Land of Fire

I made it to Azerbaijan! I am here, and loving it. Things are really going fantastic, and it just feels so surreal being here. I'm in the Peace Corps... what?! My host family is awesome in so many ways. I have a dad, mom, 17 year old sister, 14 year old sister, and 12 year old brother. I think my host dad is a mechanic, but that might be one of those "lost in translation" things. My host mom teaches piano lessons, and my oldest sister speaks some English. So I am definitely one of the lucky volunteers because my basic needs are easier to be communicated. Everything is a process though, and patience is more than a virtue.
We live in Taghiyev, which is a suburb of Sumgayit. It is a really neat place in many respects. The man who founded it, Tagiyev, started the first school for all girls in Azerbaijan, and also commited the town to clean water. So I am drinking out of the tap, and have not been sick at all since I have been here. So much of the country has influences of the USSR, but it also has such a rich history of its own. I'll be corrected on a word that I have learned in school to use the Azerbaijani form, and not Russian.
Every single day I go to school just two blocks from my apartment complex. We do four hours of language training and then four more hours of technical/professional training. And then on to home for another approximately four hours of family time before bed. I am exhausted! The language is hard, but as with so many things, it will come in time. I heard a volunteer talking the other day about how the "Idealist" doesn't survive in the Peace Corps. The people that come thinking they will change the world, completely transform the country, or even bring about massive change in their community. It is really about the small accomplishments, and if you can get those down, you are doing well. So I'm doing one small thing at a time. Yesterday, I said a full sentence without hand gestures or my host sister interpreting. It felt really awesome.
I think the best part so far is that I have only been here less than a week (it feels like two years already), but I feel so much apart of the family. I am telling you, this culture could rival Italians any day for how much they eat, talk loudly, and laugh. The amount of food they eat is outrageous. And the women are absolutely stunning and thin. I need their secret. Although, we were at my host mother's brother's house the other day and one of the women told me I was fat because I eat too much fast food. That's another thing I appreciate. Everybody says what they think here. There is no beating around the bush. It is more fact, and less judgement. And I appreciate that. She also told me, 'You would be prettier if you wore your hair down.' Well that's true. It wasn't mean, it wasn't judgemental, but just simply stated. Fair enough.
So far, I really like it here. Some of the other trainees are having a tougher time. So maybe when the culture shock and homesickness kicks in, it will be really hard for me. But until then, I joined the Peace Corps and love it.