7 Months Left Means That I've Entered My 'Senior Year'

Khachmaz is beautiful this time of year.   After the cruel winter (have I made it clear yet just how bad this winter was), children are riding bikes and playing hide and go seek, teahouses are overflowing to the outside with deck tables and chairs, softball practice season has begun.  A month ago I was lamenting the constant cold, now I'm seeking escape from the oppressive, unhidden sun.

Yes, summer is basically here in Khachmaz.  Except-its not; everyone's in school and will be for the next month.  On average, my classes have about 10 pages left in their textbooks, which Tamilla is assuring me is exactly what we want.  I've pointed out that finishing the book four weeks early means we probably could have spent a little bit more time on our material throughout the year, but she has a plan and certainly is a better teacher of Azerbaijani children than I am.

Here's one reason why: last week was the first week in lord knows how long that I attended every single one of my classes.  I'm not proud of this fact (or rather-I'm extremely proud of this fact-it takes serious stamina to get to each one of those classes) but its the case.  I have pretty good sounding excuses to offer, such as traveling 7 hours to deliver a highly successful training, and others that are just as good, but sound slightly less convincing to non-PCVs, like taking a day off that would have otherwise resulted in me snapping in two after the first boy shout 'i love you' to me.

I've never been one to shirk my responsibilities at work or school.  I was actually pretty shocked to hear of all the volunteers before me who had just sort of come to accept that 'hey, sometimes you just have to not go'.  I swore to myself: That will never happen to me.  Well, let me tell you-its happened.  Its happened, its happening, and it will happen again.  Spontaneous bouts of cultural disenchantment + 1 month till school is over + 7 months till end of service = unapologetic senioritis.

Luckily, one of the best things about Peace Corps is that your success as a volunteer isn't determined by a 7th form English lesson.  Its about your integration within your community, the relationships you build, and the effect you have on their lives and they have on yours.  And this is something that I've never had to make excuses about to avoid.