On Wednesday we got out permanent sites assigned. In the days and hours leading up to it I wasn't that worried, but once they started calling names I was freaking out. Thankfully I ended up with exactly what I asked for. Like down to the letter. I'm going to a village right outside of Zagatala named Car (pronounced 'Jar'. Do a google search of either for more relevant information). Its in the northern part of the country in the 'middle finger', its mountainous and cold and I'll be by myself. Can't wait!

Site visit: Oguz

A few weeks ago we all left our clusters on long road trips to find the REAL Azerbaijan. Sick of the dog-eat-dog/workaday world of our clusters, James and I struck out for the northern city of Oguz with only our dreams, the money in our pockets, and also our backpacks and other stuff. The ride up there took us first through the long stretch of desert right outside of the peninsula. The early part of this month was unseasonably hot, and this day was no exception. Thankfully we quickly made a new friend who helped distract up from the increasingly hot/stale atmosphere of our packed marshrutka. One of the great things about traveling anywhere here is that’s its nearly impossible not to make a friend in the process. I can just be running up to the market and by the time I get home I’ll know 5 new people. Other notable traveling events: About halfway through our trip we took a break at a rest stop that was home to a bear in rusty iron cage. Also, at one point the back door opened while we were on the highway.

Charlie considers our options

Oguz has a theater!

This is what every street in Oguz looks like.

later: we arrived in Oguz and it was totally great. A small city tucked into the mountains, Oguz was a totally different world from Sumgayit and its surrounding suburbs. Charlie, the AZ6 I was visiting, and I could easily walk out of the city and into the countryside filled with winding dirt roads, old neglected cemeteries, open fields, rocky streams, and the occasional shepherd. That’s like four of my favorite things concentrated into one place! When we weren’t fording rivers Charlie and I taught some well-planned English classes at the local school. While I had observed a few classes before this, it was really reassuring and informative to see the lesson planning process in action. I haven’t really taught a class since 2006, and to be honest what I learned in Thailand hasn’t always been that effective.

old homes

Its been just over a year since we moved out of our old house in Silver Spring. In that year I've lived in five different houses in three states and two countries, yet Piping Rock remains my default answer when people ask where I'm from.

I took a bunch of pictures before I left, and while they may not be my best, they are definitely among my favorites. Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeraybourne/sets/72157609078890740/

Traveling to Azerbaijan

Last Wednesday we headed out of Philadelphia on a fleet of buses to get to JFK. The buses were fairly snazzy and featured such luxuries as reclining seats, a bathroom and 20 televisions. That’s one TV for every two people! The bus also came stocked with plenty of Jurassic Park and Zoolander, but while we got through the latter, we were only halfway through the former when we got to New York and now I’ll never know what happened to those poor dinosaurs (no spoilers plz). My time at JFK was ok but the trip got increasingly nightmarish as it went on and I lost all sense of time. In flight movies included Night at the Museum II (thumbs up would watch again. Readers at Cherry Hill note that this movie would be a surefire hit) and every movie I saw this summer.

After getting to Azerbaijan we spent a week in a walled hotel for orientation week.

On Monday I moved in with my host family and they are amazing. I seriously live better here than I did in the U.S. in terms of amenities. More importantly everyone in the family is super laid back and friendly. My biggest problem at the moment is not getting homework done because I want to spend time with host brothers. Next weekend I’m heading up north for my site visit which is going to be awesome!

Will write again soon with more details on school etc.

Just finishing up my staging forms in the hotel. We have a meeting in half an hour that will take the rest of the day. Tomorrow we're taking a bus up to New York in the morning and flying out in the afternoon. Today has been hectic and I didn't sleep much last night. For the first time I'm feeling nervous about this decision but am pretty sure it was the right one.

Mailing address!

Leaving at 7am tomorrow. Just finished shopping packing a few hours ago!

Here is my mailing address for the three months I'm in training. Please send me as many entertaining things as possible!

PCT Michael Raybourne
Peace Corps Azerbaijan
Sumgayit şəhərı
Azerbaycan pr. 15
Mərkəzı poçt
Azerbaijan

Finally received my staging kit which for whatever reason didn't get here a week and a half ago like it was supposed to. While my shopping is going well I can't help but feel a bit panicked as the 28th approaches and I haven't filled out all my papers and purchased everything I'll need. A lot of stuff has had to go to the backburner now though as my mom and I try to work through our latest family crisis. I'm not sure what I should be concentrating on honestly, its had to worry about whats going to happen even two weeks from now when I'm worrying about my mom and dad and closing down the camp etc. This seems like the worst possible time to be leaving my family behind but I know my dad wanted my to do this and I know the rest of my family wants my to do this. If anything this just means I'll have to work even harder in Azerbaijan to make my time away worthwhile.

Thailand 2006

In December 2006 after spending the summer and fall taking a TEFL correspondence course I headed to Thailand for two weeks of hands-on experience that would finish up my classes.
I was drawn to teaching overseas mostly just to away. The four years I spent in college were for the most part lousy (no one’s fault but my own, I just had laughably bad judgment) and my senior year was the low point. Between a bad diet, lack of exercise, and loads of stress I was really floundering. My first idea was to do the JET program but after blowing the interview (it was my first one ever and how am I supposed to take a guy in his fifties patting his stomach and pretending to not know English seriously?) I had to go another route and started to online course.
Thailand was fun and strange. Almost all of us stayed in a hotel a few blocks from the school (some stayed in the actual school and one guy stayed with his wife who left him part way through) with rooms that were bitterly cold. During the day this was easy to counteract by opening the doors and letting in hot, humid air. At night you had to wrap yourself up in the scratchy hot pink blanket they provided. Even though I was there for teaching experience it’s the stuff that I did outside of the classroom I remember best. When it wasn’t raining I spent my time wandering for miles in and around the town. The streets there were filled with mopeds with little regard for pedestrians and stray dogs that would growl at a distance then hide when you approached. The sidewalks were covered with open-air restaurants (these great home/businesses that are basically outdoor kitchens where the food cooks in one big pot all day long and is served up on rice with fresh garlic) and would often just end abruptly and spill into the streets.
The most memorable place in Phuket is a mountain that lies on its outskirts. A road runs from a temple at its base to a mess of towers and wire at the top. At dusk this road is filled with packs of wild dogs and groups of monkeys that climb along the electrical wires; occasionally they’ll fight with each other over food left by the temple. At the top is a great view of the city and a bunch of roosters wandering aimlessly.

PEACE CORPS UPDATE:
I’m about 4 weeks away from leaving and just getting around to packing. Even with my departure date so close it still is hard to wrap my head around the fact that I’ll be out of here in few short weeks. Fun!

I don't have the best track record when it comes to recording my thoughts. I can remember getting my first journal as an early Christmas gift when I was around seven, I was so excited to give it a go I wrote entries for the next several days which I then attempted to act out. This got old quickly and soon I just gave it up. My next attempt was in college and remains a painfully, painfully embarrassing reminder of that time.

This time I will try to keep up with it though as it may be my primary way of communicating with friends and family at home. I'm about a month and a half away from leaving and I'll try to spend some of that time detailing my prep work.