My Life in Azerbaijan - Our Peace Corps Monthly Allowance

February 17. 2010
Yesterday on my way home, I passed by my favorite fruits Stand and noticed the green plum was out now. I wanted to have one and asked the shop keeper how much a kilo. The shop owner knows me well and I have been one of his best customers. He told me that it was very expensive (3 AZN per kilo) and not to but them. He is an honest man and his fruits usually very fresh and good. He treats me fairly and never over charged me. Unlike the other street vendor I encountered few days ago, he raised the price of the apple as soon as I approached him. Even the sign showing the price was 0.8 AZN per kilo, he insisted that I had to pay 1.0 AZN per kilo. He thought that he could charge me more just because I was the “rich foreigner” but he failed to realize that I am a Peace Corps worker, I am poor even according to the Azeri standard.

From the Peace Corps monthly living allowance I receive, I really cannot afford to buy imported fruits such as banana, orange and grape fruit. They are expensive and cost 2-3 AZN a kilo. Once in a while, I skipped lunch and bought myself a few bananas and I have to hide them in my room so I can save them to eat one a day or my host family will eat them all in an hour.

Right now, I live with a host family so most of my meals are being taken care of. Therefore, occasionally, I can still afford to treat myself with the imported fruits. Very soon, when I move out on my own, after deducting the rent payment, I only have about 100 AZN left to cover monthly foods, gas, electricity, transportation and daily personal and cleaning items. 100 AZN is not a lot of money when it costs 2.4 AZN for a small bottle of shampoo and 1.3 AZN to take a bus to Baku. How am I going to live on my own with only 3.3 AZN daily allowances?

The answer from Peace Corps is: continue to live with your host family for two years. For an independent person like myself, I would rather starve to death than share a roof with strangers for two years. Most Peace Corps Volunteers use their own money or ask their family from the US to subsidize their living expense. I dislike the idea, not because I am cheap. I just do not believe it is the right thing to do. After all, we are here to experience how the local lives. If we go on living the way we used to live in the US, it does not serve “the purpose” why we are here. I was poor once. I will manage.