All right so I know that it has been a while since my last post and I apologize, but I have finally emerged from the darkness of Pre-Service Training which was a little bit intense. Last week my group of volunteers (the AZ8's as we are known) was sworn in and afterwards we moved to our permanent sites. I have been placed in a quiete town called Ujar which is smack dab in the middle of the country. I have been here for only a week and people have been very welcoming. Things move pretty slow here and it is a nice change from PST. I got placed with an agri-business information center which assists farmers with various different projects out in the neighboring regions. My counterpart is an awesome guy named Almusa. He is VERY excited about his work and about having me here. His favorite phrase is, "Daniel, problem Yoxdur" which means, "there is no problem". So far I haven't been doing much "work" mostly have been going around the community and trying to meet as many people as possible. I have been doing a little English tutoring which is interesting and going pretty well. Not a lot of people here speak English though so I am being forced to pick up the language pretty quick. I really enjoy learning the language in this setting but it can be exhausting, at times it feels like my brain is on overdrive trying to understand what everyone is trying to say to me and at other times it just shuts down and refuses to accept anymore Azeri.
Anyway things are moving right along in this little corner of the world and everyday I learn more about Azerbaijan. Despite not knowing where it was a few short months ago it is a very happening place. The fact that it is such a young country with a very fragile democracy makes it fascinating to watch. Azerbaijan is in its formative years and it will be interesting to see what direction it takes.
Me at swearing in with my host parents.
Me getting my Peace Corps pin
Me and my cluster AKA NINE-O-MITE!!