no particular thoughts to dwell upon
listening to the i-pod, looking around
certain sights catch the eye
pondering and smiling
this morning i had to capture a moment...
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
walk...
walking to school...
no particular thoughts to dwell upon
listening to the i-pod, looking around
certain sights catch the eye
pondering and smiling
this morning i had to capture a moment...
no particular thoughts to dwell upon
listening to the i-pod, looking around
certain sights catch the eye
pondering and smiling
this morning i had to capture a moment...
it all ends...
Well... break has officially ended. I could have handled having another week off-- but it is back to the drawing board. I swear, it seems as though the things to do never end.... but I am not complaining because I love my job.
The last few days of break were quite busy-- lots of things to do. Met a friend for Indian food and drinks, wandered around a new part of the city, met Lazy (Laiza) for coffee at a new (to me) bistro of a sort, had another bus adventure to nowhere, enjoyed dinner and happy hour downtown, played a very long and intense game of Ultimate, and had another social gathering/cooking experience in "Hell's Kitchen". Never a dull moment-- and yes, stories galore!
"Hell's Kitchen" documented:
The last few days of break were quite busy-- lots of things to do. Met a friend for Indian food and drinks, wandered around a new part of the city, met Lazy (Laiza) for coffee at a new (to me) bistro of a sort, had another bus adventure to nowhere, enjoyed dinner and happy hour downtown, played a very long and intense game of Ultimate, and had another social gathering/cooking experience in "Hell's Kitchen". Never a dull moment-- and yes, stories galore!
"Hell's Kitchen" documented:
Friday, March 20, 2009
more on the referendum...
The results of Wednesday's votes have come in... the politics of this country are extremely interesting. I encourage you to read and watch the video linked to the article.
CS Monitor--by Jessica --aka FIREWALKER (see pictures of fire jumping)
CS Monitor--by Jessica --aka FIREWALKER (see pictures of fire jumping)
cooking!?
On Wednesday Andy had a dinner party-- and somehow Emily and I were deemed apprentice chefs. We, of course, laughed it off saying that we would help drink the wine and such, but to actually cook, probably not. Well, we were wrong!
We arrived at about 3:30 and at precisely 3:37 the preparations began! All the ingredients were laid out on the table (for the before and after shots), the recipes were shown to us, and the Captain's checklist was explained.
I was given appetizer duty-- which was great! Cutting and seasoning peppers, onions, zucchini, and mint was not a problem. Meanwhile Emily was assigned sauce duty. She chopped carrots-- then moved on to making homemade tomato sauce (boiling, peeling skins, and slicing tomatoes). Where was Captain Andy at this point?? Filling wine glasses, marking things off the checklist, and telling stories... he was the entertainment and head chef.
Somehow my duties changed and I ended up being the egg noodle maker too! Captain was timing the whole process --an hour and 36 minutes of kneading, rolling, beating, throwing, catching, punching, and tearing the dough. All while Captain and for a short while Emily took breaks. :) Actually, it was quite fun.
Dinner was a bit late-- and guests had arrived-- but it was well worth the wait! The meal was delicious! The Greek Salad, the brushette, the mix of wines, and of course the fabulously made lasagna. Our joint effort paid off!
We all worked so well together (for the 6 hours of preparations), that for some reason we agreed to do it again on Sunday! Indian curry this time-- and yes apparently there is a homemade bread to be made!
We arrived at about 3:30 and at precisely 3:37 the preparations began! All the ingredients were laid out on the table (for the before and after shots), the recipes were shown to us, and the Captain's checklist was explained.
I was given appetizer duty-- which was great! Cutting and seasoning peppers, onions, zucchini, and mint was not a problem. Meanwhile Emily was assigned sauce duty. She chopped carrots-- then moved on to making homemade tomato sauce (boiling, peeling skins, and slicing tomatoes). Where was Captain Andy at this point?? Filling wine glasses, marking things off the checklist, and telling stories... he was the entertainment and head chef.
