My Novruz Samani

For the Novruz Holiday families all over Azerbaijan start growing "samani," or wheat grass, during the first or second Tuesday leading up to the actual holiday on March 21st. This year to be in the true Novruz spirit, and to immerse myself even more, I grew a samani at my house to celebrate the holiday! (With Zeynab's help of course-she put the seeds on the plate, covered them and taught me how to care for them. But since then, March 1st, its been under my watch! :)) This first night I brought it home-Zeynab instructed me to leave it by the "pech," or heater, to put it int he sunlight during the day and to leave the cloth on, watering it through the cloth, until the green sprouts started showing.
I was so excited to see it grow! And it grew SO FAST!
It was getting soooo tall! I bragged to Zeynab, saying my samani was taller then hers, and she told me to stop putting it by the pech! It was getting too tall too fast and would turn yellow before Novruz!
Today-Its not yet the holiday, and I know it will get taller, but it is so beautiful and fresh, I just wanted to show it off! Families here decorate their samani with a red ribbon, a color to celebrate life, but I had to improvise as I only had pink ribbon. Samani is grown for Novruz as a symbol of new and coming life. As everything done from Novruz it is to welcome the coming new year and spring.

International Women's Day

In Azerbaijan, along with most other post-soviet countries and places in Asia and Russia, we celebrate International Women's Day. Not something we celebrate in America, although I have heard the President Obama proclaimed March 2011 "Women's History Month" in honor of this year being the 100th anniversary of Women's Day. Once a day to speak out about women's issues and women' rights, it is now, at least in Azerbaijan, whether good or bad simply a day of celebrating women. If I were in America I would take this day to celebrate my mom and grandmothers, as they are strong, independent women who taught me all that I know. But I'm not, I'm in Azerbaijan, so I wanted to take a minute to celebrate a woman here who has changed my life.
This is Zeynab. You've read a lot about her in my blog, if you've visited here you've met her and if you've called me then you've heard me talk about her. Her home is my home away from home, her family has become a safe haven for me and she has become my "Azerbaijani Mom." Zeynab is a mother of two, but lives with and cares for her husband's parents as well. Her husband, unfortunately, is in prison in Russia, so that leaves her to be the main care taker and bread winner in the family. Of course she has her father-in-law around to make decisions for the family, but that doesn't make any less work for Zeynab. Yet with all the work at school and at home that she does, and with the absence of her husband, all things that could get a person down, leaving them exhausted, she has one of the most upbeat, nurturing and adventurous spirit of any women I have meet here. Her heart is so full of hope for herself and her children it brings tears to my eyes. She is a fast learner and seems to surprise me with something she knows, says or understands about the world everyday. This strong, hard-working Azerbaijani woman deserves some praise on Women's Day!

My School: Beauty in the Wreckage

Fire Tuesday

For the Novruz Holiday, one of the biggest holidays in Azerbaijan, people here start celebrateing four Tuesdays before the actual holiday on March 21st. This week was the second of the four Novruz Tuesdays, Fire Tuesday. Last week was water, next week is wind and then earth. On each of these Tuesdays people here build bonfires in their yards, but this weeks was extra special as it was the week of fire. We built a bonfire in Zeynab's yard and then we all jumped over it 3 times, leaving our bad things from last year in the fire and becoming clean for Spring. Zeynab jumping!
Our cleansing fire.
Zeynab's kids and I in front of the fire.

(Don't stop reading, I just posted on Monday too!)

Discovering Qazax's February

Sunset from my kitchen window.
Houses built during the soviet era like to show of the year they were built. This one simply shows its year alone, 1954, but others have stars, sickle and hammers or other pictures along with the year.
A place where people leave their trash for the truck to collect.
Clothes hanging out to dry.
This old wall was build with many things, not just stone, including this old can. Its bottom has rusted out and things can be left to sit inside.
My apartment building. Built by the soviets in the 1970's.
View of the hills from the road behind my house. I have this same view, but higher, from my kitchen window.
Meat for safe by the kilo at the store near my house. I always shop here and have gotten to know the owners.
Unused stones on my walk into town, covered in moss.
This little shack was once for selling food but now is unused. It is right outside of my apartment entrance.
Same shack in the snow the very next day.
One of the windows in my stairwell on my way up to my top floor apartment. There is no glass in any of the stairwell windows.
The fence around my school yard, covered in snow.
Ice in the street behind my house.

Check it Out

I just added a follow PCV, Aaron's, blog to my "Check These Out" section off to the side and I highly suggest you check it out! My blog has to do with me and what I'm doing here but he focuses on Azerbaijan as a whole and what's going on here, so if you want to stay up-to-date on the country click there now and again!

As for me I'm happy it's Saturday! I added a few more hours of clubs after school and I've been working pretty hard, which feels great but makes me tired! I have a few goals I recently set for things I want to accomplish with my teachers, as most of work so far has been with my students (which is wonderful! But the teachers are part of my job as well.). Unfortunately it is a lot harder to get the teachers to really give a lot of time working after school and on weekends, I mean they are mothers and wives and take care of entire households, so I don't blame them. It just makes realizing my "teacher goals" harder. One of these goals is to get my teachers interested in or at least understanding of AZETA (Azerbaijani English Teacher's Association). I would love to get a branch started up here, but if I at least give them the knowledge of what it is and how it could help them maybe one day they will start it for themselves. Check out the link above to read about what AZETA is. Another of my goals is more feasible, I want to have lesson planned with three teachers by the end of the school year. Teachers never plan for class here, they have no idea how. I think by teaching them how to make a simple lesson plan it will be more obvious to them how to bring in games, worksheets, spelling contests or different materials, basic other forms of teaching besides memorization and recitation. I have tried every month since working here to lesson plan and have yet to write one with a teacher (I make my own and do my own thing in class), but I'm going to make it happen! I've also set the goal of practicing for the GRE (Graduate Record Exam). I want to take the test by July up in Tbilisi. So I need to practice, practice, practice so I can get a good score and get into a good graduate school and have a life plan for after Peace Corps! Yes, I have only 9 months left here so it is time to start thinking about that :).

Update

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I don't have any super exciting pictures to add! But heres a bit of an update. This is a picture of "xengal" (hengal), per request. It is my favorite Azeri food! Unfortunately I can't really eat it anymore because of my lactose intolerance- it is caramelized onions, yogurt with garlic and salt and here with noodles. Azeri women actually make a special noodle called "xengal" but I unfortunately am not equipped to do so :)
This is a recent "Creativity Club," we decorated glass jars with pieces of fabric and magazine clippings. The kids LOVED IT! This boy was making yarn mustaches.
Here's all the kids picking out decor.

Last week I went into Baku for our Mid-Service Conference. We all spent the week doing medical, language tests and meetings about our service and our jobs. I am feeling rejuvenated and ready to start going crazy with the projects now! I just turned in a grant for GLOW and now I'm working on one for a resource center at school. Zeynab and I are also working on getting AZETA (Azerbaijani English Teachers Association) up in our area! Lots to do in just a few months, but I'm super excited! Melissa, I love you and I am so sorry for your loss.