·       The little 5-year-old boy weaving through everyone's legs hugging the 2-liter Coke bottle I'm pretty sure he wasn't supposed to have.

·       One of the longest conversations we've had with a man we don't work for since we got here- talking to P's brother- I didn't realize how much I'd missed being friends with guys.

·       Being out after dark!  It's apparently something nice girls don't do around here, so we're usually home by sunset every night. 

They gave each of us a bag of henna to mix with black tea at home.  I'm definitely looking forward to trying my hand at some of those cool designs.  Assuming it's not disastrous (and maybe even if it is), pictures will follow!

 

Our new little friend



P draped in the traditional red veil



Colleen getting her henna

 

The wedding invitation said 6pm on Friday, so we met some of the teachers from Rachael's school at the metro station at 6:30.  Apparently arriving actually at 6 o'clock would have been ridiculously early.  We didn't attend the ceremony itself, only the reception.  In form it was much the same as wedding receptions in America.  It was in the details that it differed.  There was a dance floor and live band, for instance, but the music and dancing were Azeri, mostly centering around the hands.  We got up there anyway, but when the videographer zoomed in on me, I may or may not have hidden behind Rachael's back! :)  The dancing was also mostly, though not entirely, separated by gender.  There were dances where P was in a circle of women and her husband was dancing in the middle of a circle of men.  The couple didn't go around to greet all the guests.  Instead, guests came up to the main table to greet them and have their picture taken.  Since the photographer took our picture, I only have a hard copy and can't post it here.  But P was gorgeous!

 

All in all, it was a pretty fun weekend.  I feel so grateful to have been included in such a big event in P's life, since we've only known her for a little under 2 months.  But that's just another example of the amazing Azeri hospitality we've experienced here, which is a whole blog entry in itself!  When I'm able to get the rest of the pictures, I'll add them to the pictures page.  Until then, this is Molly signing off!



First Week of School

We've been in Baku for over a month, but Colleen and I only just finished our first week of teaching.  The reason: not enough students signed up.  We had several false starts- days that we expected to begin, but then no children came.  There were 4 children signed up, and they were holding out until we had at least one semi-full class.  Apparently several parents had been calling to ask if the English language kindergarten had started yet and when told 'no' they hung up in disappointment.  I find it funny that that's the exact opposite of the reaction we would expect in America- the idea of signing the kids up in advance not occuring to them.  So finally the school decided that we would begin anyway and then those parents would hopefully bring their children as well.

This last Monday we were all set to begin, but 9:00 rolled around and still no kids.  We finally decided that they must have cancelled again for some reason, and we headed down to breakfast.  Enter a screaming four-year old, clinging to his mother's hand in the lobby and trying to pull her out the door as she is trying to pull him in. 

Ahh.  I think this one's for us. 

Indeed he was.  Our first and, for a few hours at least, only student.  He threw an absolute fit when his mother left him there, and kept it up for a good hour.  Even at the time, I remember thinking that it was almost comical- four white coated teachers huddling around one screaming little boy trying to figure out how on earth to get him to stop crying!  Eventually two other little boys, 5-year-old twin brothers, showed up and we started our first day activities.  Now we're on a roll.  Hopefully the rest will follow soon.

Or not.  The youngest one didn't come back after the first day (they live too far away) and for the rest of the week we only had the two brothers.  Some days it went well- they seemed to focus well and learned what we had to teach them.  Some days not so much.  But we're settling into a routine.  They know what's expected of them, whether or not they choose to actually do it. :)  And we're slowly figuring out what it is to be kindergarten teachers.  It's still pretty funny to me that we have a 2:1 teacher/student ratio.  Even dividing the day up between the teacher/assistant teams, we have one teacher per kid.  Their parents are sure getting their money's worth!

So as we go into our second week, we're hoping more students will join the class.  Maybe it's a blessing that we got to start figuring things out with just these two, before adding more kids.  We'll see.  I'll definitely keep you updated either way!



