Pre-departure Preparation

Azerbaijan (a-zər-ˌbī-ˈjän). Yes, it's a real place. I remember first learning about Azerbaijan in my 9th grade AP geography class. As a high school freshman, I remember equating the remoteness of Azerbaijan with other places that share such seemingly fictional names like Djibouti, Timbuktu, and Kazakhstan. Today, that remoteness I used to joke about seems equally as unfamiliar yet not quite as distant. At the end of May, I accepted an invitation from the Peace Corps to serve as a TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) volunteer in Azerbaijan.

After being nominated for an English teaching position in Central or South America back in October, I was under the impression for most of the PC application process that I would be serving in a Spanish speaking country. However, as the PC staff informed me throughout the process, the supply and demand of volunteers and positions are constantly fluctuating. Therefore, I had in the back (the VERY back) of my mind that I could be nominated for a different position in a non-Spanish speaking country. Nonetheless, receiving my invitation to serve in Azerbaijan surprised me. Uncertainty predominated my reaction. After having put so. much. thought. into applying to the Peace Corps, Azerbaijan was the last place I pictured myself for the next 27 months. After a few minutes of flipping through the paperwork and reading the job description I had so anxiously anticipated receiving for nearly a year, excitement quickly replaced my uncertainty. With a few phone calls and google searches, this excitement blossomed into elation.

Azerbaijan's neighbors are Russia and Georgia to the north, Armenia and Turkey to the west, Iran to the south, and the Caspian Sea to the east. 

While my current knowledge about Azerbaijan does not depart greatly from the things I learned in 9th grade, I've read a few books about Azerbaijani culture and politics. One of my favorite descriptions I've read so far comes from the Lonely Planet travel guide for the Caucasus:

"Neither Europe nor Asia, Azerbaijan is an incredible tangle of contradictions and contrasts. It's a fascinating nexus of ancient historical empires. Yet it's also a new nation finding its feet as it emerges from a war-torn post-Soviet chrysalis on a petroleum-funded gust of optimism." 

I hope that at some point during my service, I'll be able to better understand that statement and explain it from my own perspective. Until then though, there are bundles of things I am looking forward to. Next week, I report to Philadelphia for staging. In Philadelphia, I will meet the 40ish best friends I'll have for the next two years aka: the other Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) going to Azerbaijan in my training group. Together, we are called the AZ9s as we are the 9th group of PCVs to go to Azerbaijan. Have I mentioned that everything Peace Corps references is an acronym? I'm still getting used to it and only ever comprehend half of what they're saying because of this. Anyways, as I understand it, staging is basically a brief orientation where I imagine PC staff will provide us with some things (safety information, PC regulations, immunizations) to prevent our otherwise imminent death upon arrival in Azerbaijan. The following day, the AZ9s, along with all of our anxiety, excitement and enthusiasm for what is to come, will shuttle over to New York's JFK airport where we will board our plane to Azerbaijan. After a brief connection in Istanbul, we will arrive in Baku!  

I'll be spending the first three months in Azerbaijan in a city called Sumgayit. During this time, I'll be taking part in pre-service training (PST) which includes language training, teacher training and cultural exchange. Hopefully, living with a host family will facilitate this process! I can only imagine what my first few weeks will be like trying to communicate with this family--I'm not a great charade actor, so I hope they understand cave-woman Azeri. What these first three months prepare us for is our life and assignment at site. We won't know where we'll be living (our site) for our 24 months of service until approximately 2 months into PST. PC staff are accessing us as trainees to try and match us with an appropriate location based on our abilities and the need of the towns/villages with a PC presence. During PST, I'll be doing teacher training as my assignment is TEFL at the secondary level. In Azerbaijan, the secondary level is for children ages 7-16. Further, once at site, I'll be set up in a team teaching environment so I'll be working with other Azerbaijani English teachers. The idea is that this interaction will promote information exchange, and we'll be able to share materials and strategies. At this point, the assignment sounds challenging and exciting--which I love. However, relative to the change and immersion I am anticipating for the next few months, the actual assignment seems far away. 

There are two quite different, yet prevalent aspects of any given Peace Corps experience I've heard other PCVs describe that I've witnessed first hand. The first is that anything, and I mean seriously--anything, regarding your assignment (including travel plans, staging, PST) could change at any given moment. The second is that despite feeling like the next piece of information you receive from PC will quell your anxiety about the next step of the process, the more information Peace Corps sends you, the more questions you have. Subsequently, the more details you receive that are supposed to round out and really provide body to what you are to expect from your service, the greater the prevalence of the unbeknownst. This is a difficult concept to explain (hence my use of the 2nd person), but I think that other volunteers, at least those at this early stage of the game, may understand. I'm not exactly sure what to make of these things now, but I do find them interesting. Maybe one day I'll be able to draw great conclusions about the emotional effects on the psyche of an individual within a large, grass root organization from these experiences. For now, they're just happening. 

Before I leave, I still have a lot of packing to do. Two fifty pound bags seems like a lot of stuff until you realize how much a sleeping pad, rain boots, and a pea coat weigh. In Azerbaijan, women dress conservatively and appearance is very important in Azeri culture. Additionally, Azerbaijan has eight different climate zones, and because I won't find out where I will reside for my two years of service until mid-November, I'm compiling the items I plan on bringing based on an assortment of recommended packing lists from current PCVs in different regions. Even though "blouses" and skirts trump shorts and t-shirts on these lists, I enjoy this process. Although I don't have a good idea of what I'll actually make the most use out of, sorting through my stuff, packing only the things I deem most important is refreshing. 

I'm looking forward to keeping in touch with family and friends throughout my service in Azerbaijan. I prefer to do so using SNAIL MAIL! Until further notice, you can reach me at my PST address:

Annie Pease

M. Rasulzade 5

Xirdalan sheheri

Absheron AZ 0100

AZERBAIJAN

I'll be sure to keep the blog updated with my change of address after PST--sometime in December. Those of you on personal vendettas against international snail mail (who would dare!?) can reach me by email: annie89pease@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you!