Family and friends,

The newness of the AZ is wearing off and the realities of this locale is settling in. Thanks so much for the comments and questions either on my blog or via email. 

A few answers:

The weather here is averaging 70.  It rains every 5 or so days.  There’s often a lot of wind as I am relative close to the sea.  There has been a few days that the temperature has not hit 70.  They say that any day now it will turn quite cold.  Peace Corps gave us our sleeping bags last week.  Huge, brown, plaid and flannel. 

Update:  It is now never 70.  It hovers around mid-60s or so. 

So the buildings in my town at least, I have learned, are built without any sort of heating capabilities.  Each  person who lives in an apartment must figure out how to heat their place.  My hostma gave me a tour of our 4 room apartment’s heating options:  Parent’s bedroom has a gas stove, living room has an electric heater that’s installed in the wall near the ceiling (resembles a window ac unit except that it’s not in the window), my room has an electric portable heater very similar to ones you can buy in the states, and of course the kitchen has the gas stove.  Now, the kitchen and the parent’s room use gas while the other 2 rooms use electricity.  It’s not unusual for the electricity to go out on a regular basis so there goes the heating options for my room and the living room.  In addition at least once since I arrived the gas has gone out.  I’m just hoping that both don’t go out at the same time ;).

Did I pack right?  Sort of.  Not in desperate need for anything that I can’t get here.  Would like more clothes, but I certainly don’t need them.  Plus I bought a skirt here!  I wore it today in fact.  My hostma pointed out to me that the skirt was really for the summer and the village.  Oh well. 

The handiest things I packed this far is my little clip on light, my stash of mechanical pencils (which I use for my language classes, the shawl my mom crotched for me, and french press/coffee grounds.  I will move at least 2 more times so I am guessing what I need now and what I will need then will change. 

Malls:  In fact there is a rather large and overwhelming mall type place here that has a rotunda.  It’s is close to the US version of a mall except that the amount of space each store takes up is a great deal smaller.  Maybe the best way to explain the mall is it is a cross between a typical mall in the US and a typical antique mall that has different booths with different owners.

Grocery stores such as kroger are a different story.  A grocery store that those of you in the US are accustom to are rare here.  There is one chain here that is very close, but it is more expensive.  They other product stores vary in size and type of products.  In addition, typically the products are behind the counter and you must ask to see something if you want to look at it or purchase.  This set-up makes buying things quite interesting when you have limited language ability.

Well, a few questions answered.  I know many of you asked about my host family. I hope to introduce them when I can involve the whole family n the process.  At the moment my hostdad is away for work so the introduction is on hold for now.  I will say that yes Peace Corps gives me money to pay my family for my food and other items.  It is a reasonable amount. 

The funny story (I hope you see the humor):  So, my friend and I went to the bigger city near us for a walk.  She needed shoe polish so we go into a shoe store.  After looking at the shoes, she finds the polish.  It is clear to the customer and the shop keeper that we are foreigners.  After trying all the Azeri we know, I finally break down and use my Russian to try to explain what we are doing here. Peace Corps is not well known or understood here or least by the people that I run into. 

My friend is finally able to buy the shoe polish, but the shop keeper does not have any change and we don’t have any change.  The shop keeper goes off to the store one spot over but no change their either.  So she tells my friend to sit.  Then the store owner explains to me, in russian, that I am to go to the store with products a few doors down, purchase a box of matches and bring back the change.  She hands me a manat (an azeri doller).  Amused, I go down to the store. 

In Azeri (I am trying hard to use it whenever I can) I ask if they have matches.  Ok so apparently I asked for one match.  Which to all in the store and of course to me, was pretty funny.  After clarifying that I would like a box of matches, still in Azeri, I give the shop attendeat the one manat.  She looks at me and asks if I have any change.  Nope.  So then she decides that it’s just best to give the funny foreigner the box of matches for free so she hands me the box of matches and the one manat back.  Uhg!  Giving in I turn to my russian again. I explain , a bit exasperated, that I don’t need the matches but that the shop owner just down the way is in need of change.  The whole  group now standing around me (a mixture of customers and store workers) laughs.  The cashier asks for the matches back as well as the manat and hands me one manat in change.  Finally.  Back I go to the store change in hand.  Phew.