I got nothing!

Well, this should be a really quick update this week. We officially have welcomed two more volunteers to Lankaran which is very exciting. Everyone came over to my house last Saturday and we made sloppy joe’s. This was great because we got to eat an awesome meal AND got to sing the sloppy joe song. Always a fun time. So Jane and Joyce definitely got a warm welcome and they have insisted that we cook one American meal every week, which Ashley and I were quick to agree to. Other than that, not too much has happened since last week. School started on Saturday as well, so it’s been fun to watch all the kids walking to school in their new outfits. On Monday, Ashley and I saw 3 kids, pretty young by the looks of ‘em, walking down the streets. They were wearing matching shiny suits with matching briefcase style bookbags. It was awesome. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera, but you can bet they broke some hearts in the schoolyard that day.

A funny thing happened on Sunday night as well. I was lying in bed watching a Bears game from last year when I received a text message from Aygun. Here is how it read. “Hey tom! Will u come after lunch plz? Tomorrow I’ll have surgery in my throat. Bone got stuck there. While eating. Very dunzo. Don’t cry for me. I’ll be ok. Have a good night.” Needless to say, this caught me by surprise. I was also a little confused and worried that Aygun might not be ok, so I texted her back to make sure she was alright and to see if there was anything I can do. Her response was that she is ok and not to worry, she was just so hungry she thought she was Lyka (Ashley’s dog) and “here you go – bone inside.” Not to worry though, the next morning she was ok and back to her usual self as the bone somehow worked itself out of her throat and she didn’t miss any work. Hearing her tell the story is hilarious though and we all had a good laugh. That was the excitement of the week for me.

Since school has started, we have to find a new time and day to have our conversation club. I also need to schedule a new time for the athletic club. We’ll see how this goes, as scheduling has never been an easy thing for us and the students. I hope that I can continue both though, as they have been a lot of fun. I would like to see the athletic club grow to involve other schools as well. This weekend promises to be a good one as well. All my friends and I are heading off to Baku to hang out with a ton of the new AZ5 volunteers. This will be our first chance to meet a large number of them and them us, so it should be a fun time. Also, on Saturday I am planning on going to visit my first host family from training. I haven’t seen them since I left last September, so I’m excited to see how everyone is doing. I just heard that an AZ5 stayed there for a week or two during their training and they constantly told her about how much I ate. I found this funny because they always told me how little I ate. I’m sure they’ll be surprised to see how much weight I’ve lost.

The pictures I have posted are random and don’t relate to anything in particular, but I find them to be amusing. The first is from the Project Design and Management workshop conducted by the Peace Corps that I attended in August. That’s Ashley on the left and Maria on the right. Next is my friend Chris Boswell and cardboard cut-out Tom at Zach and Julie’s wedding a couple weeks ago. Finally, there is the groom himself having a drink with party cardboard cut-out Tom at the reception. Fun times were had by all. (Next time I'll try to put up more pictures from this side of the world.)