My LIfe in Azerbaijan - Nice Weather Finally

February 16, 2010
Last night just before dawn, the wind was blowing like hell. The wild dogs were barking; the garage door of my host family was banging so loud; my bedroom window was shuddering and I thought the wall next to my bed was going to crumble and gave way to the vicious storm. I looked out to the window and noted the sky was covered with thick dark clouds. Minutes later, all the power in the house was gone. It seemed that the whole universe was descending into a total darkness.

I heard my host mother was getting up, moving around downstairs in the dark to cook a family meal for the day. I hid myself under the cover, not willing to face another day with sub-zero temperature and tormenting wind chill. “I will skip a day to work” I was planning to sleep more (It is good thing being a Peace Corps Volunteer, we are never obligated to go to work)

An hour later, the wind stopped and the power was back on. I looked at my alarm clock and it was 8:00am. “I should go to work, the report is due to Baku” I changed my mind and started preparing to go to work. I went downstairs to take a shower and as soon as I opened the door, I was surprise by how warm the air was!

Within two hours, the weather took a 360 degree turned. Spring was in the air. The birds were singing, my host mother’s chickens were even out. Cocks were making the morning call even louder than normal, kept raising their “cookoo cookoo” sound begging for attention. The three family kitties were climbing the trees and chasing each other. I could not believe the picture in front of me. The snow from last week had not yet completely melted, and the water in the bucket was still frozen from last night cold temperature.

It must be the SOUTH WIND!

I learned from my Azerbaijan friend that there are two kinds of wind in Azerbaijan. The North and the South wind. The South wind is the wind arriving from the desert of Saudi Arabia and the North wind is the wind coming from the Caspian Sea. The violent storm blowing last night was the result of the shifting wind direction from the North to the South. The desert wind has arrived!

Wind from the South according to my friend is the worse wind in the summer. It dehydrates all the fruits, vegetables, and plants growing in the field. It is the most hated wind in the summer. However, today it was a welcoming wind for me. I have enough of the cold, welcome Summer!