Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
oil
I love you all and we have power at work for the first time in about two weeks - praise the lord I'm not freezing today - I asked about it the other day and was told it was becasue we would not pay them bribes. Luckely they can evedently only abuse one person at a time for so long, or we paided a bribe. Who can really know. Speaking on azerbaijan's crappy courruption. I was reading an article in News Week, though it must be noted in my opinion it is not the most reliable source for world information as it is very scewed. It was called "The Power of Petroleum" and talked about how smaller nations have more resources and less reason to bend to outside forces due to oil and its rising prices. It reads, and I quote "In countries like Nigeria and Azerbaijan, the result is repressive and corrupt political institutions and bloated bureaucracies sustained by oil money" the picture going with the articly is title "THE CURSE OF OIL : Feild workers in Baku, Azerbaijan" it is a picture of one of the disgusting oil feilds that ruin the environment and help currupt the governemtn even farther, or at least give them the means to be courrupt. Thank you News Week, this somewhat makes up for the articla printed a few months ago, though I cant rememnber which exact one, that managed related militants with guns to peace corps volunteers. You know we are so similar. Cant win um all
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
11/16/07
I’m headed to Goycay today for thanksgiving – I little early but we cant get leave during the week. I think pretty much everyone else is going to Baki for the annual thanksgiving dinner. I think it is usually over 100 people and that is just too many people for me and thanksgiving. I think thanksgiving is actually one of my favorite holidays. I love the food, I loved the cooking, and I used to love going to the mountains for thanksgiving. I also love the weather. Crisp, but not freezing. So me and Kat are having out own thanksgiving. Our lovely families sent us some food that we could not get and then we are going to round up anything else we can find. Packing list to go to Goycay – pair of warm pants, random boxed goods that have shown up in the mail.
So it was good. We cooked, a lot, eat a tone and them for some reason, continued to eat through the night. Then I became sick. Well actually, that happened the next day. I woke up not feeling right. Prayed the whole way home on the marshutka that I would not throw up and then heartily made up for it once I got home. I either ate until I was sick literally or my body was just not ready for such different kinds of food. It does live of potatoes, grease and noodles right now. I let my mom and sister do bonka on me. This is where the take these glass jars and suction them to your back using fire. They say if they turn red or black there is sickness. O don’t think I needed the bonka to tell me that and sadly it did not make me feel any better. It did feel pretty good if not a little strange. It is sorta like having someone put really big hickies all over your back but really close together so your skin is pulled really tight.
I’m headed to Goycay today for thanksgiving – I little early but we cant get leave during the week. I think pretty much everyone else is going to Baki for the annual thanksgiving dinner. I think it is usually over 100 people and that is just too many people for me and thanksgiving. I think thanksgiving is actually one of my favorite holidays. I love the food, I loved the cooking, and I used to love going to the mountains for thanksgiving. I also love the weather. Crisp, but not freezing. So me and Kat are having out own thanksgiving. Our lovely families sent us some food that we could not get and then we are going to round up anything else we can find. Packing list to go to Goycay – pair of warm pants, random boxed goods that have shown up in the mail.
