How many times a day do you shower?

How many times a day do you shower?' That was what Fargani asked me when our tour took us to the bathroom. I assumed I mishear and asked if he meant weekly and how often he showered. He laughed and said 'Every day of course'

This is a good introduction to my set up in Khachmaz (or Xachmaz, or Xaçmaz). I have a great living situation in a great site. We have internet in my house. The house is beautiful, the nicest I've seen in Azerbaijan so far, and my room is bright, big, and calm, a room where I can feel completely comfortable in. Fargani's family is wonderful, they are kind and patient. Unlike my previous host mother who shooed me away when trying to form a sentence my current host mother offers word choices and seeks to understand. I haven't seen his father and brother much but they seem nice and happy to have me. We also have a little girl, Fargani's niece, who is living with us for a while. She is adorable and, unlike the babies in Tagiyev, does not cry when she looks at me.

Fargani himself is incredible. Currently he is working at his English center he opened two weeks ago and already seems to be quite a success. All the classes offered are booked for the month. He was a former LCF for the Peace Corps and a MUSKI alumnus (a highly competitive program through which the US embassy sends a few AZB adults a year to post graduate education in the United States) and consequently speaks truly fluent English. He is very active in developing his community and has been involved with the Peace Corps, the US Embassy, and the United Nations. I will learn a lot from him.

He has taken it upon himself to be an ambassador of sorts for his community, not only taking around all the Peace Corps volunteers but ensuring that their families know each other and that he introduces us to his friends and key spots. His friends are great, they are active in their community, they have jobs, they're learning English, they have a hope for the future that is unlike what I saw in Sumgayit or Tagiyev. They remind me of my friends back home.

Khachmaz itself is a beautiful city. The streets are clean and the air is fresh. There is sunshine unfiltered by a haze of pollution. And everything feels new. New schools, new parks, new libraries, new arches over streets, its wonderful. The city planning feels progressive, focusing on creating a livable city, not just an efficient city. There are trees, sculpture, unique street lights. Its more liberal then other regions in Azerbaijan, you see women and men socializing in public, you can buy bacon.

The school I will be working at is also beautiful. It is a new school, dedicated to the memory of the first president's wife and Khachmaz ensured it spoke well of her. It is a stone building (like, it seems, all the buildings in Khachmaz) with marble floors. The classrooms have visuals on the wall and new furniture. There is an assembly hall and classrooms with computers. There is an English resource room and the oldest AZETA chapter (AZB English Teacher's Association) is based there. Afterwards I guested at her house and met her husband who was very warm as well.

In general my impression from the first 48 hours here is great. I have completely lucked out on a great site and have every reason to be happy. I kept telling people who asked if I liked their city that my first 10 hours here have been my favorite 10 (or 24, or 35) hours in Azerbaijan. When talking with friends I have to temper my excitement as not everyone feels as lucky as I.