Saying Goodbye...

This week brought more surprises than I had anticipated. On top of the stress of preparing for a move out of the country, packing, shopping and saying goodbye to my entire family and friends for two years, my grandmother passed away on Tuesday. It was very unexpected, and the entire family is undoubtedly in shock. I hadn't planned on seeing everyone again so soon, let alone seeing them for something like this. Tonight is grandma's funeral. We will be holding a candle light vigil for her. I have to consider myself so fortunate to have spent so much time this last year with my entire family. I believe that God works in mysterious ways... and although I will miss my grandmother very much, I know in my heart that she would want me to keep going. Grandma was tough, but she was strong. I admired her for her ability to fight with everything she had, even until the very end.
Needless to say, this has been a very difficult week, in many different ways. Tomorrow is my last day in Washington... I still have so much to do. The good news is, my luggage is just 2 lbs under the weight limit... so as long as I can fight the urge to put more stuff into my suitcase, I know I will have enough things to get me through to winter.
To my family, I wish you all the best of luck in the coming months. Stay strong, and remember to say "I love you." We don't say it enough. To my mom and dad, I love you more than anything or anyone in the world. Thank you for being my rock and for giving me everything... certainly much more than I deserve. To my friends, although I won't be here, I won't truly be gone. Remember, I will miss you all as much as you miss me and surely more... To everyone, please write. I don't care what you write me, I just love to hear from everyone. So with that, I will see you all in two years! I will try to write again as soon as I can to let you know I'm getting settled in.

Thank You

To all my family, and close family friends who came to say goodbye yesterday, I just wanted to say thank you. It means so much to me that I could say goodbye to everyone before I left, as hard as that is. You have all done so much to help me get this far, and I couldn't have done it without you. I have lots of pictures to take with me, but remember I can always use a few more! Don't forget to send me as many as you can over the next two years... weddings, birthdays, thanksgiving, christmas and any other holiday or family event that I should have been there... please send me pictures! I had such a nice time eating all your tasty foods, and getting to laugh (and cry) with you all one more time. I know you are all worried about me, but I know I will be fine. I know that things will be both exciting and meaningful. I may miss a lot here... but you will all miss a lot there. I love you all, and thank you again for EVERYTHING!

13 days and counting...

Yesterday was my goodbye party that several of my friends coordinated to throw for me. Props to Steph, Heather, Stephen, Erica and Andy. I appreciated the warm send off very much. I'm glad so many people could make it, and a little sad that I didn't get to say goodbye to everyone. As it stands, this week will be my last week of work and I will have a full week to boot. I feel like I have too much to do and not enough time!
I got a chance to meet another volunteer from Washington today. I had a good afternoon (considering the fact that I was still very tired from the party). We hung out for a little while at the SuperMall, and ate dinner together. It makes me feel a little better that I at least know someone else who is going from Washington.
I also bought a few small items that I still needed. I picked up a spill stop for my nalgen bottle, and a luggage scale to weigh my bag. I don't want to go over in weight limit, as the fees are too high, and that is just more stuff I will have to lug around all over the Azeri country-side. I've been reading a lot about the packing lists and suggestions of current volunteers. So far I'm a little worried about my actual suitcase, as it isn't flexible or discrete. My luggage is plastic and fire engine red, and I have no clue where I will put it once I get settled in country. At this point, I still have almost no clothing appropriate for hand-washing, line drying, and conservative... but somehow still breathable in the unbearable heat. Mom and I will spend my last week getting me all geared to go.

At this point, I still need to obtain the following items:

A leatherman tool
Thermal unders (light-weight/silk)
Winter socks
Durable shoes for walking long distances, (of the non-sneaker type)
Flash Drive (this is required)
Sunglasses
A battery charger (preferably solar powered)
Electric converter
Clothing space saver bags (with the one way valve to seal out air and compact your luggage)
Lightweight/compact sleeping bag
Mini maglight
Quick drying towels (they prevent mold)
Digital watch with timer on it
Portable/Mini DVD player
Skirts, shoes, cardigans, and other misc clothing items for work
Swimsuit and underwear

I'm probably going to have to ship myself a lot of items. As much as I appreciate all the gifts people keep giving me, I won't be able to take everything with me. I can only have 80 lbs of luggage. So, I found out that USPS.com will send you Flat Rate boxes for free (I ordered 10 this week) and it only costs $37 to send the box to anywhere in the world. It can weigh up to 20 lbs, and the boxes are pretty good size. I think I will send myself one ahead of time in order to keep from having to pack everything with me. And yes, I will have to pay to receive my mail/packages. That is standard for all Azeri post offices. It will cost me a few bucks to receive the packages, but will save me from having to go buy certain items... it's a fair trade.
The hardest part is that I will have to lug everything from my training site, to my village site by myself. Which means everything sent to me in training will be more weight I will have to carry across country. So, as I will appreciate the care packages, please refrain from sending too much stuff during the first three months. We just found out that the M-Bag is no longer in effect either. (It was designed to send books and educational materials around the world for about 10 bucks, and without it I'm looking at 37 just to get the new Harry Potter). I'm sure it will all work out, but I won't really know much until I get there. I will post here once I know more about the mailing situation.

In the mean time... I'm going to attempt a "dry run" at packing probably tomorrow. I want to make sure I'm not going over! I need to revise my packing list, yet again...

Azerbaijan in the News

Azerbaijan is finally being mentioned in the news... unfortunately the news may or may not be what most people would want to hear before heading over there for two years.

