Like Christmas, but in March, in a Muslim country

I feel like I've been waiting for Christmas for 6 months and it finally has happened. And the bike I was hoping for, plus the Moonshoes, plus the walking, talking robot were all under the tree. Sunday I moved into my apartment and have been basking in the glow of adulthood with a stupid grin on my face during the entirety of my seven minute walk to school. Already, living on my own nets me an extra 1.5 hours each day, where previously i was be walking.

I moved into my apartment Sunday and spent the day unpacking, which is nothing compared to a US move. The apartment is furnished, and after substantial rearrangement of the furniture and moving the fridge into the kitchen from the hallway quite comfortable. It has electricity and indoor plumbing which means an indoor toilet and shower/tub. Admittedly I'm still figuring out how the shower/tub works. That sentence probably reads a little weird in the US, but Azeri plumbing is not so straight forward as a pipe to a faucet.

A fellow PCV, Lannea, and I went to a mini bazaar to pick up some vegetables for my first cooked dinner in this apartment. I'm asking a million different questions to her while standing in front of all the fresh produce. She suddenly exclaims 'Wait, you've never shopped for food here have you?' As a guy, I haven't even been allowed in the kitchen let alone shopped for any food. The variety in a single green grocer's stall is equal to most farmers markets. I suddenly have a new found desire to talk with shopkeepers around me or speak with the little kids playing soccer. This is now my community, it is these people I will be seeing everyday for the next two years. There was such a resistance to community integration when I was temporarily living in a distant suburb outside the city. That 180s immediately, now that I'm actually living in Xachmaz, in my own apartment. I feel part of a community now that I have a space of my own to occupy in it.

Cooking my first meal was literally, a thrill. Lannea and I ate the healthiest meal we've had in Azerbaijan (no exaggeration) with foods purchased minutes before: onions, spinach, tomatoes, pasta, olive oil. Oh olive oil, how I've missed you, never will the horrible pee colored sunflower oil be allowed in this house. Each step of cooking added another item to my kitchen inventory and to my shopping list; skillet: check, strainer: need, cutting board: check, forks: need. Control over diet and food is a huge step in normalizing my time here and having a kitchen is a huge step towards that. The fact that there is coffee on my counter, that there is beer in the fridge, that my sister's 'save the date' card is taped to the fridge door-all just like America.

Last week our housing coordinator came up to Xachmaz to give the final approval on mine and another volunteers house. My landlady gave him the tour and he ensured that I actually good did know what was being talked about; did I actually know how to light the petch, could I really light a glass stove, etc. As he was dropping me back off at my host family's house, he congratulated me and then articulated exactly how I feel now: 'and now your service really begins.'

The Weeknd - House Of Balloons / Glass Table Girls

Now this just isn't fair. Anyone else planning on releasing an album this year, just wait until 2012 because The Weeknd is going to run circles around you. Last week they released a (free) mixtape that is better than any other albums I've heard so far this year. Sorry Cut Copy, sorry James Blake, sorry Radiohead-The Weeknd is where its at.

download it (again, for free!) here: http://the-weeknd.com/

Instant Conversation Club - Just Add Humans

I didn't rate having site mates as being too great a necessity for me when my Program Managers conducted my site interview. But since I do have them, I am incredibly glad for it. They are able to keep me sane in this foreign land and we provide an automatic layer of support in whatever we endeavor to do during our service.

Before even getting to site Lannea and I decided that we would work together in some of our conversation clubs. We had both heard that clubs were much easier when you had the luxury of two American's running it and you automatically halve the work you need to do.

We organize two clubs together. The one at her organization is a beginners conversation club and the one at my organization, School 8, is a conversation club for advanced students. This way we work with a variety of levels and get exposure to a greater community of kids.

A couple weeks ago we completed our first beginners convo club with a fun party. We finally got around to reviewing and editing our lesson plans and thought it might make sense to share what we've done with other PCVs/the world to help others get their conversation clubs going.

Below is a file that contains all the materials you would need for a beginner level conversation club. Its not language specific, so no matter what language your host country is you can adapt it to your needs as the club is mostly conducted in English. It contains 16 lessons, convo club rules, some materials, and a list of supplies you will need. Feel free to use and adapt to your own needs.

Download HERE

Video: First Novruz in Azerbaijan

Here's a vid of my first Novruz in Azerbaijan (entirely shot and edited on an iPod Touch-thanks Apple!)

First Novruz in Azerbaijan from josh on Vimeo.

The Fires You Always Wanted to Make

In Azerbaijan, this is their version of 'Happy Holidays,' and I wish you all a Happy Holidays from across the ocean. You see, right now in Azerbaijan is Novruz, the biggest national holiday. Children (and teachers-woot woot) are off from school and go Novruzing-which is throwing their hat or bag onto doorsteps so people can fill it with candy and sweets. Each town and village throws a big festival, with singers and clowns and cockfights (which was unexpected) and speakers. The national dishes and sweets are prepared, like plov-a rice dish topped with apricots, pumpkin, raisins, and meat, or shorab-a pastry with a mild spice inside. And each and every household lights massive bonfires.

Oh the bonfires. One of the best parts of living in a developing country is the lack of fire safety and regulations, so the fires you create are exactly as large as you've always wanted to create. Got some old clothes? Throw them in the fire. Is that backpack broken? We need more fuel for the fire. And every house (literally, every single house you walk by) has a massive bonfire. The columns of flame easily reach 7, 8, 10 feet high. Azerbaijan translates to Land of Fire, and many many years ago it was inhabited by the Zoroastrians, fire worshippers, who heralded the coming of spring with these massive bonfires. Walking last night the entire street was illuminated by a campfire glow with bursts of glowing flame spaced every house-distance apart.

Once these bonfires are lit, the tradition is that you jump over them. In jumping over the fire you wish for all the bad that has been staying within you to drop into the fire and to be consumed. You do this three times to ensure you're being thorough. Afterwards you go inside and eat yourself silly.

In other news I finally found an apartment which is a huge weight off my shoulders. It was worth the effort and, dare I say, stress because it is pretty much exactly what I wanted. Its the center or town and everything I ever go-close to work, my host brother's office, and a couple other organizations I work at. Its an apartment, which means it has indoor plumbing. It is extremely clean-cleaner than my first apartment in Denver and has a nice kitchen and good furniture. Finally, it already has a phone line running into it, so I should (and it is always in Azerbaijan a big 'should') be able to get internet.