Somehow my duties changed and I ended up being the egg noodle maker too! Captain was timing the whole process --an hour and 36 minutes of kneading, rolling, beating, throwing, catching, punching, and tearing the dough. All while Captain and for a short while Emily took breaks. :) Actually, it was quite fun.
Dinner was a bit late-- and guests had arrived-- but it was well worth the wait! The meal was delicious! The Greek Salad, the brushette, the mix of wines, and of course the fabulously made lasagna. Our joint effort paid off!
We all worked so well together (for the 6 hours of preparations), that for some reason we agreed to do it again on Sunday! Indian curry this time-- and yes apparently there is a homemade bread to be made!
Fire jumpers...
In the midst of celebrating St. Patty's day.... Jessica, Emily and I decide to see what fire jumping is all about (part of the Norvuz celebrations). Amy pointed us in the direction of a fire, and off we went. There were a few guys jumping a small fire on one of the cobbled side streets. Of course we thought it only appropriate that we jump too. Capturing the jumps on film was the toughest part-- so we each jumped a few times (which ends up being good because you are supposed to jump 3 times to cleanse or burn away the old, to become renewed). Just before Jessica went on her mission to jump, a man added a few cardboard boxes, so the fire got a bit higher. This made us all laugh, but Jessica was not deterred.... after all she "was a champion hurdler back in the day".
No worries... Jessica emerged from the fire without any burns... just warm legs! This was the point where a great question was posed---Should St. Patrick's Day be celebrated before jumping fires for Norvuz?
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Referendum
Today Azerbaijanis will be voting on the referendum to amend Azerbaijan's constitution. The country has had the Aliyev family in power for many years and the current President, Ilham Aliyev, would like to eliminate the two term limit-- this referendum could change the political system from 'democratic' to dynastic.
CS Monitor
Eurashia.net
Thoughts on the Road
CS Monitor
Eurashia.net
Thoughts on the Road
Monday, March 16, 2009
Merdenkan
Yesterday I traveled to Merdenkan with two of my students and their family. We went to the horse stables owned and operated by the owner of AZAL (the Azeri airline). The President of Azerbaijan (Ilham Aliyev) keeps his horses at these stables, which means that it is not open to the public... pretty exclusive. It was amazing on the inside of the walled area-- humongous! There were two or three barns with huge stalls (all of which were full), a couple of race tracks (and a new one being constructed), a jumping course, a tea (chay) house, a restaurant, and plenty of pasture areas.... and I didn't even see the entire walled in area.
We started out by visiting the "high profile" stable... where the race horses and "gifts" from Kings and other Presidents are kept. The race horses are amazingly beautiful (18 to 20 hands tall or taller). Gorgeous animals with an air about them that wasn't arrogant, but definitely noble. There must have been over about 100 stalls in this barn-- all filled with a mix of well-bred horses. There were Turkmen horses, Arab horses, English mares, a horse that was sired in America (the men were sure to point this out to me), and many others.... Outside of the stables was a hyper young stallion that was given to President Aliyev as a gift from the King of Qatar. He reminded me of Nevada and Mojave (our horses in Indiana) because of the alertness, the way in which he protected his domain, and the elegance he showed when he ran and bucked. As we were passing by him (on our way out of the stables), he decided he wanted to be kind and check me out-- his kisses were just like Mojaves. :) Zara ad Sanan got him a bit hyper by running up and down the side of the fence (he chased after them), but he got angry toward the end because he didn't get any more carrots!
The next barn was a bit smaller, but the horses here were just as precious. I found my favorite at the very end stall-- his color was amazing and he was so gentle. I would have kept him! After touring this barn we exited to the jumping course where they brought out a horse for us to ride-- he was a well trained horse with a temperment much like Topper (our old horse). Sanan rode first and then I got on him... of course I was on an saddle that was a cross between English and Western... and he was a mouth reined horse... but the commands he was used to were all Azeri. It was an okay ride-- because it took me a minute or two to establish who was the boss (he was a bit testy because he thought he could be in charge). I didn't ride long-- but it was great to be on a horse again. Zara went next. She was a bit nervous at first, but she left his back smiling. It was cold and windy so the rides weren't going to be long anyway-- we were all pretty chilled.