So it was good. We cooked, a lot, eat a tone and them for some reason, continued to eat through the night. Then I became sick. Well actually, that happened the next day. I woke up not feeling right. Prayed the whole way home on the marshutka that I would not throw up and then heartily made up for it once I got home. I either ate until I was sick literally or my body was just not ready for such different kinds of food. It does live of potatoes, grease and noodles right now. I let my mom and sister do bonka on me. This is where the take these glass jars and suction them to your back using fire. They say if they turn red or black there is sickness. O don’t think I needed the bonka to tell me that and sadly it did not make me feel any better. It did feel pretty good if not a little strange. It is sorta like having someone put really big hickies all over your back but really close together so your skin is pulled really tight.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Somethings a littel Ratty
11-14-07
A couple of weeks ago Ryan told me he had a rat in the attic above his head. It scurried around, making little pitter patter sounds and he did not like it because it was creepy and sounded like someone else was in the room. I told him to be nice, it was probably very nice and this had been its house before his. They heard me! The other night I heard little pitter patter over my room. I sort of like the way it sounds. I fell asleep and that’s all I knew of it. Last night I knew a little more. I woke up around 2. I wake up every night all night now. Either is it is the malaria pills or my psyci is just off the chain because I have been having some freaky dreams. Last night I woke with my dreams slightly incorporating this weird background noise. The were scurrying, or it, all over my ceiling, really fast, zigzagging. Not a soothing pitter patter of little feet but really not so bad, and then…. It all accumulated into a construction site directly above my head. I mean this as literally as you possibly can when you are talking about rats in the roof. My bed is put into a corner, with my head in that same corner. DIRECTLY, over were my head was they they/it started hammering, moving, rolling, sawing, banging, and my no means quietly. It was a little after two in the morning, I tried to ignore it, thinking they had to stop soon. An hour, I just could not fall asleep with it. I tried listing to my music, it was impossible to drown it out. I got up to stumble outside and maybe by the time I had peed they would have finished construction, they had not. On my excursion through the rest of the house I also noticed that they were no where to be heard but my room. Hmmmmm, fishy I say! It went on and on. I wanted to get mad but had to remind myself they were rats, and it was their house and I had said I liked them. My bad. I now know how people who live in apartment stacked on top of one another with noisy neighbors feel, Banging on the ceiling with brooms or what ever they can find. I actually resorted to that with a stick I had in my room. It worked for all of two minutes, and then was totally ineffective, I still stood up on my bed every so often to bang on the ceiling. This went on for hours, and I eventually fell asleep to it. But as I lay there, wanting to club a rat with my stick, not bang on the ceiling all I could think of was they must be building some magnificent contraption. Maybe like the "if you build it they will come" Maybe because I said I liked them it would be along the lines of that movie where the man has all the rats that follow him. I know how much bubba would like that knowing how much he loves rats. Or maybe it is some grand city. I just imagined the ostentatious, splendid, crazy things they could be building, all the wild indifferent to our foolishness, or maybe laughing at how they have us tricked. Maybe it was a time machine. If so I sure hope they let me use it. Though it may be a tad small. I might have come up with a logical answer for what they were doing, but quite frankly there was none. I have never heard such. At 8 o’clock when I woke up they were still at it in the exact same place. Once the house really woke up they stopped. I image they were pretty tiered. Working on grand schemes all night is a tiring business I imagine.
A couple of weeks ago Ryan told me he had a rat in the attic above his head. It scurried around, making little pitter patter sounds and he did not like it because it was creepy and sounded like someone else was in the room. I told him to be nice, it was probably very nice and this had been its house before his. They heard me! The other night I heard little pitter patter over my room. I sort of like the way it sounds. I fell asleep and that’s all I knew of it. Last night I knew a little more. I woke up around 2. I wake up every night all night now. Either is it is the malaria pills or my psyci is just off the chain because I have been having some freaky dreams. Last night I woke with my dreams slightly incorporating this weird background noise. The were scurrying, or it, all over my ceiling, really fast, zigzagging. Not a soothing pitter patter of little feet but really not so bad, and then…. It all accumulated into a construction site directly above my head. I mean this as literally as you possibly can when you are talking about rats in the roof. My bed is put into a corner, with my head in that same corner. DIRECTLY, over were my head was they they/it started hammering, moving, rolling, sawing, banging, and my no means quietly. It was a little after two in the morning, I tried to ignore it, thinking they had to stop soon. An hour, I just could not fall asleep with it. I tried listing to my music, it was impossible to drown it out. I got up to stumble outside and maybe by the time I had peed they would have finished construction, they had not. On my excursion through the rest of the house I also noticed that they were no where to be heard but my room. Hmmmmm, fishy I say! It went