Last Sunday in Sumqayit

I kidnapped a friend's SLR and took some pics.

Check them out here

Music 'from' Azerbaijan

I don't really have the luxury of downloading, let alone learning about, new music in Azerbaijan, so most of my music listening has been based on what I already have. Since I don't really have anything interesting to blog at this moment I decided to post a text podcast of what I've been listening to.

The-Dream-F.I.L.A. - quickly becoming one my favorite song of the year.

Katy Perry-Teenage Dream - a little slice of America so far away

The Refreshments-Girly - a total throwback to '96 from a total one hit wonder band

Bowie-Black Country Rock - Every podcast, audio or no audio, has got to have a lil' bowie

Robyn ft/Snoop Dog-U Should Know Better - Robyn featuring Snoop Dog! And he kills it.

Kanye West ft/Kid Cudi, Pusha T, John Legend, etc-Christian Dior Denim Flow - I am so excited that Kanye is doing all this work with Pusha T. He's got mad talent.

HEALTH-USA Boys - Super great noise dance pop. Get their Disco 2 compilation

Caribou-Eli - and some great psychedelia to round it out.

What's good US? Tell me what I should be listening to. Even better, email/snail mail me the music.

Photos!

Hey everyone, I know that many of you have been asking for photos and here they are. Most of these were taken by me, some were taken by my very talented friend, and fellow trainee, Allison Breed (appropriately marked). All were edited by me. Either way, they're pretty rockin'-check them out here:

Photos of Sumgayat

Meeting the Host Family

There have been few weirder moments in my life than the one I enjoyed on Tuesday afternoon, when I met my host family. During orientation, the host family was a main topic of conversation, and it seemed each session that focused on it seemed to make everyone more anxious. Every person wanted to know exactly what it would be like and unsurprisingly the Volunteers and Staff weren't able to give specific answers. The learning was the easy part, the controllable, but the host family would involve the very important uncontrollables; what we ate, how we cleaned, how we went to the bathroom, whom we would interact with.

A fellow trainee, Gio, put it best when he exclaimed "I just want to get in there, fuck up, and get over it." It was the most reasonable statement I had heard regarding meeting the host family the entire orientation. Of course it was going to be awkward, and of course there would be nothing we could do, short of being born Azerbaijani, to prevent it from being so. We were going to mess up and make embarrassing mistakes. This was such a certainty that the Peace Corps actually holds orientation sessions with the Host Family to prep them for the amount of mistakes we would make and the cultural differences they would observe. And we would get over it.

The first person on our bus to meet their Host Family was a young man named Kevin. He was told by his LCF (Language and Culture Facilitator) "Kevin, this is your Host Mother and brother." Kevin exclaimed "I have a little brother!" and immediately introduced himself and asked his name. We watched his little brother beam as he obviously bragged to his friends about Kevin while he was unloading his bags. It was one of the most adorable things I've seen. Suddenly all the anxiety building during the Orientation sessions melted away. And this scene happened again and again and again as siblings came to pick up trainees.

My first introduction to my Host Mother was just like every other trainees'. Accompanied by extremely stuttered greeting statements and lots and lots of gestures. I said I was hungry even though I was completely full, I just didn't know how to say I wasn't-and its not like I had anything better to do. The Peace Corps prepped us with days of language training which basically gave me the capability to communicate in broken Azerbaijani a few phrases and the ability to say I want to eat, sleep, or wash. It shocks me how much they nailed it. I've made a ton of mistakes, but I'm also working more intensively, and progressing more rapidly, then any other point in my life.

The Division between Public and Private:

During orientation, we heard a lot about gender roles and content prepping us for a situation quite different from the US. For example, there are teahouses in Azerbaijan for men to go and drink tea, talk and gossip, and smoke. Only men can go to these, women are not invited nor allowed.

At first I assumed this was an example of patriarchy at work again, but I believe it is something different. In Azerbaijan, there is a very distinct division between the public and the private. In the US, we tend to privilege the public-restricting someone's rights to participate in the public eye is to restrict their individual freedom. The public has more acreage, therefore it is primary. In Azerbaijan, the public and private seem to be weighted equally, with women receiving privilege in the private and men receiving privilege in the public.

As a man, I cannot simply go to someone's house to study or enjoy an afternoon. Usually we have to involve an LCF to translate our request to the Host Family. However, my friend Carrie can go to any of her friends' houses with no warning. Another example was at a family member's birthday party I recently went to. The men and women stayed in separate rooms the entire time. The men's room was sparsely furnished, eating off a communal platter, on older furniture. However, as a guest I was invited to eat with the women during dinner. They were in the formal dining room, eating on fine china, on luxurious dining chairs.

I'm not sure if my assessment is completely accurate on this, but my observations so far have continued to confirm this idea. I'm also not saying that this results in equal opportunity, but it has been a very interesting and useful lens for me to view through.