We had tea (at the chay house) and then went to have dinner at Qosa Qala. The restaurant was awesome. It had a great atmosphere and wonderful food. I had barbequed lamb for the first time, and really enjoyed it. The meat was tender and tasty.. and it didn't smell like the doner! I also tried some leafy things that were called tarragon-- which is what the Georgian lemonade, that tasted like licorice was made from. All in all.. the food was tasty, the conversation was light and friendly, and the company was great.
The day passed quickly and I am thankful to have been invited along on this little adventure. It was nice to get out of the city for a little while. It was a small breath of fresh air.
We started out by visiting the "high profile" stable... where the race horses and "gifts" from Kings and other Presidents are kept. The race horses are amazingly beautiful (18 to 20 hands tall or taller). Gorgeous animals with an air about them that wasn't arrogant, but definitely noble. There must have been over about 100 stalls in this barn-- all filled with a mix of well-bred horses. There were Turkmen horses, Arab horses, English mares, a horse that was sired in America (the men were sure to point this out to me), and many others.... Outside of the stables was a hyper young stallion that was given to President Aliyev as a gift from the King of Qatar. He reminded me of Nevada and Mojave (our horses in Indiana) because of the alertness, the way in which he protected his domain, and the elegance he showed when he ran and bucked. As we were passing by him (on our way out of the stables), he decided he wanted to be kind and check me out-- his kisses were just like Mojaves. :) Zara ad Sanan got him a bit hyper by running up and down the side of the fence (he chased after them), but he got angry toward the end because he didn't get any more carrots!
The next barn was a bit smaller, but the horses here were just as precious. I found my favorite at the very end stall-- his color was amazing and he was so gentle. I would have kept him! After touring this barn we exited to the jumping course where they brought out a horse for us to ride-- he was a well trained horse with a temperment much like Topper (our old horse). Sanan rode first and then I got on him... of course I was on an saddle that was a cross between English and Western... and he was a mouth reined horse... but the commands he was used to were all Azeri. It was an okay ride-- because it took me a minute or two to establish who was the boss (he was a bit testy because he thought he could be in charge). I didn't ride long-- but it was great to be on a horse again. Zara went next. She was a bit nervous at first, but she left his back smiling. It was cold and windy so the rides weren't going to be long anyway-- we were all pretty chilled.
We had tea (at the chay house) and then went to have dinner at Qosa Qala. The restaurant was awesome. It had a great atmosphere and wonderful food. I had barbequed lamb for the first time, and really enjoyed it. The meat was tender and tasty.. and it didn't smell like the doner! I also tried some leafy things that were called tarragon-- which is what the Georgian lemonade, that tasted like licorice was made from. All in all.. the food was tasty, the conversation was light and friendly, and the company was great.
The day passed quickly and I am thankful to have been invited along on this little adventure. It was nice to get out of the city for a little while. It was a small breath of fresh air.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
recapping...
i finally have a few minutes to explain all of the events that have been going on since our return from Georgia-- Maslenitsa, Heart Week, and Norvuz.
Maslenitsa-- is a Russian holiday where everyone celebrates the end of winter. It is also known as pancake (blini) week because pancakes symbolize the sun (showing spring is here) and are eaten throughout the celebrations. There are many dances and bright cheery songs that are played and danced to, but the dances should be done in a circle (continuing to show symbolism for the sun). A scarecrow (Kostroma) is brightly dressed and stands as a sort of mascot for the week of celebrations. At the end of the week the Kostroma is burnt as a way of saying so long to winter until the next year.