on and on. I wanted to get mad but had to remind myself they were rats, and it was their house and I had said I liked them. My bad. I now know how people who live in apartment stacked on top of one another with noisy neighbors feel, Banging on the ceiling with brooms or what ever they can find. I actually resorted to that with a stick I had in my room. It worked for all of two minutes, and then was totally ineffective, I still stood up on my bed every so often to bang on the ceiling. This went on for hours, and I eventually fell asleep to it. But as I lay there, wanting to club a rat with my stick, not bang on the ceiling all I could think of was they must be building some magnificent contraption. Maybe like the "if you build it they will come" Maybe because I said I liked them it would be along the lines of that movie where the man has all the rats that follow him. I know how much bubba would like that knowing how much he loves rats. Or maybe it is some grand city. I just imagined the ostentatious, splendid, crazy things they could be building, all the wild indifferent to our foolishness, or maybe laughing at how they have us tricked. Maybe it was a time machine. If so I sure hope they let me use it. Though it may be a tad small. I might have come up with a logical answer for what they were doing, but quite frankly there was none. I have never heard such. At 8 o’clock when I woke up they were still at it in the exact same place. Once the house really woke up they stopped. I image they were pretty tiered. Working on grand schemes all night is a tiring business I imagine.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
The Anti Whine
After it has been pointed out in one way or another I see that mast of my posts seem to have bitter undertone to them. I am sorry, it just turns out that I use my blog forum to vent – and I think it is important for people to understand the problems. So no doubt, I will be writing lots of depressing stuff. But don’t mistake the downbeat posts I my write for the experience that I’m having. They are not the same. I am enjoying myself immensely, and there is so much that I love, and I should really sing on that stuff too. The only two things I don’t like are the men and the government, yes seemingly big but not really. Just because they are allowed a lot of influence does not make them big in my daily comings and goings, noticed and felt but not all that important.
Many people fight the down time, about 6 steady months, pushing their way in and being unhappy about it. I love it. Why would I fight something that I was told would be there, would happen, I wont. And why would I fight to do remedial work, work that wont be lasting, I wont. Plus I joined the peace corps, specifically avoiding a 9-5. Yea, the peace corps is a 24/7 job. The good new is when I stop and talk to guy in the post office for 30 minutes, when I go guesting at someone’s house, eating and drinking to my hearts delight, that is work. Where else can that be said? I love Azeri’s giving nature, What is theirs is yours and I hope I take a lot of that home with me. I love their close nit families. I love even more that my families respect my reclusive nature. I love that I have been blessed with two consecutively AMAZING families, who have done everything to make me feel at home and part of the family. Here in Barda I am introduced to everyone as their eldest daughter or dig sister, depending. In Cerenbaton I was told they were my family now so anything I needed or wanted they were there for me. Maybe it is like that all over the world but I have not been their so all I can say is any culture that will so warmly except a stranger in to their home, one who is so drastically different in so many way, is OK with me.
My project Coordinator, Elmir, an Azeri man who I love dearly, was just in town for his first visit to make sure I was settling in fine. He came to the office and we were talking – As I think I have written, to date I have done nothing in my office but sit and stare. The positives being I am always up to date on reading and letter writing. My counterpart seeming none to interested in me and even a little hostile. And in all truth has made me more and more uncomfortable. But I cold see why so I have just kept coming, smiling, leaving, finding other stuff to do and not worrying about it. My though is never take anything for what it seems. I took enough courses in college to know that when you mix two culture just about everything is lost in translation, especially when very little is being said. Elmir asked if I wanted him to talk to him. NO! How do you piss off an already defensive Azeri man? Have an less than overly manly Azeri man, who assists your unwanted PC volunteer "talk" to you. So instead he just asked how I was and bla, bla, bla, general – Afterward me and Elmir talked again. Though some of it was his same ol’ b.s., to avoid doing work with me, etc., one important item was brought to light. Turns out, and I keep hearing this from Azeris, he thinks I am very formal and serious, especially with him. Dam, I never saw myself like this, and I am not but I just don’t talk a lot and to be honest he had started to make me so uncomfortable I probably was very stiff. Actually, I am very relaxed and have nice conversation with most of the fellow shop owners who come around to hang out. The have a skill called sympathetic listening, I am afraid he lacks it. The good news was, after this was relayed to me, and he knew it, his attitude toward me took a 360 making it much more comfortable to be easygoing with him. Though I cant lie, I have to try because his is just one of those high stung argumentative people who I feel less than at ease talking to. But I am going to put out a hella good effort. Am I doing anymore work than before, of course not. But now instead of a huff when I come in and say hello, I get a smile and greeting. Lost in translation, that’s why they say everything needs to be translated at least three times.
