One Year in Azerbaijan

It's official, our group of volunteers have been in Azerbaijan for an entire year!  In fact, this is the week the new group of Peace Corps Volunteers enter Azerbaijan.  They're currently spending a few days in orientation in Baku, before meeting their host families who they will live with for the remaining 3 months in training.  I can't help but think back to those first few days.  I was exhausted, excited and overwhelmed.

There is a pre-pre-service orientation held in Philadelphia.  It's basically a full day of filling out papers (loan deferments, birth certificate identification, direct deposit information and other formalities).  This is  followed by a bus ride to the airport (we flew out of JFK).  The next day is spent traveling all day and all night to get to Azerbaijan.  When checking in at JFK, they weigh your luggage.  During this time you pray all that information they sent you with packing instructions were followed correctly.  I spent the night before weighing and reweighing my bags (my bags were over the weight limit, but after spending the night packing, I just said "screw it" so I could get a few hours of sleep).  When my bags were checked, they were indeed over, but I got lucky and the woman just waved me through.  I was her last person to screen before she left for the day.  Some of my fellow PCVs had to pay the overage.

Upon arriving in Azerbaijan, you go through customs.  You're carrying everything you own with you and feeling tired, excited and nervous.  You wait in line in a smoke filled room with fluorescent lighting to show your passport/visa.  Upon getting through the line and suffering through the smoke, it's then time to fill out the customs sheet.  After filling out the customs sheet you discover the people at airport security just kind of wave you through, you offer them the form you just spent 15 minutes filling out and they just stare down at it, when you look at them puzzled, they take it, reluctantly.

When walking through the doors into the lobby, you are greeted by current Peace Corps Volunteers and a chipper PC staff person by the name of Khayal (I have since been told the Country Director and other staff members were there as well, but I don't really remember that part).  You tote your luggage to yet another bus and file on, heading to the hotel.  They give you brown bag dinners that have a sandwich from a local restaurant (sub-shaped bread with a mayonnaise sauce with various vegetables like corn and peas, an apple, a water and a Snickers bar).  Khayal was my bus leader and he was talking excitedly in the front of the bus, honestly, I don't remember what about.  I spent the time in the back of the bus looking out the window at my new home.  It was night, about 9 pm, and there wasn't much to see in the dark.  A lot of concrete buildings and many many men standing around outside the places we passed.

Upon arriving at the hotel, you again have all this luggage to deal with which you now have to take up to your room.  I shared a room with two other girls who were assigned to me alphabetically, Dai and Carrie.

I don't remember much from that night other than luggage and roomie introductions.

The next three days are FILLED with information.  Safety and security, health, language, skits from current volunteers, brief culture introductions and, of course, more paper work.  We also got a lot of shots (which continue all through PST).  You get your picture taken for your PC ID.  All those days passed in a blur.

The evenings are what I remember most.  These were spent with my fellow PCVs playing games like: Werewolves, Human Knot, Miniature Tanks, Bananagrams and various others.  We even went for dip in the pool, a feat not yet completed by any of the previous volunteers.  (I should mention the water was freezing, but the air temperature was warm.)  The time in the evening allows you an opportunity to bond with your fellow PCVs.  When you go off with your host families, you are separated by your job assignment; each group has it's own region.  (Last year is was YDs in Xirdalan/Masazir, TEFLs in Sumgayit and CEDs in Saray, or something to that effect.)  You come together monthly for hubs, but for the most part you stay with your group.

On the last day of welcome week, you are divided up onto buses according to your region/specialty.  It's time to meet your host family.  You are then crammed into buses holding all the volunteers in your specialty, all your luggage AND the additional things PC gives you: smoke detector and giant water filter.  I remember how nervous I was in meeting my host family.  (I didn't mention our LCFs! LCF stands for "Language and Culture Facilitator." PCVs are divided up into "clusters," (about 5 per cluster) and given an LCF, this person helps with talking to families and is also your language instructor for the next 3 months.)  We are then taken to our host family's house, our LCF does introductions and helps us get settled.  After that, it's up to us!

I wanted to write about this today because it seems like it was such a short time ago and yet so long ago.  I also wanted to write it for any of you families who may be searching for information about their loved one who just arrived.  I heard everyone who got on the plane has arrived safe and accounted for. :)

Welcome AZ9s and congratulations AZ8s! We've made it a year!  Soon the AZ7s will be heading to their next big adventure (AZ7 PCVs start leaving next month).  Good luck to the 7s.