We had a Maslenitsa celebration at school-- everyone indulged themselves in a dance around Kostroma and in the delicious blini. The Russian class performed for the school... and it was a happy day. It really made you feel as though winter was finally coming to a close.
I didn't understand why a "trick" like the one Dawid had told us on the last Friday of Maslenitsa would be seen as something sane to do.... until I was researching Maslenitsa. Kostroma is the scarecrow figure created to be burnt at the end of Maslenitsa, but the word Kostroma has also been known as a game kids play--- although the 'game' isn't funny to me! Dawid said that his school went to a part of the city near 28 May (a place in Baku), where they were holding Maslenitsa celebrations. He and a friend were leaving the area and heading home when they saw a young boy on the side of the road ahead of them. The boy, from a distance, looked as though he had hung himself. A rope was coiled around his neck and attached to a branch above him. The boy was slumped on his knees, but the rope was tight, so it looked as though he had been hung. Dawid and his friend ran to the kid and were about attempt to approach the boy (free him), when the boy opened his eyes and started laughing. Dawid and his friend weren't impressed... and left. When Dawid told us this story I couldn't believe that that kid thought it was funny... but if you click on the link below or on the word Kostroma, you will learn a bit more about the 'game'.
Maslenitsa
Blini Week
Heart week just happened to be held the same week as Maslenitsa-- which is a bit chaotic on Friday, but still fun for the kids. John (the PE teacher) had the students so pumped up to jump rope in front of their parents, teachers, and other students-- it was great to see. He had planned a sort of presentation to show why it is important to jump rope and a number of groups were asked to jump on stage for 30 seconds or so-- including parents, teachers, and students. It was great... even though I haven't picked up a jump rope in forever. Definitely not one of my strong suits!! The kids were amazing jumpers and put me to shame! :)
Novruz has started, and will continue until the end of next week. Novruz is a celebration of spring as well. It is a time of renewal and symbolizes rebirth, awakening, cleanliness and newness. Semeni, a grass or sprouted wheat, is grown and placed as centerpieces around homes, restaurants, etc. I have come to really enjoy seeing the semeni around town because it makes me feel as though spring is truly here! Other things are done as well... washing your face in cold water on Tuesday (every Tuesday until the end of the celebration), jumping fires, treats are made and given (Pakhlava (baklava) and Shekerbura), and decorating/coloring eggs (but not in the American way-- it is all natural and beautiful-- see directions below). Azerbaijanis pay particular attention to table laid for the holiday. There should be 7 varieties of food on the table the names of which starts with letter 'S' , for example sumakh(a kind of spice), sirke(vinegar), sud(milk), samani(grown wheat), sebzi(fried meat with greens)etc. A mirror, with coloured eggs on it and candles should also be on the table. Candle is the symbol of fire and light(keeping a person from damage), mirror is the symbol of happiness.
Novruz is still going on... so I will update you on the events that I witness. Tomorrow I am supposed to go downtown to see some fire jumping and join in the Spring Equinox festivities.
More information on Novruz
Egg Decorating:
Boil onion skins until the water has taken on the color of the skins (as dark as you want it). Find a leaf or flower petal or something natural and place it on the white egg. Wrap the egg in a nylon or stocking (knee high) and tie it tightly, so that the leaf doesn't move out of place. Boil the egg in the dye.
LouAnn and her kids took a crack at it! :)
You will notice some green little footprints in some of the pictures... the leprechaun visited my classroom on Thursday and Friday.. he is a tricky little fellow... but he left a few pieces of gold behind (unfortunately the gold turned to chocolate because those that touched it either weren't wearing green OR they didn't believe in the little green leprechaun).
Maslenitsa-- is a Russian holiday where everyone celebrates the end of winter. It is also known as pancake (blini) week because pancakes symbolize the sun (showing spring is here) and are eaten throughout the celebrations. There are many dances and bright cheery songs that are played and danced to, but the dances should be done in a circle (continuing to show symbolism for the sun). A scarecrow (Kostroma) is brightly dressed and stands as a sort of mascot for the week of celebrations. At the end of the week the Kostroma is burnt as a way of saying so long to winter until the next year.