Though it is getting cold, when it is not freezing the weather is glorious, and the number of birds, of every shape, size and color, are amazing. They make me think of Vee, the late Vee of course as I have never known my vee to have any extreme love for birds, though she know doubt would find them beautiful as well. We now have two large and four baby turkeys that roam around our yard. I love them, how they talk, and fall asleep all over the place. Somehow managing to be both silly and majestic. I found a fountain with GOLDFISH in it! The first I have seen. They make me very happy and remind me of home. There is the most magnificent mountain that looms in the horizon on my way to work. It is huge, snow covered and seems so solitary, though I feel very sure there are many more behind it. You can see it perfectly from the foot bridge crossing the river right before I get to work, on days when it is clear that is. It is actually amazing, If you happened to walk by on certain days you would have know idea it was there because it can be completely invisible one day, just sky, and the next just stunning!
There is a teenage boy who works at a small shop/tea house on the road to and from my house. I’ve started saying hey to him as I pass, just a salam, sabaniz xeyir or nod of the head. He always nods back or says hello if I do. Never a "Helloooo, What is your name, marry me", he does not stalk me down the road or sucj his teeth. He is a nice boy and a pleasure to pass everyday. There is an oddly chapped building that I love, a bottom level with a diamond of sorts, larger, and perched on top of it. It has tall windows and in each is a large chess piece. It used to be the local chess club, it is lovely to look at. Azerbaijan is covered in roses, every shape, size, color and smell. They are in all the memorial parks, all the road medians, everywhere and many must be cold weather roses because they are still blooming, much to my delight. Often random men will coming and start trying to talk to me. Usually they are not sympathetic listeners or talkers, hence I cannot understand them usually. This will lead to them getting on the phone, calling someone and then telling me to talk to them. It is usually a woman who speaks at least some English. They have heard about me and want to meet me, they have sent they husbands, or suns, or father in laws or whoever to get me in touch with them. A woman who I could barley talk to on the phone, but was very nice, is coming to my work Tuesday. At least that is what I think is going to happen, then again someone could just as likely shop up to take me some where, and I would go with them with out a second thought, knowing it would be fine, another thing I love about this place, it is so easy to trust.
So no matter how often I use this as a forum to voice all of my frustrations about the country and its people, I am in no way unhappy or suffering, merely frustrated. Luckily for me I can vent issues I think other people should know about, your average 9-5er in America is probably 1000 times more unhappy and aggravated, unfortunately for them everyone already knows why they are unhappy. For all the trying things I have to deal with I get graced with 100 wonderful blessings. Ahhhhhhh, life is good.
Many people fight the down time, about 6 steady months, pushing their way in and being unhappy about it. I love it. Why would I fight something that I was told would be there, would happen, I wont. And why would I fight to do remedial work, work that wont be lasting, I wont. Plus I joined the peace corps, specifically avoiding a 9-5. Yea, the peace corps is a 24/7 job. The good new is when I stop and talk to guy in the post office for 30 minutes, when I go guesting at someone’s house, eating and drinking to my hearts delight, that is work. Where else can that be said? I love Azeri’s giving nature, What is theirs is yours and I hope I take a lot of that home with me. I love their close nit families. I love even more that my families respect my reclusive nature. I love that I have been blessed with two consecutively AMAZING families, who have done everything to make me feel at home and part of the family. Here in Barda I am introduced to everyone as their eldest daughter or dig sister, depending. In Cerenbaton I was told they were my family now so anything I needed or wanted they were there for me. Maybe it is like that all over the world but I have not been their so all I can say is any culture that will so warmly except a stranger in to their home, one who is so drastically different in so many way, is OK with me.
