Now that the holidays are over and I sort of have a routine down I plan to post a blog at the beginning of each week. Let me give you a quick timeline of the past month:
December 10: Traveled to my permanent site; the city of Mingechevir
December 11-19: Introduction to my host family, my host organization (The Ministry of Youth & Sports), my fellow Volunteers (8 of us total in the city), and just the city & surroundings in general.
December 20-January 3: The Holidays! My Birthday on the 21st in Ming. Christmas in Sheki about a 1.5 hr bus ride North of me. New Years in Baku, the Capital.
January 4-11: Focusing back on work and organizing my plans for the immediate future.
Although everyone wants to hit the ground running when it comes to something they’re eager or excited about, the Peace Corps prepared us to expect the first few months to be very slow. Basically the expectation of a new volunteer is to observe the new community, get to know their surrounds and begin to settle in and build relationships with locals. No one is expected to begin projects right off the bat. We’re all the new kids in town, and unlike Pre-Service Training which is incredible structure day in and day out, there is almost nothing waiting for us to jump into. This time is meant for us to continue practicing our language, build relationships with our Azeri counterparts at work, and to network with anyone and everyone (get to know people in your organization as well as the guy selling potatoes at the bazaar, etc.). To sum it up, we’re building our foundation for the next 2 years of our lives, not saving the world in a matter of weeks.
However, the very real danger of this period of time for a volunteer is boredom. The lack of structure, the lack of work, and even the lack of real accountability in some cases can actually weigh pretty heavily on an individual who has expected a lot out of themselves leading up to this point. I have recently heard from some AZ6’s who have been here for a year now that the first 3 months was the most difficult time during their service thus far. Of course this is not a universal thought; just opinions and experiences of people I have talked to.
I will say that my experience has not been a direct reflection of what the Peace Corps told us to expect. My very first week in town I kind of was thrown into making several English Conversation Clubs. These clubs are sort of the corner stones for YD’s, at least as initial projects. These clubs are meant to provide a forum for young adults to come together to practice and use English that they’ve learned in school, share ideas and points of view on topics ranging from favorite types of food to political and social issues, and to learn about American culture from PCV’s. This past week I actually held interviews with over 35 Azerbaijani teens and young adults and placed them into different clubs I’ve scheduled so that I can match people up who are at similar levels of English competency.
I have to believe that the reasons why I have so many youth at my disposal right off the bat has to do with a these 2 things:
1) Mingechevir is the 4th biggest city in the country, so naturally there a just a lot of people here.
2) As I mentioned before, there are 8 PCV’s currently in Ming, and the Peace Corps has had a presence in the city for quite a long time. So a good chunk of these youth have experienced, met and participated in projects organized by volunteers long before I ever got here.
Other than that, I have been enjoying and finding great success in getting to know my fellow volunteers and my community. Just some of the things that have been a lot of fun (and in my mind productive) are sitting with some of the young adult boys in tea houses and playing chess while talking & joking, being invited to people’s homes for dinner and then staying to talk and play more games, playing basketball several times a week (for those of you that don’t know, I might be the worst b-ball player I know…..State side that is. I feel like a stud here). Also I piloted an English Movie Club. The group overwhelmingly voted to watch Twilight which I had not seen yet and if we continue to have this particular club they’ve already made it a mission to find a bootlegged copy of the sequel, New Moon.
I won’t get into the holidays too much, but the pictures are all from those gatherings. It was sad being away from home, but it was nice to be with large groups of Americans who were all in the same boat and all looking forward to having fun and celebrating together.
December 10: Traveled to my permanent site; the city of Mingechevir
December 11-19: Introduction to my host family, my host organization (The Ministry of Youth & Sports), my fellow Volunteers (8 of us total in the city), and just the city & surroundings in general.
December 20-January 3: The Holidays! My Birthday on the 21st in Ming. Christmas in Sheki about a 1.5 hr bus ride North of me. New Years in Baku, the Capital.
January 4-11: Focusing back on work and organizing my plans for the immediate future.
Although everyone wants to hit the ground running when it comes to something they’re eager or excited about, the Peace Corps prepared us to expect the first few months to be very slow. Basically the expectation of a new volunteer is to observe the new community, get to know their surrounds and begin to settle in and build relationships with locals. No one is expected to begin projects right off the bat. We’re all the new kids in town, and unlike Pre-Service Training which is incredible structure day in and day out, there is almost nothing waiting for us to jump into. This time is meant for us to continue practicing our language, build relationships with our Azeri counterparts at work, and to network with anyone and everyone (get to know people in your organization as well as the guy selling potatoes at the bazaar, etc.). To sum it up, we’re building our foundation for the next 2 years of our lives, not saving the world in a matter of weeks.
However, the very real danger of this period of time for a volunteer is boredom. The lack of structure, the lack of work, and even the lack of real accountability in some cases can actually weigh pretty heavily on an individual who has expected a lot out of themselves leading up to this point. I have recently heard from some AZ6’s who have been here for a year now that the first 3 months was the most difficult time during their service thus far. Of course this is not a universal thought; just opinions and experiences of people I have talked to.
I will say that my experience has not been a direct reflection of what the Peace Corps told us to expect. My very first week in town I kind of was thrown into making several English Conversation Clubs. These clubs are sort of the corner stones for YD’s, at least as initial projects. These clubs are meant to provide a forum for young adults to come together to practice and use English that they’ve learned in school, share ideas and points of view on topics ranging from favorite types of food to political and social issues, and to learn about American culture from PCV’s. This past week I actually held interviews with over 35 Azerbaijani teens and young adults and placed them into different clubs I’ve scheduled so that I can match people up who are at similar levels of English competency.
I have to believe that the reasons why I have so many youth at my disposal right off the bat has to do with a these 2 things:
1) Mingechevir is the 4th biggest city in the country, so naturally there a just a lot of people here.
2) As I mentioned before, there are 8 PCV’s currently in Ming, and the Peace Corps has had a presence in the city for quite a long time. So a good chunk of these youth have experienced, met and participated in projects organized by volunteers long before I ever got here.
Other than that, I have been enjoying and finding great success in getting to know my fellow volunteers and my community. Just some of the things that have been a lot of fun (and in my mind productive) are sitting with some of the young adult boys in tea houses and playing chess while talking & joking, being invited to people’s homes for dinner and then staying to talk and play more games, playing basketball several times a week (for those of you that don’t know, I might be the worst b-ball player I know…..State side that is. I feel like a stud here). Also I piloted an English Movie Club. The group overwhelmingly voted to watch Twilight which I had not seen yet and if we continue to have this particular club they’ve already made it a mission to find a bootlegged copy of the sequel, New Moon.
I won’t get into the holidays too much, but the pictures are all from those gatherings. It was sad being away from home, but it was nice to be with large groups of Americans who were all in the same boat and all looking forward to having fun and celebrating together.
love the pics! especially the darth vader beanie and Eli on your lap... haha!
ReplyDeleteSuper psyched man! Sounds like a good time, I don't think any of us are surprised that you didn't fall into the initial boredom expectation. I know you're not the best bballer state side, but I'll admit, if I saw you walk onto the court now with that facial hair attitude, I'd be intimidated! Keep on keepin' on brotha.
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