Living in my head

I've been thinking about this topic pretty much since I got to Azerbaijan.  Perhaps not the first couple of weeks, I'm not sure I thought at all during the first two weeks.

I was laying in bed this morning, listening to the sounds outside and thought about how it sounds pretty much like Seattle.  The drone of cars in the distance, horns, birds and the wind.  The hum of conversations that you can't quite hear but provide comfort that you're not alone.  The sound of footsteps, kitchen noises, the running of the washing machine. There is a comfort in the familiar sounds and then you realize that normally you don't hear so many rooster, chicken, duck sounds or the occasional moo. Also if you try to hone in on a conversation, you realize that for the most part you have no idea what is being said and even if you did, you have no context or familiarity in which to truly understand the conversation.  It is then you realize that while you are part of landscape you are on the periphery in a slightly different world of your own making.  It is then when I realize how much I live in my head.

Please don't misunderstand, I am present in my life, it is just that my life has such a transitory quality to it. When I committed to this journey, I realized that it was for two years. Two years is such a short time and once you get into it, it becomes even shorter.  I am already three months in and I have so much to learn. I understand that my integration into the community will only be partial.  I can physically navigate and my Azerbaijan is good enough to get my needs met, but I communicate on such a basic level.  Complex thoughts are difficult if not impossible to express unless the person you are talking to has a command of English and with the cultural differences on top of the communication issues it can be mind boggling.  So I turn inside my head and hold the conversations with myself. 

I'm writing this in part to share and in part to remember.  I am truly blessed to be on this journey and am curious how it will unfold.

Two Short Stories

Bus Ride

 

 

I live in a suburb of Baku about 7km north. To get to Baku is a ten minute walk on dirt roads to the main road, a wait up to 20 minutes for the next bus, a 15 minute ride into Baku and then onto another bus as dictated by my final destination.  However, there has been construction on the main road for the last week and the transportation system has been both fluid and creative. 

 

Today's adventure home had the bus rerouting to a dirt road accessed by a 90 degree turn off the four lane highway.  The dirt roads in my neighborhood are really designed for one way traffic and not particularly even. Also, the rerouting is based on the driver's intuition and in this case guidance from others.  The hope is that you guess where on the reroute is closest to your normal stop.  At one point in today's reroute I'm pretty sure the bus hit a wall.  I was surprised when the bus rejoined the main road at my normal stop.  The bus was packed, the roads were bumpy, I had been standing for about 30 minutes and was holding on so tight to the overhead bar that my hand was numb. But I knew where I was - was safe and sound so all was well.

 

Example of neighborhood street



Big buses in the background example of city buses



Nana Comes for a Visit

 

Earlier this week, I got home from my organization and my host mother, her mother and sister were sitting around the kitchen table.  My host mother's brother was also wandering around the house.  Since one never knows who might be in the house, this was not an unusual circumstance. However this was the first time Nana had come to visit.  I said Salam,  headed to my room, changed, joined them for cay and conversation. More like cay and listening to conversation where I pickup words here and there but not enough to follow. I'm good for about 20 minutes and then head back to my room. Came out later and Nana was still with us but the rest of the gang was gone. Nana took over Nunu's room so Nunu joined me in mine. Good thing I have a extra bed.  We're heading into night four.   

One item I have grasped is that you need to expect anything and be very fluid.  Since I've gotten here the following has occurred.

• Woken up to the entire family gone
• Only person up, Neighbor/relative drops in wants to know where everyone is. Thank goodness I had washed dishes, but house not quite clean enough.
• Woke up with slight headache. Family going out for day. Home alone - not.  Cousins stop by to look for friends, watch TV

  

  , cook, etc.  Granted they played quietly. (Nana and Host Mom)
• Home from work, change and lets go to a 1 year olds birthday party. - four hours later of non-stop food and entertainment you call it quits. House Mom comes home with you at 11:30. 
• Remainder of party return home at 3:00

All I know is that I will come home one day and Nana will be gone and I will miss her.

A minor adventure

This past weekend I decided to visit friends out in a region.  Barda is located west of Baku in an agriculture region. On Friday I headed to the Baku Avtovagzel to catch a bus. As I got to the vagzel there was a bus pulling out but it was full so I waited for the next one.  When the bus pulled it I purchased my fare and got settled in my seat waiting for the bus to fill up and leave.  It appeared that it would be awhile until the bus left, so I went to the bathroom and decided to see if I could locate new earphones in the shopping area at the vagzel.  Both pairs of earphones I brought with me broke and I hate listening to music with only one earphone working.  I was successful in locating a new pair, in my favorite color blue.  So about ten minutes after leaving the bus, I returned.  Much to my horror the bus wasn't in the bay.  After a short initial panic, I asked someone where the bus went, or at least that was my intention.  He pointed to where some marshukas were.  My overnight bag was on the bus with two bottles of wine as hosting gifts.  I thought of where on the route out of the vagzel I could try to locate the bus and while moving towards that goal, I found that the bus had just moved bays. Needless to say I was mighty relieved and got on that bus and after 40 minutes we pulled out for our five hour ride.  I don't know if the bus was just in the wrong bay or they decided to mess with the American.  While in my initial panic I was able to determine what to do; 1) call my friend and have her get my bag off the bus at its destination, and 2) get on another bus, it was a very unpleasant moment. I texted a friend and found my fingers to be shaking.  It shows the power of a shot of adrenalin. Of course it makes a good story. While this story had a happy ending, I was pleased that I was able to determine that had it turned out differently, it wouldn't have been tragic.  I still had my money, passport, computer and phone.  The clothes were few and too big.  Toothbrushes are easy to find.  And, I can still think on the fly.
The visit was great and of course the adventures didn't end with the first leg bus trip.  When I got to Jesse's house half of her electricity was out.  The rest went out about a half hour in.  The gas also went out. So, instead of spaghetti with tomatoes, cheese and spinach, we had cheese, tomato and basil sandwiches followed by watermelon.  Her landlords came over to fix the problem that caused half of the electrical issue.  This involved pliers and electrical tape. Thank goodness that the power was out and her landlord turned off the electric at the box.  His wife decided to climb a ladder and pick grapes.  This involved a ladder with a lot of dry rot and her shooing any help away because she was in a dress.  Quite a show.
The next day we went to the bazaar and bought supplies for a summer camp, set up the room for the camp then on to lunch.  We went to a donar shop and had meat in what is basically a tortilla with parsley and lemon.  Pretty tasty.  Then back home around on so that we weren't out during the heat of the afternoon.  Barda is about 10-15 degrees hotter than Baku, so it was in the high 90's. After resting, two more friends came for dinner.  The pasta dish we weren't able to eat the night before and apple crisp.  So nice to catch up with friends.
Got up Sunday morning and headed out for my trip back home.  Of course, I had to make it another adventure.  I got on the local marshuka going the wrong way.  So instead of heading to the avtovagzel, I got a tour of Barda.  I missed my bus, but ended up in a shared taxi.  About double the cost but about two hours shorter.  It is amazing how different the landscape looks from a different height. I was in the front seat of a Mercedes (wish it had a seat belt). I made it home safe and sound.  
While the trip didn't flow the way I had planned, it was wonderful.  I got to see how I respond to travel mishaps (I can adjust), I got to see things I wouldn't have otherwise, I got to have new experiences.  I even was able to practice my Azerbaijan and while it isn't pretty, I can communicate.
As we say here in Azerbaijan - Yaxsi Yol!!

Jesse, my superb hostess and me