I must apologise once again for the delay in an update. Life has been a bit busy the last month or so. Alas, that is the life of a Peace Corps Volunteer. Now, with the coming of better weather, I have more changes than ever to blog about. So without further ado...Since January, work has been more than just amazing. This past week I was in Baku for our Youth Development Program Counter Part Conference. My counterpart and I attended a three day conference about Project Planning and Implementation, and I'm excited to get back to site tomorrow to begin some new projects. It was an intense week, and I ended up staying an extra day in Baku in order to do a bit of work at the office, and to get my cell phone back (long story.) I've been emailing a few different international organizations, and I will be writing my first ever grant (this one will be my baby, no co-authors) to put on the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial this year in Ganja. I'm looking at planning an event for upwards of 1000 Azerbaijani's in my community. I think I may be able to get more than 2000 in attendance if I can get ministry support for this project. However, this means that since I missed the international registration for the Community Coordinators, I will have to catch up on the last two months worth of planning for the event. I'm sure I can do it without problems, and have already set the wheels in motion for approval from several different levels. If you are interested in finding out more about this project, it is a worldwide annual day to increase public awareness of AIDS/HIV and the effects it has on the lives of all people. You can check out more info at www.candlelightmemorial.org
To piggyback off of that idea, I'm also having our Volunteer Advisory Committee bring up an issue at their next quarterly meeting in mid March to form a Volunteer Committee for AIDS/HIV Education and Awareness. Currently, Peace Corps Azerbaijan only has three programs implemented... Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Community Economic Development, and Youth Development. Our next program could very well be a Community Heath Education program. If that happens, this committee could pave the way for their entry into the community. As part of the pilot program for the new Youth Development Program, I wish we would have had more groundwork laid for us. Needless to say, I've become very passionate about the work I'm putting into this project, and feel that it may just be a project to carry me through the next year and a half. The combination of the Memorial and the Committee will doubtlessly take up most of my time for the next several months. World Aids Day is in December, so I'm hoping to have a committee by that time to further my work in this area. I know I will probably meet a lot of resistance in this process, but any advancement I make here will have a direct impact on not only the Azerbaijani community I live in, but Azerbaijan as a whole. That's worth all the effort in the world to me. Besides, nothing in life worth having comes easy.
On top of my new AIDS/HIV projects, I'm hosting a "Women's Week" at the Ganja Education Information Center. March 8th is National Women's Day in Azerbaijan, and I would love to use this as an opportunity to educate women more about their rights, and to hear from them about their own lives. I'm hosting a movie night to watch "Mona Lisa Smile," where we will compare American in 1953 to Azerbaijan in 2008. I believe that the movie will help to generate a lot of discussion about similarities in the developmental process of women's issues in both countries. In addition to the movie night, I'm also hosting guest speakers, providing women's health information, and will be doing a themed Art Enrichment Program on "Who are Azerbaijani Women?" My train arrives back in at 8am, and I will be working most of the week non stop to take advantage of a national holiday that promotes understanding between the genders.
I've also finally started a beginners level conversation club that assists a local Azeri teacher with her 9th through 11th form English classes. We only have 10 children in the club, but they are all hand selected as the most motivated students in their courses. I'm happy to report that I will be sharing stories, music, and pictures with them in the coming week. My first few weeks were spent answering questions about American life, and playing games to develop speaking skills.
My book club will begin on Wednesday this week, and seeing as how we are beginning during Women's Week, I will start with Adrienne Rich's poetry. I figured an American Feminist Poet would be a great first week for discussion. My request for a book grant was awarded by Darien Book Aid (http://dba.darien.org/) was granted and shipped this last month as well. So I should have lots of materials to begin my advanced level Book Club. We will cover several units that include American, British, Irish, and other English language Fairy Tales, Poetry, Theater, Fiction, and Periodicals. This project is aimed at developing reading for life skills in students who are at least at a 7th grade English reading level. Currently, my numbers are limited to 10 students since I'm providing the materials out of my own pocket until I can write another grant for the materials I need.
I sometimes forget that I've been here almost nine months already. Time really flies when you keep yourself busy. Life with the host family has been wonderful, and is drawing to a close. As of the 12th of March, we are all finally allowed to move out of host family housing! I am in the process of getting an apartment or house within the allotted amount. At this moment in time, it looks like an apartment will be more affordable than a house. Since housing in Ganja is considerably more expensive than in the Rayons, I will have to pay twice as much for the same or smaller size place than most other volunteers. However, that is a fair price to pay to live in a city where I have access to more resources, contacts, and facilities than other volunteers in country.
Ironically, I will be moving out now that my host family has purchased a real washing machine! Johnny purchased a washing machine for Arzu as a Valentines Day present. I've washed laundry less than 6 times since I came to the country (I know you say that's disgusting, but it isn't feasible to wash in the winter) and the machine would have made life a least a little easier. Freedom to cook is worth the hand washed laundry though. I will miss my host family though, as they have been more than just kind to me. They have made my transition into the community possible. I will forever be grateful for their help and hospitality. I've learned so much from them that has changed my outlook on life in Azerbaijan. My host sisters are both talented, smart, and beautiful young ladies, and I am very grateful to have been a part of their learning experience. I will undoubtedly keep them as friends throughout my time time here, even if I am not living in their home anymore. Arzu has been very kind, and has started teaching me Russian. She knows that I could pay her for this, as I have been officially approved to study Russian through the PC Language Coordinator, but she would rather just enjoy the time she spends teaching me something she is good at. I feel that the time spent in "class" with her makes her feel needed and appreciated... and she truly is. Johnny has proven to me that Azerbaijani men are not all the same. He cooks, washes dishes, serves tea to his family and guests, tells his wife he loves her, is always home early, and really cares about his children's future. He even hemmed my pants! The host family stay has helped me to learn through the school of hard knocks about Azerbaijani life. They are people who love, and fear, just the same as everyone else. I will miss them.
And on that note, I am sure you are all exhausted from reading about the new events that are happening in conjunction with all the other old ones... I know I'm tired reading it myself. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to shoot me an email. I will actually be in the office about 50 hours this week, and should hopefully find time to check my email on my break. Raechelle.Watkins@gmail.com