My project Coordinator, Elmir, an Azeri man who I love dearly, was just in town for his first visit to make sure I was settling in fine. He came to the office and we were talking – As I think I have written, to date I have done nothing in my office but sit and stare. The positives being I am always up to date on reading and letter writing. My counterpart seeming none to interested in me and even a little hostile. And in all truth has made me more and more uncomfortable. But I cold see why so I have just kept coming, smiling, leaving, finding other stuff to do and not worrying about it. My though is never take anything for what it seems. I took enough courses in college to know that when you mix two culture just about everything is lost in translation, especially when very little is being said. Elmir asked if I wanted him to talk to him. NO! How do you piss off an already defensive Azeri man? Have an less than overly manly Azeri man, who assists your unwanted PC volunteer "talk" to you. So instead he just asked how I was and bla, bla, bla, general – Afterward me and Elmir talked again. Though some of it was his same ol’ b.s., to avoid doing work with me, etc., one important item was brought to light. Turns out, and I keep hearing this from Azeris, he thinks I am very formal and serious, especially with him. Dam, I never saw myself like this, and I am not but I just don’t talk a lot and to be honest he had started to make me so uncomfortable I probably was very stiff. Actually, I am very relaxed and have nice conversation with most of the fellow shop owners who come around to hang out. The have a skill called sympathetic listening, I am afraid he lacks it. The good news was, after this was relayed to me, and he knew it, his attitude toward me took a 360 making it much more comfortable to be easygoing with him. Though I cant lie, I have to try because his is just one of those high stung argumentative people who I feel less than at ease talking to. But I am going to put out a hella good effort. Am I doing anymore work than before, of course not. But now instead of a huff when I come in and say hello, I get a smile and greeting. Lost in translation, that’s why they say everything needs to be translated at least three times.
Though it is getting cold, when it is not freezing the weather is glorious, and the number of birds, of every shape, size and color, are amazing. They make me think of Vee, the late Vee of course as I have never known my vee to have any extreme love for birds, though she know doubt would find them beautiful as well. We now have two large and four baby turkeys that roam around our yard. I love them, how they talk, and fall asleep all over the place. Somehow managing to be both silly and majestic. I found a fountain with GOLDFISH in it! The first I have seen. They make me very happy and remind me of home. There is the most magnificent mountain that looms in the horizon on my way to work. It is huge, snow covered and seems so solitary, though I feel very sure there are many more behind it. You can see it perfectly from the foot bridge crossing the river right before I get to work, on days when it is clear that is. It is actually amazing, If you happened to walk by on certain days you would have know idea it was there because it can be completely invisible one day, just sky, and the next just stunning!
There is a teenage boy who works at a small shop/tea house on the road to and from my house. I’ve started saying hey to him as I pass, just a salam, sabaniz xeyir or nod of the head. He always nods back or says hello if I do. Never a "Helloooo, What is your name, marry me", he does not stalk me down the road or sucj his teeth. He is a nice boy and a pleasure to pass everyday. There is an oddly chapped building that I love, a bottom level with a diamond of sorts, larger, and perched on top of it. It has tall windows and in each is a large chess piece. It used to be the local chess club, it is lovely to look at. Azerbaijan is covered in roses, every shape, size, color and smell. They are in all the memorial parks, all the road medians, everywhere and many must be cold weather roses because they are still blooming, much to my delight. Often random men will coming and start trying to talk to me. Usually they are not sympathetic listeners or talkers, hence I cannot understand them usually. This will lead to them getting on the phone, calling someone and then telling me to talk to them. It is usually a woman who speaks at least some English. They have heard about me and want to meet me, they have sent they husbands, or suns, or father in laws or whoever to get me in touch with them. A woman who I could barley talk to on the phone, but was very nice, is coming to my work Tuesday. At least that is what I think is going to happen, then again someone could just as likely shop up to take me some where, and I would go with them with out a second thought, knowing it would be fine, another thing I love about this place, it is so easy to trust.
So no matter how often I use this as a forum to voice all of my frustrations about the country and its people, I am in no way unhappy or suffering, merely frustrated. Luckily for me I can vent issues I think other people should know about, your average 9-5er in America is probably 1000 times more unhappy and aggravated, unfortunately for them everyone already knows why they are unhappy. For all the trying things I have to deal with I get graced with 100 wonderful blessings. Ahhhhhhh, life is good.
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