May 17, 2011
Last Saturday, Azerbaijan won the Euro Vision Song contest, an annual popular event that is widely celebrated in Europe and Central Asia. The contest was held in Germany, the winner of last year. These few days, every Azeri TV channel broadcasts the event nearly 24 hours a day, and the winning song is being played repeatedly every hour. You can feel the elation from every Azeri, young or old, male or female.
More than 45 countries take part this once a year competition, and among all the contestants, Azerbaijan perhaps is the least recognized nation. To win the contest over some strong competitors like Germany, Spain and France, it is undeniably a dream comes true for the Azeri. They should be proud.
These past few days during my daily exercise, I greeted my Azeri friends and strangers (even the horrible teenagers) with “təbrik edirəm” (I congratuate you). As soon as I cheered them, a crowd would gather around me, shake my hands, thank me and offer me “çay” (tea). The teenagers even wanted to run with me just to show their friendliness. I feel their excitment, their pride and their joy, and I am honor and deeply moved by their willingness to share their “National Pride” with a stranger like me.
Being a winner this year, next Spring Azerbaijan will be a host state to organize the competition. The occasion will bring in many tourists to this country, increase international awareness of this small nation, hopefully will boost its economy, and ultimately increase the wealth of its people.
I am proud for being a Peace Corps Volunteer in Azerbaijan!
Here is the news:
The Eurovision Song Contest brought in 120 million viewers this year and was aired in 55 countries....
Azerbaijan, a tiny country that is lush with natural resources, won the competition and as a result will host the event next year. The winner surprised experts who had expected countries such as France, Ireland or the U.K. to win. Azerbaijan is a country with a large Shiite Muslim population that has suffered from a longtime border conflict with nearby Armenia.
The winning performance was by the duo Ell and Nikki with the song “Running Scared,” which won with 221 points. Concerns are already being raised as to the country’s ability to host next year’s Eurovision, mostly from the popularity of the event with the gay population. Azerbaijan legalized homosexuality in 2001, but Muslim countries generally aren’t tolerant towards individuals expressing these freedoms.
Eurovision began in the early 1950s to test TV linkups across country lines. The participating countries were also interested in creating a good rapport with each other. Communist authorities attempted to stay out of the event and even tried to start their own, but the popularity of Eurovision could not be denied.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
My Life in Azerbaijan - Poor but with Grace
May 11, 2011
As a foreigner, especially being an American, PCV is often regarded by the Azeri as a “Rich American”. They assume every American is well-off. First day at work, the opening question from my co-workers was “How much money do you make in
One time I made a mistake by offering my co-worker a pack of 3-in-1 coffee. Afterward, he asked me for coffee every morning. Finally, I had to stop drinking coffee at work to avoid being asked again. Another time, another employee asked me for money. At first, I assumed he just needed some changes for a pack of gum, so I gave him a manat ($1.25). He took it and never paid me back. When he later asked me for more, I demanded for an explanation. He simply smiled and said “you are an American, you have money”. A week later, a credit manager approached me and wanted to borrow 100 manat ($125). I knew if I lent him the money, I would never see my money again, so I declined. A kid in my neighborhood saw me one day. He held out his hand and asked me for money “You are an
I was poor once. I earned my college degree by washing dishes in the university kitchen and mopping the cafeteria floor until midnight. After graduation, I could only afford to buy a cheap “Sears” suit for a job interview. During the interview, I was honest and humble for who I was. I told the interviewer (partner of a prestige accounting firm) my struggle and hardship during the school years. He was impressed and offered me a job on the spot. First day reported to work, I wore the same “Sears” suit and received a few stares. Of course, I was embarrassed, but I would rather be embarrassed than asked money from friends to make myself look “expensive”. My point is: there is NOTHING wrong for being poor. We can not help for being WHO we are, but we can choose to be WHAT we are. If we let money to define us, we lose our self respect!
Fortunately, my female Azeri friends at work are more gracious. They never asked me for anything, contrary, they often offered me their foods when we had tea together. So, not all Azeri is as gluttonous as the three creatures I encountered. Perhaps they are just a few bad apples, not necessary representing most people in
Sunday, May 08, 2011
My Life in Azerbaijan - Wild Flowers
May 6, 2011 – Wild Flowers
I suspect that my previous life I was a flower, for I love flower. These couple weeks, my apartment is full of flowers, and they smell just WONDERFUL!
