I miss a lot of things. Before I came here, I didn’t have a strong desire to sightsee all over America. But now I have a desire to see many things I haven’t—like LA, the Grand Canyon, the Pacific Coast around Oregon, Williamsburg, New Mexico and spend more time in San Francisco, New York, the Florida Keys and Colorado. I also miss milk shakes—here and in Georgia a milk shake is milk with ice and sugar.
But there are many things I don’t miss.
Most American Food
The fruits, vegetables, fresh yogurt and milk, freshly baked bread and cheese made on site are wonderful. Also, the cooking style is great—soups made daily, great mixtures of cooked vegetables and fresh salads and plates of fresh fruit for dessert. The baked goods are also delicious.
In February and March, there is little fruit and fresh vegetables are limited to root vegetables and herbs, but I can deal with that.
Driving and Having a Car
I don’t need one here. I can walk most places and there are always buses for short distances and trains if I need to go a long distance. I don’t miss the expense of a car, cleaning it, buying gas and insurance and wondering when it will break or need expensive repairs.
Paying for and Taking Care of a House
I’m like a kid again—mom and dad take care of paying the bills, fixing stuff and providing heat and meals. I give my host family a set amount every month and I live there, am served food and only have to buy fruit for myself. If something needs fixing, frankly it might not get fixed, but again, it is not my problem.
The Media
I didn’t have a TV for the last few years I lived in the US. I kept up on current events and still do by reading. If I wanted to watch a movie, I got it on Netflix and watched it on my computer. But I still heard a lot of people talking about TV shows like American Idol, The Bachelor and other shows I never watched. I don’t miss this.
Also, advertising is not as aggressive and pervasive and events and buildings are not normally sponsored by any company. No one send mail or email asking for charitable contributions and no one asks you to buy candy for their kid’s school. If there is no playground and the school windows are broken, parents don’t raise their own money.
The Split
In Azerbaijan, there is not a huge cultural split with people on both sides angry with each other. They depend on the government, or want to depend on the government, to get things done. The president appoints the mayors of the cities, has control of the Supreme Court and appoints other legislators so citizen involvement is not as necessary--once the president is elected, that takes care of a lot of things. No one is deckaring on the radio about how they hope the President fails, because it is illegal to criticize the President.
This sounds alarming to Americans, but in practice, it makes for very little rancor. I am not endorsing it, but people are not constantly angry about issues like guns, gays and God. It is difficult to explain how appealing it is to me, an outsider. not to be surrounded by partisan anger every day.
I have heard that Americans living abroad sometimes read the news and are surprised and bewildered at something going on in their country. They find that you have to be there to understand it.
Right now, I want to know why everyone seems to be so upset about the death of Michael Jackson. I thought he was being shunned because he was a child molester. Also, when I left last September, Michelle Obama had a low approval rating. Now she seems to be popular and people are excited about her clothes. So what has changed?
Also, I am really puzzled about why Republicans don’t love the mandatory health insurance proposal. They are supposedly for personal responsibility and everyone paying their own way. They love mandatory auto insurance, so why would it be okay for people to have no health insurance and show up at the hospital for free treatment?
I am not sure if I will work when I get back to the US. However, I have a medical condition that precludes me from buying insurance from a commercial insurance company—they won’t sell me a policy. I know others with the same issue. So why is it not okay with some Americans for me not to have an option to buy health insurance? Without that option, I would have to work to get employer paid medical insurance at a job that I would take away from someone who needs one or go without health insurance. I guess you have to be in America to understand these things.
Doing Paperwork
I don’t make enough money to file taxes, get no mail except boxes from home with cool stuff in them and don’t have to fill out expense reports, applications for anything or figure out my bank statements.
Unrelated Question
A few people in my town have a question for Americans. Maybe you can help me answer it. Husbands and wives in America sometimes say that they don't let their spouse do something--for example--they won't let their husband go to a football game on Thanksgiving or let him work part-time. Or a husband won't let his wife go to Las Vegas with her girlfriends.
In your circle of family and friends, what types of things won't they let their spouses do? You can email to me or comment on the blog. Thanks!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
I Love Ladas
Before I came to Azerbaijan, I had heard of the Lada automobile, but thought it was a joke. I knew that it was made in Russia, along with the Volga and thought it was purchased mostly because there were only 2 brands in the USSR and other types of cars were not generally available. I thought it was of poor quality and wouldn't perform well.
This is yet another area in which I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Ladas are everywhere here, along with SUV's, Mercedes, BMW's, Japanese and Korean cars. I have a real respect for them now because I have seen the difficult situations in which they perform well. Ladas are small, economy cars with simple, widely available parts. Many people can fix Ladas themselves without expensive special equipment.
Many of the roads in the country and some even in the city are in bad condition, made of dirt or gravel and are very uneven. Taxis are ubiquitous because many people don't have cars and need to carry heavy loads from the bazaar or other places where public transportation won't work. These cars can go places only an SUV should go and do a great job at it.
