Photos from Chanlibel

I took a little side trip and went to see a little village in the western part of Azerbaijan. It was kind of funny because there wasn’t anything there, but it was interesting to see a different part of the country. here are some photos.

All Alone

My sixth month as a volunteer (after my time as a lowly trainee) has passed, and I was finally allowed to move out of my host family’s house and get my own situation going on; an opportunity i took full advantage of.

After a rough transition period, I got settled down in a nice two-bedroom house across the street from my school.  It’s great to be so close, but a little weird in that I kind of feel like I never leave.  I’ve got a big yard that with a chicken (who is yet to be named) and lots of space to have a garden in the summer.

The timing of us being able to move out was interesting too.  The whole mandatory host family thing is a big point of contention between volunteers and staff.  A lot of us feel like six months is kind of an arbitrary cut off, and that while the piont of staying with a host family is valid, it’s far too much time.  I personally think four months would have been great.  I would have left on a high note.  But six, it just wore on, and really became uncomfortable at my house with my family.

But the moving out was also good because I no longer feel like a rookie around here.  I probably would have said the same thing three months ago, but i think that would have been premature.  I’m ready to go from being ‘the new guy’ to being the guy.  I’m not exactly sure what that means, but I’m going to try to get an idea by working on some community projects, and setting myself up with some activities for the summer.  There is also a Project Design Workshop in April that I’m hoping to attend that will help me out in that area.

Out and About

This week is part of the extended vacation that is the Novruz holiday. I have the week off of school and I’m using the opportunity to check out some of the various regions of Azerbaijan.  And since the weather has been wonderful lately, being outside isn’t a problem it all. In fact, it’s quite pleasant.

 I’ll post pictures from my adventures when I go to Baku this weekend.