The April shower finally ends. Weather in May is just lovely. The temperature is getting warmer and plenty of sunshine every day. The day is also getting longer. After work, I can not wait to head out for my run/walk. There are plentiful of flowers inside the park, but I only fancy the wild ones. Wild flowers particularly appeal to me because of their unique characters. Usually they are not so flamboyant, but subdue, not so colorful but still attractive, and most of them have a short but strong and productive life. Inside the park, there are wild flowers everywhere, but you have to know where to look for them. They tend to grow in secluded locations where “The Place No One Knew”.
Last year, I accidentally discovered four wild Lilac bushes hidden behind some desert shrubberies. So this year since April, I have been visiting the plants diligently, watching young leaves unfold everyday and finally clusters of purple flowers appear. Two days ago, I climbed over the fence, dug myself into the underbrush, created a parade for the locals to watch, and got my Lilac! Beside the Lilac, there was a yellow flower that caught my attention last year as well. Initially, I could not locate them, just kept smelling this wonderful fragrant as
soon as I entered to the “Lover Lane” (a green tunnel where all the young Azeri lovers like to linger). I searched and searched, of course received lots of dirty look from the “Azeri Lovers” and eventually stumbled upon a ditch and nearly killed myself. As I picked myself up and looked to the ground, Ah! Here they were, those infinitesimal yellow flowers were looking back at me and gave me a warm welcome smile.
When the yellow flowers are in full bloom, they give away such a powerful, sweet aroma that they attract lots of bees. Yesterday, I risked being stung by a bee and picked tons of them home to decorate my apartment. Now, I can smell them when I am writing my journal and tonight I can smell them in my dream. Every morning when I get up, I say “hello” to all my flowers, give them a cold refreshing bath, and they absolutely LOVE it. How do I know? Because they told me!!!
Each day, I am more and more convinced that, once upon a time, I was indeed a flower. Perhaps, a wild flower.
I suspect that my previous life I was a flower, for I love flower. These couple weeks, my apartment is full of flowers, and they smell just WONDERFUL!
The April shower finally ends. Weather in May is just lovely. The temperature is getting warmer and plenty of sunshine every day. The day is also getting longer. After work, I can not wait to head out for my run/walk. There are plentiful of flowers inside the park, but I only fancy the wild ones. Wild flowers particularly appeal to me because of their unique characters. Usually they are not so flamboyant, but subdue, not so colorful but still attractive, and most of them have a short but strong and productive life. Inside the park, there are wild flowers everywhere, but you have to know where to look for them. They tend to grow in secluded locations where “The Place No One Knew”.
Last year, I accidentally discovered four wild Lilac bushes hidden behind some desert shrubberies. So this year since April, I have been visiting the plants diligently, watching young leaves unfold everyday and finally clusters of purple flowers appear. Two days ago, I climbed over the fence, dug myself into the underbrush, created a parade for the locals to watch, and got my Lilac! Beside the Lilac, there was a yellow flower that caught my attention last year as well. Initially, I could not locate them, just kept smelling this wonderful fragrant as
soon as I entered to the “Lover Lane” (a green tunnel where all the young Azeri lovers like to linger). I searched and searched, of course received lots of dirty look from the “Azeri Lovers” and eventually stumbled upon a ditch and nearly killed myself. As I picked myself up and looked to the ground, Ah! Here they were, those infinitesimal yellow flowers were looking back at me and gave me a warm welcome smile.When the yellow flowers are in full bloom, they give away such a powerful, sweet aroma that they attract lots of bees. Yesterday, I risked being stung by a bee and picked tons of them home to decorate my apartment. Now, I can smell them when I am writing my journal and tonight I can smell them in my dream. Every morning when I get up, I say “hello” to all my flowers, give them a cold refreshing bath, and they absolutely LOVE it. How do I know? Because they told me!!!
Each day, I am more and more convinced that, once upon a time, I was indeed a flower. Perhaps, a wild flower.
(Morning, time for a cold shower girls!)
My Life In Azerbaijan - Gossips, Gossips endless Gossips....
May 2, 2011 – Gossips, Gossips, endless Gossips
Gossips among the Peace Corps Volunteers are notorious. One time, a PCV conducted an experiment to see how fast and how far a rumor could travel. She made up a story and asked another PCV to spread the news. Within a short period of time, the rumor came back to her with vivid details.