It is common in the summer to see Ladas completely full of watermelons, including the front passenger seat, back seat to the ceiling, an open trunk and full roof carrier, proceeding normally down a street.
I did a little reading about them and found they are built tough because they need to survive winters in Siberia and rough terrain everywhere. They are sold on every continent except North America and are even used in Antarctica. Cars with 300,000 miles are not unusual.
I was pretty attached to my Toyota Corolla, but will look around Craigslist when I get back for a Lada!
This is yet another area in which I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Ladas are everywhere here, along with SUV's, Mercedes, BMW's, Japanese and Korean cars. I have a real respect for them now because I have seen the difficult situations in which they perform well. Ladas are small, economy cars with simple, widely available parts. Many people can fix Ladas themselves without expensive special equipment.
Many of the roads in the country and some even in the city are in bad condition, made of dirt or gravel and are very uneven. Taxis are ubiquitous because many people don't have cars and need to carry heavy loads from the bazaar or other places where public transportation won't work. These cars can go places only an SUV should go and do a great job at it.
It is common in the summer to see Ladas completely full of watermelons, including the front passenger seat, back seat to the ceiling, an open trunk and full roof carrier, proceeding normally down a street.
I did a little reading about them and found they are built tough because they need to survive winters in Siberia and rough terrain everywhere. They are sold on every continent except North America and are even used in Antarctica. Cars with 300,000 miles are not unusual.
I was pretty attached to my Toyota Corolla, but will look around Craigslist when I get back for a Lada!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Movies and T-Shirts
One of the ways that walking around a town or city is interesting is because there is apparently no thought given to copyrights or protecting brands. For example, my host sister, a very conservative girl, walks around with a t-shirt that says “Columbia University” with the logo discreetly placed at the bottom of the shirt. In giant letters across the top, it says COCAINE.
I bought my pillow at a shop called Angelina, with a huge picture of Angelina Jolie in the window. A guy who looks exactly like Michael Jordan is on a bank billboard in my town. Last week I saw a green vinyl purse in a store window. It sported a label that said “Jimmy Choo”. There are also shoes that say “Ann Klayn.”
Then there are the mistakes. I have seen a t-shirt with a picture of a football—it said “NBA Basketball”. Volunteers also see a lot of writing on clothes that is misspelled, so our theory is that if the clothing factory makes a spelling mistake, they send the clothes to Azerbaijan.
Peace Corps volunteers swear that there is no way to buy legal DVD’s here. We get American movies before they are out in US. There are disadvantages, however.
The English soundtrack is not removed, just recorded over in Azeri in a louder voice. There are English subtitles available, but the whole movie is one scene, so going back and forth is difficult. There is no bonus material.
I think it would be difficult to solve the movie problem because Hollywood is probably not interested in producing movies for a language spoken by 8 million people, many of whom can speak Russian. It does affect artists in Azerbaijan, however. There is no point in making a CD if it will be copied and sold.
But Azeris probably spend more time watching their own party videos than watching movies. Videographers are ubiquitous at family events—not just weddings, but birthdays, graduation parties, going into-the-army-parties and getting circumcised parties. The latter are unnerving. Boys are circumcised at between 3 and 12 years of age. The videos show the preparation, much of it very entertaining with decorating, the band setting up, then the dancing and eating. But also on the film is the lamb being slaughtered as a gift to the poor and the actual circumcision, which shocked me all the more because I didn’t know they would do it on the video.
When a new party video comes out, copies are distributed to eager attendees and they take it home and play it over for their family and guests. It is a great time to find out who everyone is, what they wore, how they acted and how they danced.
I bought my pillow at a shop called Angelina, with a huge picture of Angelina Jolie in the window. A guy who looks exactly like Michael Jordan is on a bank billboard in my town. Last week I saw a green vinyl purse in a store window. It sported a label that said “Jimmy Choo”. There are also shoes that say “Ann Klayn.”
Then there are the mistakes. I have seen a t-shirt with a picture of a football—it said “NBA Basketball”. Volunteers also see a lot of writing on clothes that is misspelled, so our theory is that if the clothing factory makes a spelling mistake, they send the clothes to Azerbaijan.
Peace Corps volunteers swear that there is no way to buy legal DVD’s here. We get American movies before they are out in US. There are disadvantages, however.
The English soundtrack is not removed, just recorded over in Azeri in a louder voice. There are English subtitles available, but the whole movie is one scene, so going back and forth is difficult. There is no bonus material.
I think it would be difficult to solve the movie problem because Hollywood is probably not interested in producing movies for a language spoken by 8 million people, many of whom can speak Russian. It does affect artists in Azerbaijan, however. There is no point in making a CD if it will be copied and sold.
But Azeris probably spend more time watching their own party videos than watching movies. Videographers are ubiquitous at family events—not just weddings, but birthdays, graduation parties, going into-the-army-parties and getting circumcised parties. The latter are unnerving. Boys are circumcised at between 3 and 12 years of age. The videos show the preparation, much of it very entertaining with decorating, the band setting up, then the dancing and eating. But also on the film is the lamb being slaughtered as a gift to the poor and the actual circumcision, which shocked me all the more because I didn’t know they would do it on the video.
