What Do I Do Now?

After two years of Peace Corps, I now dye my hair blonde.

No, this isn't the usual existential quandary post that too often finds its way onto this blog, this is a very literal question.  I was talking with my Grandma last Sunday and she asked me 'What do you do now that you didn't do before Peace Corps'.  It was thrown out so casually and pointedly that I didn't even have the wherewithal to answer it.  At first, I wanted to answer-'Well, I've been writing about that for almost two years,' but that didn't seem like a good answer to those with grandparent status.  It wasn't a good answer period.

It also got me thinking-What do I do now, that I didn't do before?  There's certainly a lot of things I do now that I never did before, which I'm really excited to never do again (pay my utilities at the post office, or really ever speak to the women at the post office again).  But I think the meat of this question was: What are the things that you've begun in Peace Corps that you'll take back to the US.

I don't really have a full answer to this yet-I suspect that's going to be one of those reflection posts that will become a dime a dozen as I get into my last month of service.  And I don't know if I'm mentally or emotionally prepared to write the 'life changes' list.  But I am ready to some sort of list.  So, without further ado

Josh's Very Shallow 'What Do I Do Now?' List

1) Floss.  In my early twenties I stopped lying and just told my dentist 'I don't floss'.  However, after living in a culture where dental care is not nearly as prioritized I have finally been scared straight.

2) Hand wash clothes.  Alright, maybe I won't keep this up in America, but man, being comfortable hand washing my own clothes will make travel so much easier-domestic or intentional.

3) I've expanded what I watch and what I read.  While in Peace Corps I've started reading fiction and watching movies-two things I almost never did before coming to Azerbaijan.

4) Cold showers.  Its not like my shower can heat up anyways, but in the summer, when you break into a full sweat by doing anything, a cold shower is less of a shock and more of a relief.  Healthier too.

5) Make my own peanut butter and hummus.  There are a few other recipes I'll bring back, but I doubt I'll purchase peanut butter ever again (I mean-they don't even include m&ms in it!)

6) Dance at weddings.  Azeris love to dance, and its a requirement to dance when you're called upon at weddings.  I never really used to dance at weddings, but oh man do I now.

7) Know the people in the stores I commonly go into.  When I figure out where I'm living in the US, I really want to be able to say hello, by name, to the people who work in the places I always go to.

8) Eat breakfast.  So I finally begin my day with the most important meal.  The secret to adopting this habit: eating the same, easily prepared thing day in and day out.  Its too early to be creative.

More Pictures Of Boats

Below is a link to my friend Evan's Flickr album where you can see even more pictures of beautiful, talented, scintillating people enjoying their heads off on a boat in the Mediterranean.

Sailing on the Mediterranean

And also, don't forget to check out Adam's

Yacht Problems

Enjoy.

How To Make Time Speed Up

One of the benefits to keeping a stable schedule, even when on vacation, is that when the weekend actually comes you can still appreciate it as the weekend.  And it was this realization I had on Friday, as my room heated up for its afternoon hot box, when I realized it was almost Saturday.

Now alone, this knowledge means nothing.  The fact that the weekend is here is a relative fact-it only matters if there is something you are working towards.  That may just be two days off or putting yourself 5 days closer to something. Personally, I tend towards the latter, but more than that, the realization of it soon being Saturday emphasized how fast these weeks will fly by.

Here's another example: Kelly and I are trying to figure out dates for our remaining teacher training sessions in three more cities.  As we looked at our schedule, we realized there really wasn't much room for choosing which weekend worked better or which was more convenient.  There are three weekends that worked for both of us.  Thats it.  There is something happening on every other weekend once late August hits.

For me, this is a sign that I've settled into a nice pace of life in country-I've gotten involved and I'm doing a lot.  Certainly a good feeling to have in my last few months of Peace Corps service, leave giving a hundred percent, right?.  But its also a good way to keep the days speeding by.  When you stay involved and active, its easier to forget that days are passing by.  And those days turn to weeks and weeks to months, and before I know it I'm on a plane counting hours.

So here's to staying active, and seeing you all before we know it.

2012-7 Months In: Goal Update

Apparently, there is research indicating that those who talk about their goals are actually less likely to accomplish them than those who keep quiet.  I oscillate between this thought and the need to keep myself on track and accountable by making my projects known.  I think its useful to, at times, publicly review progress.