We, PCVs live in a foreign land. Our friends and relatives are thousand and thousand miles away. We only have each other to entertain or to comfort ourselves. PCV community is extremely small. If you have a site mate, he/she inevitably becomes your buddy. Some PCVs hardly have enough work to fill their week or even day, so they travel, visit another PCVs, hangout, eat, drink and what else? TALK!
For more than a year, I had no site mate. I kept myself busy, worked at the bank every day, set up routine task, did my daily exercise, read, cooked and read more. No gossip reached Sumgayit, the town I live. I was 100% out of that circle. One time, a young PCV visited me and asked me about a rumor of other PCV, and my response was “I have no idea who is X” (we have more than 100 PCVs in Azerbaijan, it is hard to keep track with who is who, really!)
“Where the hell have you been Chi!!”
She got very frustrated with me because I could not add more “juice” to her story. From that point me, no one voluntarily fed me anymore gossip. Thank God!
Last week, we received an email from our country director. The sole purpose of that e-mail was to dismiss some BIG rumors that had been going around and were being ignited like the fireworks of 4th of July. Each time those rumors traveled, they became bigger, more colorful and “Juicier”. I am sure our country director has better thing to do. For her to write such an e-mail, you can image how bad the situation has been. As usual, I know nothing about those rumors. I go on with my life in Sumgayit, concentrate my work at the bank and with the local community, continue to be a “dull” but good old Peace Corps Volunteer.
Years ago, I did not mind listening to gossips (well, I was much younger then). One time, I heard a rumor about me. The story was completely fabricated, but it was so painful that I went home cried for days. So I know how hurtful a gossip could do to another human being and how much chaos a rumor could create for a situation. During the PCV training, I was watch
ing a young PCV gossiping endlessly about other PCVs. I watched her facial expression, could not help but feeling sad for her……
If you really have nothing to do, please read a book, take a long walk, go for a run, pick some wild flowers, breath fresh air, cook a meal, play with local kids,…….do anything, anything that keeps you away from gossiping, for gossip adds nothing to your brain.
Gossips among the Peace Corps Volunteers are notorious. One time, a PCV conducted an experiment to see how fast and how far a rumor could travel. She made up a story and asked another PCV to spread the news. Within a short period of time, the rumor came back to her with vivid details.
We, PCVs live in a foreign land. Our friends and relatives are thousand and thousand miles away. We only have each other to entertain or to comfort ourselves. PCV community is extremely small. If you have a site mate, he/she inevitably becomes your buddy. Some PCVs hardly have enough work to fill their week or even day, so they travel, visit another PCVs, hangout, eat, drink and what else? TALK!
For more than a year, I had no site mate. I kept myself busy, worked at the bank every day, set up routine task, did my daily exercise, read, cooked and read more. No gossip reached Sumgayit, the town I live. I was 100% out of that circle. One time, a young PCV visited me and asked me about a rumor of other PCV, and my response was “I have no idea who is X” (we have more than 100 PCVs in Azerbaijan, it is hard to keep track with who is who, really!)
“Where the hell have you been Chi!!”
She got very frustrated with me because I could not add more “juice” to her story. From that point me, no one voluntarily fed me anymore gossip. Thank God!
Last week, we received an email from our country director. The sole purpose of that e-mail was to dismiss some BIG rumors that had been going around and were being ignited like the fireworks of 4th of July. Each time those rumors traveled, they became bigger, more colorful and “Juicier”. I am sure our country director has better thing to do. For her to write such an e-mail, you can image how bad the situation has been. As usual, I know nothing about those rumors. I go on with my life in Sumgayit, concentrate my work at the bank and with the local community, continue to be a “dull” but good old Peace Corps Volunteer.
Years ago, I did not mind listening to gossips (well, I was much younger then). One time, I heard a rumor about me. The story was completely fabricated, but it was so painful that I went home cried for days. So I know how hurtful a gossip could do to another human being and how much chaos a rumor could create for a situation. During the PCV training, I was watch
ing a young PCV gossiping endlessly about other PCVs. I watched her facial expression, could not help but feeling sad for her……If you really have nothing to do, please read a book, take a long walk, go for a run, pick some wild flowers, breath fresh air, cook a meal, play with local kids,…….do anything, anything that keeps you away from gossiping, for gossip adds nothing to your brain.
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