With our students at the end of the first day-
one teacher for each kid, and one to spare!

PS.  I updated the "Pictures" and "Requests" pages again, if you want to check them out :)

Adventures in Getting to School

What happens when a city loses electricity at rush hour?  Utter pandemonium, that's what.

It all started when Rachael woke Colleen and I up before our alarms to tell us that the power was out and it might take longer to get ready.  We managed somehow, though it was pitch black in most parts of the apartment.  We assumed that the problem was just in our building.  As we approached the metro station I recall noticing that there were a lot of people standing around, but it didn't fully pierce my consciousness until we started down the steps and a friendly stranger told us that the trains weren't running.  Then I looked up and realized that the sidewalk and half of the street were swarming with people.  Did I mention that it was rush hour?  The entire city had to get to work or school, and the buses were now the only way to get there.  Anytime one turned the corner, there was practically a stampede to get there first, even before it pulled up to the bus stop.  People were hanging out so that the doors couldn't close, and somehow even more managed to squeeze on. 

Colleen and I made it onto the second bus that we attempted, but only barely.  I was standing on the bottom step of the doorway, though fully inside (I'm not brave/stupid enough to do the whole hanging-out-of-the-door thing) while Colleen tried, unsuccessfully, to push farther in and give me some more room.  The bus started down the street with the doors still open, but after about a block the driver decided to close them.  That is the point at which I realized that my foot was perfectly positioned between the door and the bottom step.  Fortunately, some things are universal, because all language ability left me for the moment, even English.  But my "Ow... ow... OWW!!!!" got the message across and someone called up to the driver to open the doors!  After some rearranging, we managed to get me in enough to close the door and continued on our merry way.  And somehow 6 more people squeezed in after me over the next two bus stops!

Watching out the window as we drove along, I couldn't help being reminded of an apocalyptic movie.  All the stoplights were out, so we had some unusual traffic patterns going- though it's worth noting that ever since we got here we've found the lanes to be more of a suggestion than anything else.  Our bus spent a good portion of the time on the wrong side of the double lines, and I definitely saw a car making a U-turn in the middle of three lanes going the opposite direction.  Though to be fair, traffic was at a standstill so that it wasn't dangerous as much as just funny looking.  And every time we passed a metro station, there was the same sea of people, overflowing the sidewalk to cover half the street.  Add to this the occasional stampede towards the buses and you start to get the whole end-of-the-world vibe. 

We were almost 30 minutes late to school, but we were still there before half of the teachers and most of the students, so it wasn't a big deal.  Later that night we found out that it wasn't just the city that lost electricity- the entire country of Azerbaijan had a power outage!  Somehow that just makes the story so much better.  :)

In closing, I'll leave you with a question we pondered many a time over the years in Kazakhstan: How many people can you fit onto a bus that's already bursting at the seams?  Based on my experience today, I'd say at least 20.

I Wear Slippers to Work

(and other strange and wonderful things about my job)

Yep.  That's right.  The school where Colleen and I teach is kindergarten only, and since the kids spend a fair amount of time on the floor, street shoes aren't permitted above the 1st floor.  So I get to slip out of my shoes every morning and into a pair of comfy slippers.  If you're going to be standing all day, that's the way to do it!

We've pretty much agreed that we LOVE the place we work!  All of the women we work with are just wonderful.  Except for our teaching assistants (the girls who showed us around the city in my last entry) and the school's English teacher, they all only speak Azeri.  But that hasn't seemed to matter at all!  Somehow we've managed to communicate, and we pretty much adore all of them.  We've already been to one teacher's home and been invited to two more! 

