Travels to Balaken: Day One

On Sunday I traveled north to Balaken, a region located a mere 40 kilometers from Georgia and a stone's throw away from the Russian border, for an Arts camp some of my fellow PCVs put together. I haven't been back to the northern region since PST (Pre-Service Training) when I did my site visit to Zaqatala, and that was back in October of last year.

Being in this part of the country is such a different experience than that of other regions. Azerbaijan is really quite a fascinating country. Despite its small size, the cultural diversity from one region to another is sometimes astounding, much of it stemming from the countries which the region is located closest to (Russian influence vs. Iranian influence, for example).

Here in Balaken there are lush green mountains and the streets are clean and kept. People are extremely friendly and there's a lot of smiling when talking to a xanim in a shop or on the street. If I say “salam” to a woman here in Balaken whose eye I’ve caught, the reaction is a smile and salam in return. (This is not always the case in other regions where women will eye you suspiciously, including in my own community.) There are various languages spoken: Russian, Azerbaijani and Avar. (Historical fact, the Avar culture stems from a name given to a group of nomads from inner and central Asia living near the Danube River basin and throughout the Carpathian Basin from the 6th-9th century AD. The name "Avar" comes from the "Avarian state" which was the first to be under one rule in the Carpathian Basin.) Yesterday, as I walked to camp with one of the girls who would be attending, I started to speak Azeri to her, she looked at me puzzled and said in English "I speak Avar."

This has made for an interesting camp experience. Bailey, the PCV who I'm staying with and who resides in this northern city, told me about the language differences before we went to camp.

This post ended up getting away from me, my intention was to talk about how fantastic our first day of camp was, so instead I’ll briefly summarize. Yesterday the students (28 students, girls and boys, ranging in age from 11-16) learned dance moves, played ultimate frisbee, made friendship bracelets, wrote stories and tie-dyed t-shirts. I will summarize by saying, it was an incredible day. We ate watermelon, laughed, shouted, enjoyed beautiful sunshine and had a truly fantastic day. The camp continues all week long, with activities ranging from dancing to music to skits. Today starts day two and I can’t wait to see what it will bring!

Side note: With the languages, there are counter-parts here who are helping with language translation and the 3 PCVs who reside in this region have fantastic language skills. I do a lot of hand motioning when there aren’t PCVs/counter-parts around to convey a point. Somehow these situations always seem to work out….