Being in Azerbaijan has been interesting to say the least. One of the strangest things that I have had to deal with is the fact that I do NOT blend in. Diversity is something that I think I took for granted in the US. Generally speaking most people here have dark brown or black hair along with dark eyes. Anyone that breaks this rule stands out like a sore thumb. I remember seeing a couple of red headed kids after being in Azerbaijan for a few months and I could not stop staring. It was such a strange sight. What were these kids doing in an Azeri school? Where did they come from? We even tried to get the ginger (Jake you know who you are) that was part of our language group to sneak a picture with them. Being American we also stand out like a sore thumb. I am taller than most everybody in Ucar, I wear funny clothes and shoes, my eyes are green and my hair is light brown. Also the fact that I am the ONLY American in Ucar adds to my notoriety. It is strange because everyone seems to know who I am ( if only as "the American") while at the same time I know almost no one. As a result I have random people coming up to me on my way to or from work wanting various different things. One man, a taxi driver, drove up to me and wanted to show me a house that I might want to rent. Others come up asking me to teach them English. School children will walk in groups behind me practicing broken English phrases that they want to say to me and then giggling like mad before getting embarrassed and running off. Most recently on my way home from work a kid spotted me from across the street and then made a b-line straight at me. He handed me an envelope. Written on the front it was addressed "To: You" and underneath that is said, "From: Said". He tried to run off but I engaged him in conversation for a bit in azeri. Then abruptly he said, "at home read" and booked it, clearly shaken that I wanted to talk to him. Here is the content of said letter:
Hello!
How are you? What is your name? My name is Said. I'm 15. How old are you? Hither came as you much humans but you very good. What city are you from? I am from Ucar. I want to be friend. Do you to be pleased? If you to be pleased, tomorrow around of school reply letter give me. You write reply. See you tomorrow!!!
This was all written in pink sparkly ink and at the end three stars were added for emphasis. Lacking was any indication of where I would see him aside from outside of one of the six schools in the area. Of course I must reply, but what should I say? Any suggestions?
The title to this post made me smile. Reading this also makes me realize that I should be writing you letters. You are in my thoughts on different occasions as I wonder what you're up to and how things are going. I like to talk to the kids about what Uncle Dan is doing - how cool would it be to have an uncle in the Peace Corps? I'll have to see if I can share some of this with Ella when she gets home today. She is pretty interested in different languages right now, especially since she just made some new friends who speak Portuguese at home, has a friend who speaks Spanish, and there are an increasing number of children who speak French at church. Anyway, if you ever get a chance to post some pics to show her, that would be awesome.
ReplyDeleteAs for a reply to this letter, I would just tell him your name, where you are from, and maybe ask if he wants to help volunteer with something you are doing (don't know if that is possible). I sure he would be very pleased. ;0)
Tell him " All your free base are belong to us."
ReplyDeleteHe'll know.