At the beginning of the year I wrote goals to accomplish in 2012.  This is my second check in.  What I've found has been most useful is seeing some goals gradually morph in how I'm actually judging them.  Its easy to write something down at the beginning, but its only through the process of doing and trying that you realize whether the goal is being evaluated in an intelligent way.  Goal 3 and 5 are good examples of this.

1) Establish my own wake-up time-Accomplished.  Over the past few months I've really been adamant about making my time most productive for me.  A side benefit of this has been that it has really solidified a great routine and wake-up time for me.  Pretty much every single day, I wake up at 8am now.


2) Focus on my hamstrings-In Progress.  Its difficult to have physical goals in yoga-your body will develop as it develops.  My hamstrings are still tight, thats the reality, and probably will be the reality for many years.  Its okay.

3) Practice yoga 5 hours a week-Accomplished.  So, I basically do practice yoga 5 hours a week (except when traveling).  But I've really shifted the focus of this goal to practice yoga 5 times a week.  Taking the emphasis off the amount of time, it allows me to keep the focus on what is important-which is the actual act of practicing.

4) Learn Turkish-Failed.  Yeah, I basically completely dropped this one.  The vacation came and went and I definitely did not learn Turkish.  I'm not bummed.

5) Prepare for effective job hunting-In Progress.  This is another goal that has really changed as the year has gone on.  More than preparing for effective job hunting, I'm more interested in preparing myself for income generation (which obviously includes jobs).  There are a few projects being worked on currently, and I'm excited to share whats developed when its ready.

6) Read the Brothers Karamazov-Accomplished.  Loved it.

7) Go to an Azerbaijani rap concert-Accomplished.

8) Buy a new iPhone and MacBook Air-Haven't Started.

9) Meditate daily-In Progress.  Right now I'm in a really good spot with this, I've meditated daily every day in July and see no reason why this will change.  I've even woken up early to accomplish this on certain busy days.  After a few more weeks I think I'll be ready to put this in the 'accomplished' column.

So there you have it.  Of the nine, four have already been accomplished, three are in progress, one I haven't started and one I've just outright failed at.  I'm pretty pleased with that.

How are you all coming with your goals?

Going To The Movies-Azerbaijan Student Film Festival

One of my favorite Volunteer Projects in Azerbaijan is being done about as far away from Khachmaz as possible, up at the very top of the second finger, in Zagatala.  Its a movie club, started by Mike Raybourne, an AZ7.  Since inception a couple years ago, the kids involved have written, shot, and edited many many movies.  Its also one of those precious few clubs where the girls are just as active and involved as the boys.

What these kids have produced is pretty great (check out some vids below).  We grow up with computers and digital cameras and, to a certain extent, they do too (though not at the level of prevalence as in America).  But we also grow up in a culture that actively encourages imagination and artistic expression, encourages taking on big projects with lots of organization and planning.  That's not as prevalent here and this club develops these skills in the best possible way.

Mike actually extended his service for a third year to make this project bigger, and September 8th 2012 will host the first Azerbaijani Student Film Festival.  I know I've done this a couple times before (only a couple!) but if you're looking for a great way to make a 100% tax-deductible charitable contribution, I highly recommend you watch the video below (its in English) and consider heading over HERE.  I'll warn you, the video is pretty powerful.



Otherwise, you can also support them simply by watching.  Below are my two faves-a zombie movie and the epic time-traveling 'Kids of the Future'.  If you want to see more, check out the Zagatala Movie Club Channel on YouTube HERE.

Thoughts On A Second Year

Its in the second year where it all comes together.

If ever there was an argument for patience in life and confidence things will work out over time, its the phenomena of the second year.  The first year of everything is the most difficult.  Sure, we have the initial passion and enthusiasm; the honeymoon period is one of my favorite experiences-everything is new and wonderful and possible.  But eventually that initial endorphin rush will end, and we're left to see a situation for what it is.  Its intimidating or unfamiliar, boring or difficult; but it is not the easy breezy time we were led to believe.

Everything that was fascinating suddenly seems a little more boring, everything that was new suddenly seems a little more grimy, and everything possible, suddenly seems a little more unrealistic.  The burst of energy we get in the beginning ebbs and wanes and we are left feeling less confident in our new surroundings.  This is true for a job.  This is true for a marriage.  This is true for a Peace Corps Volunteer.

And as dramatically as enthusiasm may fall in the first year, confidence builds in the second year.  Almost everything I do or think about now, is accompanied by the though 'I'm so glad I'm in my second year'.  Second year volunteers have a level of confidence and competence that simply are not possible first year.  I've put in my time, paid my dues, and finally the azerbaijani cultural monkey is off my back.  I can sit at ease at dinner knowing how to toast, how to eat my rice, how to eat bosbosh.  I'm no longer looking for visual cues in this culture but I can move relatively effortlessly within it.

