Tea Culture

On a recent trip, I had an opportunity to meet a fantastic group of girls. During our time together, the girls took turns asking me questions, one such question being, “What do you like about Azerbaijan and why?” My immediate response was, “The tea culture.”

Unlike Americans, Azerbaijanis drink tea like it is going out of style. You would be hard pressed to find a house that didn’t have a tea kettle boiling away 24/7 (personally, I do not think such an Azerbaijani house exists).

Yet, it’s not the constant supply of tea that makes Az a tea culture. No, it’s what tea represents: hospitality.

Any visitor to Az’s rayons will attest that the moment you step inside a local’s home, a cup of tea is surely on its way. No matter what your purpose or how long your visit, tea precedes (and often follows) any conversation, meal, business matter or gathering.

I think it is fantastic. How many times have you invited a random stranger into your home for a cup of tea and a fun first conversation? It never occurred to me, but now, I can’t wait to start a tea culture of my own back home

Peaks & Valleys

You might think I am talking about hiking, and I wish I was. How much better a post about hiking than a post about...depression.

That’s right, the blues. That sneaky stuff that creeps up on you when you least expects it. It blows chunks, but it is to be expected. It’s not brain surgery to know that a PCV will have a down day or two (maybe even 730) during their service.

Unfortunately, I just never really thought about what I would do when those days came. Of course, I had to learn the hard way that my traditional methods of seclusion, massive chocolate eating, and dance movie marathons were probably not going to work here.

So, what did I do when I started down that slippery slope? I wrote emails, called PSN (Peer Support Network), visited friends, and took an evening or two for myself.

You do what you got to do.

P.S. the picture is from the last round of care packages I received - a sure fire way to help bring a PCV out of the doldrums. Thank you Aggie, Meghan, Matt, Gina, Will, Rhu, Johanna, Baby Bushue, Troll, Steve, Nora, Gwen, Mom & Solyne for your recent packages of care.

Kitchen Democracy

A couple of months ago, my two male site mates wowed my family by cleaned up after the Mac & Cheese Off.

Well, maybe “wowed” is the wrong word, but they definitely befuddled.

After cleaning the dishes, Donny and Josh explained that in America, there is the old adage “You cook, I’ll clean.” At first, my host bros were unimpressed. In Azerbaijan, it’s rare to see anyone act outside gender roles. No matter how much I tried to get my host bros to wash the dinner dishes, I encountered resistance.

That’s why, three weeks ago I was struck speechless when my youngest host brother told me I was washing the dishes wrong and pushed me out of the way. He pulled up a chair and attacked the dishes with a single mindedness I have come to appreciate.Even more astonishing, he did it several days in a row (much to the kudos of both his mom and myself).

Hmm. This cultural exchange thing isn’t so hard.