We had a Maslenitsa celebration at school-- everyone indulged themselves in a dance around Kostroma and in the delicious blini. The Russian class performed for the school... and it was a happy day. It really made you feel as though winter was finally coming to a close.
I didn't understand why a "trick" like the one Dawid had told us on the last Friday of Maslenitsa would be seen as something sane to do.... until I was researching Maslenitsa. Kostroma is the scarecrow figure created to be burnt at the end of Maslenitsa, but the word Kostroma has also been known as a game kids play--- although the 'game' isn't funny to me! Dawid said that his school went to a part of the city near 28 May (a place in Baku), where they were holding Maslenitsa celebrations. He and a friend were leaving the area and heading home when they saw a young boy on the side of the road ahead of them. The boy, from a distance, looked as though he had hung himself. A rope was coiled around his neck and attached to a branch above him. The boy was slumped on his knees, but the rope was tight, so it looked as though he had been hung. Dawid and his friend ran to the kid and were about attempt to approach the boy (free him), when the boy opened his eyes and started laughing. Dawid and his friend weren't impressed... and left. When Dawid told us this story I couldn't believe that that kid thought it was funny... but if you click on the link below or on the word Kostroma, you will learn a bit more about the 'game'.
Maslenitsa
Blini Week
Heart week just happened to be held the same week as Maslenitsa-- which is a bit chaotic on Friday, but still fun for the kids. John (the PE teacher) had the students so pumped up to jump rope in front of their parents, teachers, and other students-- it was great to see. He had planned a sort of presentation to show why it is important to jump rope and a number of groups were asked to jump on stage for 30 seconds or so-- including parents, teachers, and students. It was great... even though I haven't picked up a jump rope in forever. Definitely not one of my strong suits!! The kids were amazing jumpers and put me to shame! :)
Novruz has started, and will continue until the end of next week. Novruz is a celebration of spring as well. It is a time of renewal and symbolizes rebirth, awakening, cleanliness and newness. Semeni, a grass or sprouted wheat, is grown and placed as centerpieces around homes, restaurants, etc. I have come to really enjoy seeing the semeni around town because it makes me feel as though spring is truly here! Other things are done as well... washing your face in cold water on Tuesday (every Tuesday until the end of the celebration), jumping fires, treats are made and given (Pakhlava (baklava) and Shekerbura), and decorating/coloring eggs (but not in the American way-- it is all natural and beautiful-- see directions below). Azerbaijanis pay particular attention to table laid for the holiday. There should be 7 varieties of food on the table the names of which starts with letter 'S' , for example sumakh(a kind of spice), sirke(vinegar), sud(milk), samani(grown wheat), sebzi(fried meat with greens)etc. A mirror, with coloured eggs on it and candles should also be on the table. Candle is the symbol of fire and light(keeping a person from damage), mirror is the symbol of happiness.
Novruz is still going on... so I will update you on the events that I witness. Tomorrow I am supposed to go downtown to see some fire jumping and join in the Spring Equinox festivities.
More information on Novruz
Egg Decorating:
Boil onion skins until the water has taken on the color of the skins (as dark as you want it). Find a leaf or flower petal or something natural and place it on the white egg. Wrap the egg in a nylon or stocking (knee high) and tie it tightly, so that the leaf doesn't move out of place. Boil the egg in the dye.
LouAnn and her kids took a crack at it! :)
You will notice some green little footprints in some of the pictures... the leprechaun visited my classroom on Thursday and Friday.. he is a tricky little fellow... but he left a few pieces of gold behind (unfortunately the gold turned to chocolate because those that touched it either weren't wearing green OR they didn't believe in the little green leprechaun).