When a new party video comes out, copies are distributed to eager attendees and they take it home and play it over for their family and guests. It is a great time to find out who everyone is, what they wore, how they acted and how they danced.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Traveling
This summer I have traveled to other regions of Azerbaijan and also left the country to go to Tbilisi, Georgia. The travel choices are not big here--Iran is to the south, the Caspian Sea to the east, to the west Armenia (Azerbaijan and Armenia are bitter enemies and it is not possible to travel there). To the north is Georgia and a little piece of Russia.
So 12 Peace Corps volunteers set out for Tbilisi last month. It is about an hour and a half to the border, which is in a barren-looking area. It took us a half hour to go through the Azeri and Georgian guard stations and then about an hour to get to Tbilisi.
Georgia was one of the 15 former Soviet Union countries, like Azerbaijan, but the atmosphere is different.
Some of the first things we saw were a nice cityscape--interesting, European style buildings and a lively street scene with bars, outdoor cafes, street art, fashionably dressed people and dogs with owners (as opposed to homeless dogs). People are out at night, and since the biggest export in Georgia is wine, people were drinking it.
We arranged to meet some young people who had come to our town for an exchange project and got a personal tour of the city of a period of a few days. It was great to take a real vacation. We had a great time visiting old ruins and interesting buildings, climbing to the top of the city for a great view, hanging out in the cafes and other sightseeing.
Apparently the Georgians don't like their president, blaming him for the war with the Russians last summer and they were having daily protests in the central square. Some people from the regions had been camping out in little booths, voicing their displeasure.
Like Azerbaijan, outside of the capital city, many people are very poor and unlike Azerbaijan, some go without food because it isn't as easy to grow food in Georgia as it is in Azerbaijan. Also like Azerbaijan, the older people who remember the Soviet Union days tend to look upon it as a golden period when everyone was middle class, had a job and some financial security. Now, reportedly a few people are rich and most are very poor.
Our trip to Georgia helped us learn more about Azerbaijan--we had thought that some of the traditions in Azerbaijan, such as no dating, marriages that are usually arranged by the families and limited opportunities for women were related to Muslim culture. However, Georgians are Christian and have these same traditions. Georgians seem to attend church in larger numbers, but in Azerbaijan people will say they are Muslim, but rarely go to mosque and few do the five times daily prayers or observe Ramadan.
This is only the fourth country I have visited in the world, but in my opinion, people who have been to all of the popular countries could have a good trip in Georgia. Besides the capital city, there are the Upper Caucusus (mountains) to hike, interesting and beautiful countryside villages to visit and Black Sea resorts, which are very popular in the summer. The Georgian people are very welcoming and friendly.
So 12 Peace Corps volunteers set out for Tbilisi last month. It is about an hour and a half to the border, which is in a barren-looking area. It took us a half hour to go through the Azeri and Georgian guard stations and then about an hour to get to Tbilisi.
Georgia was one of the 15 former Soviet Union countries, like Azerbaijan, but the atmosphere is different.
Some of the first things we saw were a nice cityscape--interesting, European style buildings and a lively street scene with bars, outdoor cafes, street art, fashionably dressed people and dogs with owners (as opposed to homeless dogs). People are out at night, and since the biggest export in Georgia is wine, people were drinking it.
We arranged to meet some young people who had come to our town for an exchange project and got a personal tour of the city of a period of a few days. It was great to take a real vacation. We had a great time visiting old ruins and interesting buildings, climbing to the top of the city for a great view, hanging out in the cafes and other sightseeing.
Apparently the Georgians don't like their president, blaming him for the war with the Russians last summer and they were having daily protests in the central square. Some people from the regions had been camping out in little booths, voicing their displeasure.
Like Azerbaijan, outside of the capital city, many people are very poor and unlike Azerbaijan, some go without food because it isn't as easy to grow food in Georgia as it is in Azerbaijan. Also like Azerbaijan, the older people who remember the Soviet Union days tend to look upon it as a golden period when everyone was middle class, had a job and some financial security. Now, reportedly a few people are rich and most are very poor.
Our trip to Georgia helped us learn more about Azerbaijan--we had thought that some of the traditions in Azerbaijan, such as no dating, marriages that are usually arranged by the families and limited opportunities for women were related to Muslim culture. However, Georgians are Christian and have these same traditions. Georgians seem to attend church in larger numbers, but in Azerbaijan people will say they are Muslim, but rarely go to mosque and few do the five times daily prayers or observe Ramadan.
This is only the fourth country I have visited in the world, but in my opinion, people who have been to all of the popular countries could have a good trip in Georgia. Besides the capital city, there are the Upper Caucusus (mountains) to hike, interesting and beautiful countryside villages to visit and Black Sea resorts, which are very popular in the summer. The Georgian people are very welcoming and friendly.
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