I am not kidding...My Mom, who is not exactly a word-smith asked me the other day? Where are you going for the Peace Corps? Azerbloggy (pause)...blot? Close mom...in syllables. Let's clap that out again!
It's true, I have accepted a Peace Corps assignment in Azerbaijan to start in late September. It's a bit of a surprise since I was told in the early stages that my colon-less body may be an issue. But my statement was strong, my doctor exam and letter of reference excellent, and my work in India was appreciated. And I suppose the advanced degrees helped along with my old age (whopping 40) which perhaps, indicates wisdom and maturity?! Just guessin' there.
I will be leaving on September 27th which happens to be my Father's birthday may he rest in peace. BTW, PC is really a stickler...I should state NOW that everything you read here is my own opinion and not that of the US government (Go Obama!--felt the need to give a shout out!) or the Peace Corps.
Back to Azerbloggyblot...I really shouldn't tease my Mom around her pronunciation guess. We all know I am not a linguist myself. In fact I have been trying to find a community college that might offer Azerbaijani (that's the language) to get a head start on it all but guess what? There is NONE! Upon further research I did find one in DC (I think). Like that's gonna help. Then I found some information that suggests Turkish is very similar? Similar how much though? Right?! I mean what if I bought the Rosetta Stone Turkish language for $200 plus, then get over there all confident speaking my Turkish-Azeri greetings only to be met by clenched teeth and blank wide-eyed stares by the Azeri people who are wondering how the Hell I screwed up their language AND the Turkish language all in one entangled linguistic swoop?! Puts a whole new meaning on killing two birds with one stone huh?! Thus... Maybe Turk-Azeri won't be all too popular comin' from an American trying WAY too hard...we'll see what retribution follows if I choose to tango with Turk-Azeri.
Apparently I am having a bit of anxiety around it because I had a dream last night where I came across these Turkish migrant workers who were up inside a tree, de-limbing it with their archaic hand-saws and bare hands. Some how I knew they were from that region of the world and so I hurriedly stopped my car jumped out and asked "Excuse me, How similar is the Turkish language to Azerbaijani language?"
The two men climbed down the tree--amazingly monkey-like (must be memories from my time in India watching the men monkey-swing inside a Ferris wheel--I don't know?!?!)
The man reached out his pitch-layered hand to greet me and said, "Yes, it is." With his fingers outlining the letters mid-air he assures me, "In Turkish we say "Da" and in Azerbajani they say "Dah." Before I could say "OK, I totally don't get it!" my car--which I apparently didn't put in park in my haste to learn the difference between da and dah, is rolling down a hill barely missing parked cars then shoots into the roof of a building, injuring a bystander standing below its falling debris. This diverts the attention to the hospital where we (the Turkish dudes and me) go to check on the injured. At first thought, I'm naturally concerned about the girl but know she is OK since she walked into the entrance of the hospital on her own which I realize then is the roof where my car is lodged. Now I realize and am kinda bothered slightly that I am actually NOT naturally concerned about the injured girl and this standing in line business at the attendants window with the Turkish dudes is just a boring formality cuz what suddenly I wonder is how damaged my car is ...maybe just a few scrapes I hope...after all I can hear it IS still running. But my zeal is really on what the Hell does Da or Dah mean? Are they two totally different words in the respective languages? Da in Turkish means swim and Dah in Azerbaijani means sink? I DON'T KNOW! So how is Da and Dah that different? Because Helllllllo! I didn't hear the difference. Maybe DaHHHHHHHH is carried out with a kind of wheezing sound at the H?...you know, like witnessing someone having a heart-attack...after all I AM in a hospital!
At this point I wake up and say "what the..!?! Now in my doctorate program this would have been a fun dream to analyze? In fact I think I will post it to my doctorate group and see what my peers say. After all they're a bright bunch! Perhaps they can enlighten me on the etymology of Da and Dah while they are at it for cryin' out loud!
So that's the story on how my Blog title came to be...thanks Mom!
I won't post too much now because I am still here in the good 'ol USA with ya all but stay tuned and follow my anxiety...OK gotta go gardening now...it's almost Spring which means it is also almost my birthday (22nd for those who wish to swoon me with well wishes and gifts ;) Be well all!
Peace and Love!
Shaz
5 comments:
Hi! Thanks for the post on my blog...I enjoyed reading yours :) Looking forward to meeting you! So, here's the thing about the language...DON'T WORRY! PC has a great system of teaching us the language and you will surely know what you need to know to get along. I didn't speak a lick of Azeri language before coming here and it has been just fine. Take good care and please drop me a line if you have any questions or whatever :)
Julia
Ok, here's what I would advise...but, keep in mind that all the sites in AZ are different, temperature-wise, housing wise, closeness to big cities etc etc. I'll speak about my experience here in Siyazen.
There is hair-dye and hair-salons, but you should prob bring your own stuff because not only is it hard to communicate what you want in a salon (I got a fairly Rod Stewart-esque haircut eariler this year) but also the do-it-yourself stuff is not that great of quality.
I wore my pea-coat everyday. If you prefer something else, by all means bring that, but you will want something warm and dark colored.
Air mattress. Bring it. I wish I had mine.
The PC issued sleeping bags are affectionately referred to as "Brown Monsters". They are huge and hard to carry/travel with. But they are warm. If you have one that is packable and warm, bring it.
The weather is fine righ tnow. Our winter was mild this year with only a few bad days. My thought is that it isn't the cold that is the hardest part, it's the lack of heat indoors...bring layers!!
I did not do any language study prior to coming to AZ. I think my language is at an average level for the AZ6 group.
That was fun to answer those questions!! Fire away!
Julia
Well, I'd say after the sun goes down it can be as cool as 54-56 inside the house. You'll become best friends with the gas stove :)
One average it takes about 3 weeks for a package to get from the states to AZ. During training you don't have to pay for those packages to be delivered to you. Once you get to site sometimes (depending on the post office worker) you have to pay a nominal fee. I've never paid more than 1 manat for a package. I wouldn't recommend sending expensive things though...I've had things tampered with and broken en route.
Exercise is hard. I'm a runner and we have a track in town...as most towns do...but as for other sports. I don't think most towns are bikeable. You would look pretty strange biking for sport around here. As for pools. I know of one about 2 hours away. And someone told me there is poop in it...yummy.
I think in Baku there are salons...I don't know about spas. What's the difference?
I am not in training anymore. We in AZ 6 arrived at the end of Sept and trained until the first week of December. I've been a volunteer for a little over 3 months.
I've got some questions for you...When will you arrive in AZ? In what sector will you be working?
can you shoot me your email?
rock n roll sister soul
sam
Post a Comment