Sunday morning thoughts

8:27 on a Sunday! Can not sleep any longer. I felt asleep yesterday in front of the TV around 19h. Instead of going out and discovering the jazz scene in Baku, I just made it from the coach to my bed some when in the night… well at least I will have a long Sunday and finally time to write a little bit. Sunday morning without hangover!

The week in Imishli was short but intensive. We arrived on Tuesday around lunch and left on Friday morning. Of course we have been working on Monday and Friday as well in Baku. Meeting at the office in Baku and stuff like that. And traveling from Baku to Imishli is more than 3h in the car, makes me always tried. Would be a lot nicer to sit in a train…

I try to use the time in the car at least to improve my Azeri. I wish I would understand and speak already more. Too much English and not enough Azeri… well some stuff I am able to say and spending time in Imishli and in the IDP settlements helps. There I have a real need for learning Azeri. That’s not the case in Baku. People speak mainly Russian in Baku. Even in the shops a lot of things/products are Russian. In the small shop around the corner next to our flat to different you can buy either “Süd” (Azeri milk) or “moloko” (Russian milk).
Last week I tried to explain the way to a taxi driver with my little Azeri. Unfortunately he spoke only Russian (but was born in Baku!). My Russian is worse than my Azeri. I just know enough in order that I can say: I do not understand Russian / I can not speak Russian. Very help full when you have to explain the way from A to B… well at least we had lots of fun and I arrived nearly where I wanted. Had only to walk 5min instead of 20min.

Back to the reason why the week in Imishli was intensive. We finally meet people, finally the project has started! On Wednesday we visited a school and had a meeting with the responsible for youth and sport of the Jabrail region. He promised to find for each settlement in Bilasuvar (all IDP there are from Jabrail) a representative. Thursday we went back to Bilasuvar visited another school and after a long meeting with the principal, we went to a Caixana (teahouse) with 4 already “appointed” representatives. Of course we were a little bit sceptical, wondering what kind of people the responsible for youth and sport is going to appoint. However, the meeting was great. Very motivated people and with lots of experiences in organizing competitive sport events. They asked a lot of interesting questions. Now, we are looking forward to the next meeting, where we hope to start organizing a big play day for the 6 settlements in Bilasuvar. The play day should be as well an information day about the project and RTP… With other words so far everything goes very smooth in Bilasuvar. I thing the challenge will be to implement “non-competitive sport events” where girls and women are fully participating (not only watching or doing something else). As well on the organization level we will have maybe some difficulties to include women. Its great to have very motivated representative, but will we be able to give as well some power to women and make them part of the decision and organization process in the field of sport and play?
Next week we hope to have as well meetings in Beylagan. I do not even know for the moment how it looks there. Are the settlements in Beylagan similar to Bilasuvar? Are people there as friendly and motivated?

Friday back in Baku, we had goodbye dinner with Yanu from Switzerland. She was appointed in a 1 day notice to go to Cameroun. Wow. I don’t know how she managed to pack all her stuff, to finish work and hand over, to say goodbye to her friends, to get in contact with her new colleague and … in that short time. We will miss that party girl here in Baku! With whom I am going to have Vodka-lemon-sugar shuts now at the Tequilajonction???
The restaurant where we had dinner is called Sultans. Very nice place with view on the Caspian Sea. But dinner it self was disappointing, specially when you take in consideration that we nearly spend an average Azerbaijani monthly salary… well, lesson learned, I will only go back for a drink…
After dinner we went to get some traditional vodka shuts. Tequilajonction is a typical expat pub, with a pool table, lots of oil workers, expat prices and all that. On weekend they have some band playing (I would prefer NO life music). The nice thing about the place is that you can be outside as well. The funny thing about the put is the big screen outside, where you can see what goes on inside (band very far in the background for example). I don’t know who started with the idea, but we end up to go inside making some pantomime and the friends outside had to find out the word, sentence, movie title,… of course people inside did not really understand why one person after another came inside, stood in the middle of the pub and made some strange movements or asked some people to do some stuff (Yanu used a guy to pretend cutting his head, Ali was best Michael Jackson I have ever seen…). The fun thing was actually that nobody really wanted to go inside. On the other hand the person that was just inside could tell the next person (who found out what the other had played) the next word, sentence,… Was a lot of fun… and people outside (whom we did not know) started playing as well…

For traditional reasons we went later as well to Key Club. Where it was of course not as funny. Not even a group of tall drunken Norwegians could make Key Club a fun place… (Why are we returning there every weekend????)

Speaking about tall guys: Expats here a definitely sexually frustrated. The expats community is not really gender balanced and Azeri’s are very traditional/conservative... For a female expat this means quite a lot of attention and some choice, but who wants desperate guys? ;) Well, we will see how I think about that question in some months… ;) For the moment and based on “Love takes time” (can you get the original song Ali?), I try - for once – not to rush things. Believe it or not, even 8 vodka shuts, lots of tall guys, party mood and all, did not make me falling into old habits! I hope that answers some of you curious questions.

Speaking about feelings: My emotional mood is still going up and down. But now it depends more on the quantity of sleep I got. On Tuesday I wrote in my diary that I love being here and that I am not sure if I can ever live again in Switzerland. Thoughts about the intensity of being on the road in a strange place… On Friday afternoon, after a long trip from Imishli to Baku, during a phone call with Christine from Switzerland, I just wanted to be in lovely Geneva. I missed my friends and was tired of the intensity of being a foreign woman in a strange place…

Wanted to write about some other stuff, but forgot about it. Have uploaded some more pictures in the September AZ 06 folder…

We have a phone number in Imishli, but I am not sure what you have to dial from outside of Azerbaijan… within AZ it’s 015452709.

Hope you are all fine.
Think as well about my mum, it’s her birthday today.
Lots of love
m