Sunday, March 8, 2009
March 8th
Today is International Women's Day-- and is a recognized holiday in Azerbaijan. On Friday, all of the women in school were given pins to commemorate the day... and today I have been receiving texts and calls wishing me a Happy March 8th or Happy Women's Day. The day is marked on calendars and recognized globally-- but it wasn't one of those days I remember being recognized in the United States.... so I went to Wikipedia.....
International Women's Day
HAPPY WOMEN"S DAY to all of the women in my life. Celebrate your successes, independence, strength, and beauty. Love you all!
International Women's Day
HAPPY WOMEN"S DAY to all of the women in my life. Celebrate your successes, independence, strength, and beauty. Love you all!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Azeri joke...
Today in Language Arts .. my students were working on vocabulary and syllables... yada, yada... and Tengiz had been asking some questions-- wondering what this word meant and how to say this word-- which is why the whole "joke" threw me for a loop. I am not sure that I will be able to explain this to all of you statesiders... but I am going to try, because it was really funny.
In Azerbaijan, if you say "What?" or "Huh?" -- or things similar to that-- apparently, the other person says "AYEEE--SHH". Basically, it is done to be annoying--- AND... there is more to the whole conversation in Azerbaijan-- we just haven't become fluent enough to repeat the rest. Well, and some of the responses aren't appropriate (I am assuming). Anyway, the older students taught us the whole thing (the train ride to and from Georgia was really enlightening for me) and they catch us regularly. It is humorous and addicting (once you start saying "AYEEE--SHH", it is hard to stop). However, it hadn't filtered down to my IE students, or so I thought....
Tengiz nonchalantly said, "Miss Clancy what does jfkdalfudo... (some mumbled sort of word phrase) mean?" I of course gave him the incredulous look that I have been giving the students since they started coming to my class and said, "What?" While still looking at his book, a soft "ayyeeesh" came out of his mouth. His response floored me.. I couldn't help but laugh as I asked him if he just said 'AYEESH' to me.... "You know Azeri?" was his innocent response. It really was quite comical-- the rest of the class was in hysterics. AND of course the rest of the day was a game of who could get Miss Clancy to say "what" again. If it makes them practice their English... then I am all for it!! The laughing part is a bonus for us all.
In Azerbaijan, if you say "What?" or "Huh?" -- or things similar to that-- apparently, the other person says "AYEEE--SHH". Basically, it is done to be annoying--- AND... there is more to the whole conversation in Azerbaijan-- we just haven't become fluent enough to repeat the rest. Well, and some of the responses aren't appropriate (I am assuming). Anyway, the older students taught us the whole thing (the train ride to and from Georgia was really enlightening for me) and they catch us regularly. It is humorous and addicting (once you start saying "AYEEE--SHH", it is hard to stop). However, it hadn't filtered down to my IE students, or so I thought....
Tengiz nonchalantly said, "Miss Clancy what does jfkdalfudo... (some mumbled sort of word phrase) mean?" I of course gave him the incredulous look that I have been giving the students since they started coming to my class and said, "What?" While still looking at his book, a soft "ayyeeesh" came out of his mouth. His response floored me.. I couldn't help but laugh as I asked him if he just said 'AYEESH' to me.... "You know Azeri?" was his innocent response. It really was quite comical-- the rest of the class was in hysterics. AND of course the rest of the day was a game of who could get Miss Clancy to say "what" again. If it makes them practice their English... then I am all for it!! The laughing part is a bonus for us all.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
end of the season...
Today officially marked the end of a long basketball season!! I am glad that the extra work is going to be ending, but I will miss the extra activity (I like to be busy-- it is crazy, I know!). We went to TISA this afternoon to mix it up a bit-- my boys and their boys mixed and played a game. Basically, they just pushed buttons and had fun. It was entertaining to watch them too. Then the starting boys (for both BIS and TISA) played against the coaches and some of the staff from TISA. I wasn't going to play at first, but they needed me to play (my team had 6 at one point). We had a good time--- it felt good to be back on the court, it has been a very long time. The coaches walked away the champions-- 48-38-- it made for a great bus ride home!
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