According to ABC news, Russian President Vladimir Putin made the proposal Thursday to President Bush to use Azerbaijan as an alternative site for U.S. plans to deploy missile-defense elements in Eastern European countries. Originally proposed by the US to be housed in the Czech Republic or Poland, the missile system would be used to defend the US in the event of an attack from Iran or North Korea. Russia is uncomfortable with the idea of a US missile defence system in Poland, as they contend that putting the system in Eastern Europe would mean it could be used against Russia's missiles, thereby undermining the balance of power in Europe. Putin proposed using an existing Russian radar station in North Eastern Azerbaijan as an alternative.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, Elmar Mammadyarov, said Friday that Azerbaijan is "ready to consider proposed joint U.S.-Russian use of a radar facility in the country as part of a missile defense system." Stating that the proposal "can only bring more stability into the region because it can lead to more predictable actions in the region."

"At this time, Azerbaijan's position, which is supported by the United States and Russia, is that it's necessary to start consultations in a two- or three-sided format. I can say that Azerbaijan is ready for such consultations," the foreign minister said at a briefing.

Despite the open dialogue regarding the housing of the system in Azerbaijan, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer stated "It's a bit early to judge if an Azeri radar could be the answer to the threat... it's a bit close to the rogue states we are discussing."

(News courtesy of ABC News http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3257312)

So what does this mean for me? At the moment nothing. It does not change my status or desire to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer. At this time, the US, Russia, and Azerbaijan are in a discussion phase. We will just have to wait and see. I believe that now, more than ever, the Peace Corps presence in Azerbaijan will be needed. I can only hope to show a sincere desire to improve relations between America and Azerbaijan.

Euphoria!

Here is a bit of background information. Before I started working for Rainier Pacific, I didn't have dental insurance.

Timeline of events:

• I was mailed a medical/dental packet in November.
• I couldn't get a dental exam until January 2nd, but knew that I had 4 cavities to be filled and made the second appointment for February 6th and 7th.
• I had the exam, and it turns out I needed 11 fillings and 4 wisdom teeth pulled. Ok, lots of work, but manageable right? Well not so much...
• February, I had the first appointment for my dental work. We get part way through the dental work on the first day and find out I need a root canal. Day two we find out I need a second root canal. I spent a week at the dentist instead of two days... I ended up spending around 15 hours in the dentist chair. But, 9 fillings later, two root canals with fillings, and wisdom teeth gone I finally overnighted my dental packet to Peace Corps.
• On March 10th I got a letter from Peace Corps. It was a temporary denial for the two teeth that had root canals. No one had told me that if you had a root canal you have to have a crown. My dentist did a really nice filling on each (composit) so that I wouldn't have to spend the money on the crowns. At this point my very loving and generous grandparents had already paid for all the rest of the dental work! The last thing I needed was crowns added on to of the cost of everything else... but nonetheless, Peace Corps wanted crowns. So I made my appointment for May, since I had to save up for it this time for $1400-1700 "depending on complications."
• So, May 11th comes, and they make the temporaries for my crowns. I have to come back May 23rd for the permanents to be set. The permanents are set, I end up only having to pay $1350 for the crowns, and all I need now is a letter from the dentist confirming that the work is complete.
• They didn't do the letter ahead of time to have it ready on the 23rd, so now they have to mail it out to me. It just needed to have one sentence that said "the crowns on tooth number 11 and 23 have been completed." That's all I needed. A week goes by and I still didn't receive the letter, so I called... they forgot. So I finally get the letter in the mail, and sent it in overnight to peace corps on Saturday June 2nd. Monday I called to confirm they received the packet, and that there was no more work to be done.

Today, finally, after 6 months of this, my dental clearance was granted! My status was updated online as complete! I don't think I could be any more relieved or excited. That was the last of what I was waiting on! The battle with the dentist is over!

Where in the World is Azerbaijan?

So the most common questions my friends and family are asking me is... "where is Azerbaijan?" While you might think that question should hypothetically be easy to answer, it is anything but. Geographically, it is located North of Iran, South of Russia, and it boarders the Caspian Sea to the East, and Georgia and Armenia to the West. Ok, so Iran scares the crap out of everyone when I say that, and most people think Russia is really far North... and seriously, if you can't find Azerbaijan on a map, you also probably don't know Georgia is a country and not just one of the US States. Ok, so better to explain it by continent location. It is in the south-eastern most portion of Europe, or the south-western most portion of Asia, or the northern most portion of the Middle East.
So take your pick. According to map makers, it is all three. The geographical nexus of Eurasia lying in the Caucasus. The Caucasus or Caucasia is a region in Eurasia bordered on the south by Iran, on the southwest by Turkey, on the west by the Black Sea, on the east by the Caspian Sea, and on the north by Russia. The Caucasus includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands. The Caucasus Mountains are commonly reckoned as a dividing line between Asia and Europe, and territories in Caucasia are variably considered to be in one or both continents.

It will be very interesting to see how these cultures collide...

Where is your Salam?

It's official... 19 days before I leave the country for the greatest adventure I have ever known. You would think that after studying abroad twice that I wouldn't be hesitating about embarking on the next great adventure. Part of me is more excited than I can put into words... it's the other part that keeps asking me not to forget to see the river in Orting, eat Portuguese spare ribs, and read one more book in English before I go. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait. I have been preparing for service for a very long time... but now that my departure is on the horizon, I know that it will be two years before I will see my friends and family again.
My biggest fear? Oddly enough it isn't being attacked, robbed, lost, or having to eat a sheep's brain on new years day, but instead that everyone at home other than my mother will forget me after I am gone. We all think we are the center of the world when we are here, but when we are gone... will they remember to write? Will they send you something on your birthday? Christmas? One can only hope to get a letter or two once in a while after training is complete.
Alas, I must look to the rising sun, and know that a new day is dawning; and I will seize it with everything I am.

For now, my biggest concerns are packing issues. There will still be time for goodbyes later.