Sure, most of these things are learned in the first year-I was taught the correct way to eat Plov the first week in Azerbaijan-but what is gained in the second year is the knowledge that people are familiar with me now and know who I am.  Occasionally wearing shorts in my second summer is no longer considered by me to be the most unbreakable taboo-its freaking hot and I'm gonna wear shorts!  Yes that doesn't seamlessly fit in with the culture, but I already didn't.  And more importantly, the kids around my apartment know I'm a nice guy, the teachers at my school know I'm a caring teacher, and the people in my community know I have friends who respect me.

This is not experienced in the first year.  These accomplishments are realized in your second year, when you are far enough away from the culture shock and discomfort of your adopted culture to look around and see 'Hey, I'm actually living here'.  The Azerbaijan culture (and I suspect most cultures that aren't as heterogenous as America) is a somewhat closed and restrictive culture.  But there is a place for a weird American to participate in the lives and experiences of Azerbaijanis.  In the first year, there is so much learning and discovering-finding out what you can do, what you can't do, what you enjoy doing, what you hate doing-but its in the second year where that knowledge becomes integrated with who you are, allowing our many culturally fractured identity to heel the cracks and simple be an American living in Azerbaijan.

This is a nice feeling.  And its a feeling that I know I will eventually have to give up as I head onto another adventure in life that leads me into unfamiliar territory.  But I can confidently say that with time I will be back at a level of confidence, just as those AZ9s who are in their first year of Peace Corps currently will soon experience this feeling in Azerbaijan.

Photolicious Update

Khachmaz Maximum-Spring 2012

Hello Readers.  I've updated a few of my Flickr albums with various events around Khachmaz from the past months.  Check out the photos, and as always, thanks so much for reading.

Check out pics from the 4th of July Party HERE.  (read about it HERE)

Check out pics from June Softball Tournament HERE.

Oh yeah, and check out some great shots that my friend Adam took on our amazing yacht trip HERE

Sabina, who is in America for the next 6 weeks!

Happy 4th!

'Do the roller coaster'

Its been a little strange coming back after vacation in June and trying to get back into the weekly updates.  I can't help but feel that the suddenly my weekly emails are a bit less inspired.

Part of this is in the comparison-after having such a spectacular vacation, Khachmaz summer camp doesn't really hold the pizzaz that it did the first time.  Another reason is the fact this summer is my second time around; largely what I find myself doing this summer is what's worked well in the past.

One of these things is our Khachmaz 4th of July party.  This was Khachmaz's second hosted 4th of July party and third major holiday party.  The Khachmaz 4th of July party has become somewhat of a legend around the country-we've had volunteers RSVPing to come since spring and all the Americans working for Peace Corps passed on the embassy party to head up to Khachmaz.

And it definitely didn't disappoint.  Just like last year we had a typical 4th of July BBQ spread-BBQ'd chicken, hot dogs, corn on the cob, fruit salad, potato salad, pasta salad, salsa, relish, etc etch.  There was a patriotic photo booth and we taught line dancing.  Actually, the dance party lasted for hours.  After sunset we lit sparklers and drew pictures with the shutter delay on the camera.

Keeping up with the precedent set last year, the next day PCVs who stayed traveled up to Nabran to step out of Azerbaijan for a moment and into the Atlant water park.  Visiting volunteers were amazed to see a water park that was something familiar to what we know in the states, complete with slides, swim up bars, and pirate ships.

All in all, It was a great weekend.  Now, we're back at the apartments, listening to quiet music, and resting.  Its pretty nice.

Recently engaged Elvin and Leyla.

Josh and little adorable kid, having a squat.

Miscellaneous Photos from Khachmaz Summer Camp and Softball Tourney

I know that many of your are wanting pictures from Turkey, those will come.  Below are some of my favorite pics from the Softball Tournament in early June and Khachmaz Summer Camp.  Full albums coming.

This is one of my closest friends here in Azerbaijan, Elvin.  He helps coach softball.

Our star shortstop, Rahib, ready for game 1.

Tired after a long day of softball (plus a 5 hour roundtrip).

Khachmaz Summer Camp displaying their created animal masks.  They would use these masks in the Animal Plays they wrote and directed (and we filmed).

Lannea and Mercedes surveying a successful day of camp.

Yulian and Elnara posing before relay races.