My Life in Azerbijan - Peace Corps Living Allowance

April 23, 2011

Peace Corps living allowance annual survey is out. In order to make the survey more meaningful, we are urged to itemize our daily expenditures. In fact, a quantitative and qualitative analysis would be more preferable. I was always a good student at school; so I followed instructions and dutifully completed the survey timely.

Young PCVs tend to complain how meager the monthly allowance is. Well, they are young, they are entitled to have fun, to visit other site mates, to travel outside of Azerbaijan, to have a few drinks, to take taxi, to eat at a local restaurant and of course, to be in Baku enjoying the city life occasionally when they are tired of the harsh village life where they serve. Besides, to do community project, sometimes, they need money to buy materials. So, I agree with them 100%, the monthly allowance from Peace Corps is insufficient.

I live in an expensive town, not far from Baku. In fact, I am the first volunteer placed in this town. Because it is so close to the capital, the rent is disturbing expensive. But I have a nice apartment, perhaps the best apartment ever rented by any PCVs’. Of course, it comes with a price, a high price. Even with the extra housing allowance from Peace Corps, 90% of my monthly allowance goes to rent. I could have rented a DISGUSTING (i.e. leaking pipes, smelly and broken toilet, dusty carpet, uninvited insects and animals running around etc.) place for around 250 manats, but I have made my choice. My home is my nest, it is important to me. I need it to comfort myself when I have a bad day, to run away from the dreadful teenage boys, to keep myself relatively warm in winter and most importantly, to cook myself a healthy dinner. I would not have been able to survive if I had to constantly argue and wait for my landlord to fix my apartment. I heard too many horror stories!

In exchange for a nice apartment, I have to give up many things. I can not afford to travel often, to visit my PC friends, to eat out, to have a drink or even to buy a kilo of banana or apple (average 2.5 manats a kilo) once a week. My daily diet includes many local cheap vegetables: carrot, potato, spinach, cabbage and onion. I probably ate more cabbage here in a month than a year in American. (Cabbage soup, cabbage salad, cabbage pickle, stir fried cabbage with garlic etc). Last month, I had a digestion problem because I ate too much cabbage. PC doctor had to drug me so I can continue to live on with cabbage.

Once in a blue moon, I felt sad. I had a good life in American. I was once spoiled by the “Wall Street” lifestyle and literately could buy anything I wanted, and eat anywhere I desired. Now, I could not even afford to buy myself a hamburger and a beer. Of course, I could have used my own money, but every time when I tempted to do so, I felt very mortified.

I remember the promise that I made to myself two years ago. I am determined to live like the locals, to live within the budget of Peace Corps allowance, and to live like a real Peace Corps Volunteer. I do not have to eat out, I can cook myself a nice cabbage dinner, I do not need a beer, and I can drink water. I do not have to see Vivian and Carol every month, we can e-mail to each other. I want to experience the kind of life that most Azerbaijan people experience. My co-worker in the bank only earns 250 manats a month, and he has two children, an aging mother and a wife to feed. If he can do it, so can I. I only have to live like this for another six months; my co-worker most likely will have to live poorly for the rest of his life!

So I hit the “Send” button and e-mail my respond with the utmost honest answer.