My Life’s Little Successes and Failures of the Week

1.  I got a haircut for the second time in this country and I don’t hate it, even if it is a bit more layered than I would have liked – SUCCESS

2. I spoke at graduation in Azerbaijani without getting laughed off the stage and apparently danced well afterwards (yes, part of the ceremony is every teacher that speaks taking a few minutes to dance with the students) – SUCCESS

3.  I later learned that the microphone was so quiet, barely anyone could hear me talking at graduation - FAILURE

Son Zəng - Graduation

4. I made it to 7 different parties on Graduation Day and another the next day – exhausting SUCCESS

5. My computer class for teachers was supposed to start this week, but my counterpart told all the other teachers the wrong time and I waited at the school for an hour and a half doing nothing – FAILURE

6. I got a group of girls to play football (read: soccer) for like an hour when they had never played before and it’s not really socially acceptable for them to just come out and play, but with me it seems to be olar (ok) – SUCCESS

7. The ball I bought for volleyball split a seam within the first 3 hours of playing with it.  I guess that’s what you get for 2 manat - FAILURE

8. All of my summer activities seem to be pretty popular, but the most popular so far was the very first activity I had.  It is an activity for us to all go out for a walk, designed because people don’t really walk here and thus don’t see the really pretty views outside of town except by a car.  I had 32 students walking with me.  Knowing that I get stared at a lot when I’m by myself and walking for fun is socially strange in Azerbaijan, imagine what happened when I was leading a group of 32 students down the road.  But I managed to walk with them for about an hour and a half without losing anyone or having anyone get hit by one of the crazy drivers - SUCCESS

9. I got a letter from my dad which I immediately noticed was very late in coming (mailed April 27^th), but I initially just wrote it off as the quirks of getting mail here.  Then later that night, when the envelope was sitting on my desk, I noticed that it was stamped as having arrived in ZAMBIA on the 6^th of May.  I guess I can see them getting Zambia from Azerbaijan...but regardless, I think it is pretty cool that my mail got to me even though it first went to Zambia – eventual SUCCESS

10. I bought a dress I actually like in Ganja, something I didn’t think I could find in an Azerbaijani store – SUCCESS

11.  I found out that the grant I wrote to get money for our nationwide girls’ summer camp got approved.  And it wasn’t even just a grant from Peace Corps! And it drove me really crazy writing it, so I’m pretty happy it was worth the time – SUCCESS

12. I am already tired of mosquito bites and this is just the beginning.  It promises to be a long summer, especially if they continue to succeed in biting me on areas of my body that are always covered with clothing...how do they do that? – FAILURE

13.  I cooked a dinner that my family actually liked!  It is just a pasta with a tomato sauce that I made with a lot of vegetables...and my mother actually ate it in its entirety, one sister only picked out the eggplant, another sister picked out all the vegetables and left them on her plate, and the third sister strategically scooped only the tomato sauce out of the dish (after scowling when she learned she couldn’t just use tomato paste because I had finished the jar while cooking...oops). But, they requested that I cook it again (I’ve actually cooked it twice now) and they were raving about it around the neighbourhood, so I’ve already had to write it out in Azerbaijani for one neighbour– SUCCESS 

14. My dream has finally come true.  For those of you who I haven't dared admit this to yet, since arriving at site in December, I've been living the Azerbaijani life of showering only once a week.  If that.  But there has always been the promise of this magical time called "summer" when we can shower everyday!  Turns out that just means rinsing off with a little soap and not washing our hair, but I will take it!  I got 2 (count 'em TWO) half showers between real showers this week.  Feeling clean... - SUCCESS

15. I've developed this ridiculous chest cough and was seriously weirding out the Azerbaijanis when I was shopping in Ganja because in Azerbaijan you aren't really supposed to show you are sick in public, so things like coughing are a little olmaz (not ok).  I was looking a bit like a pis qız (bad girl) - FAILURE