The last work day before school started, we were up in our classrooms when the vice-principal came in and invited us downstairs to make apple pies!  Apparently they do this on a semi-regular basis, on days when there aren't any students.  So all the teachers (maybe 15 of us) stopped what we were doing and made our way down to the cafeteria.  Our table was at work cutting up walnuts, another table worked on peeling and grating the apples, and a third group made the dough.  Then we all sat around making little 'apple pies'- actually more like apple turnovers.  Then, as quickly as we began, we finished and went back to work.  The lunch ladies baked them and we ate them over tea that afternoon.  Such a random but wonderful tradition. :)

Colleen with B- a super sweet teaching assistant at our school

Aren't they beautiful?

Though school started this past week, we don't have enough students for our English-only kindergarten yet.  So we've spent the past two weeks decorating our rooms, 'shopping' for supplies in the storage closet, and getting to know our teaching assistants.  You have to love a job that involves art projects, sorting legos, afternoon snacks, and introducing our new friends to "The Princess Bride"!  Oh, and LOTS of tea.  

Some of our homemade decor

My clothesline to teach the kids clothing (I'm in the process of making labels)

P, Colleen, me, and T in the coats we wear when teaching

Hopefully we'll have some students by the beginning of next week, but for now we're just enjoying the time to relax, prepare, and get to know our school and colleagues.  Once we have students, that will be a whole new set of experiences to blog about!  Stay tuned. :)

PS.  I've updated the "Pictures" and "Requests" pages (the tabs are at the top) if you'd like to check them out.

Hello, Baku!



Due to a slight miscommunication with the school, our first day in Baku was mostly spent waiting around our hotel, with a small excursion around dinner time to change money and go to a local market for some food.  On Friday, though, we got to see our school (or at least Rachel's school- Colleen and I will aparently be at a different one) and meet some lovely Azeri teachers who will be our 'assistants'. 

 

They took us on a tour of the school and all the different classrooms as well as the cafeteria where we will probably end up eating lunch most days.  As an unexpected part of the tour we were able to see some traditional Turkish dances!  School doesn't officially open for another week, but there was a group of 6-7th grade girls practicing for a dance competition in Turkey, and they performed two pieces for us.  It was beautiful and different from anything I'd seen before.  In one dance, each girl had two wooden spoons in each hand which she clapped together in rhythm as part of the dance. 

 

After seeing the school (and stopping for tea twice) our new friends took us downtown to see the bay and a little of the city.  I have only one word for you.  WOW.  It is gorgeous.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures that really do it justice, but I'll work on that.  We just couldn't get over it.  I lost count of how many times one or more of us would randomly exclaim over the absolute beauty of our surroundings!

At first we walked in the park along the bay.  There are a number of benches, restaurants, and even a small amusement park along the way, not to mention wonderful views of the city.  I hope that I will be able to make regular trips down there, just to sit on a bench with a book or journal and soak up the atmosphere!  There was a pier where you can usually catch a boat trip around the bay, but today we just walked out on it.  Here's a picture of us with part of the bay/city behind us.  If you look behind my head a little to the left, you can see the Flame Towers, one of the pictures I posted in my last entry.

T, Rachael, Colleen, me, and P

After the park, the girls took us to the old city, just across the street.  The old city wall is still intact- and looks like a castle while we're on the subject- and stepping inside is like stepping into another world.  We suddenly found ourselves in the middle of Arabian Nights, complete with a vendor selling carpets that are older than our entire country.  Times 4.  And then we turn a corner and see the super contemporary Flame Towers (again) rising up behind the old architecture.  On only one day's acquaintance, I can tell you that this is my impression of Baku:


 

(Though the buildings in the foreground aren't the best examples of what the old city looked like- these seem to be the newer of the old buildings)

 

After exploring the old city we stopped for tea again.  They definitely love their tea, possibly even more than our Russian friends did!  We were actually offered tea several more times than we ended up taking it.  Then the girls bought us dinner before heading back to our hotel.  All in all, it was a wonderful day.  I'm looking forward to settling in here, getting to know the city, and getting to know our new friends better.  Baku has made a wonderful first impression.