Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Azerbaijan and Peace Corps

So, from the title of this post you can probably guess what it's for. This idea spawned out of a few e-mails that we have received over the past few months, so we decided to keep it around for posterity. If you have any questions about anything Azerbaijan or Peace Corps related, please feel free to e-mail us at: jesse (at) velcrotoes (dot) com or carolyn (at) velcrotoes (dot) com. Before we get to the questions, we want to extend a warm welcome to the next wave of Peace Corps Azerbaijan volunteers, AZ6. So, without further ado:

Did you bring a computer with you? How does having/not having a computer workin your life as a volunteer?
I think there are probably 3 volunteers who didn't bring computers. It works very well to have a computer. You can save time at internet clubs if you can write emails at home and take them on a flash drive. If you or your host family has a land line, you can use dial up internet at home. We watch movies all the time on our computer. It pretty much kept us sane during cold winter nights! :) The PC lounge in Baku has a DVD library where other PCVs add and take DVDs. There are also a couple stores in Baku where you can buy 3 manat DVDs of films that are just coming out in theatres in the States. So, if you don't bring a computer, I would highly recommend at least bringing a portable DVD player!

Do you find that being married alters your experience or not (especially for Carolyn-how is being a married woman different from being single?)
Being married is very different than being single. There are pros and cons. First, depending on how old you are (we are 26 and 27), you will constantly get the question, "Where are your children?" or something similar. It is quite strange to them for us to be as old as we are and to not have any children. We just say, "We can't have children and be volunteers at the same time. We will have them in 2 years, God willing."They understand this phrase, God willing, or Inshallah. Second, I feel that I get less harrassment from men because everyone knows I'm married, so that's good. There are some harrassment issues for single women in Azerbaijan, but that also varies from town to town. Don't worry about it, though! Third, you get twice the living allowance! Yay! When the time comes to move out on your own, you will each get the allowed amount, but you will only need to get one house! For example, you both will get 85manat (or so) per month for housing, but your rent should be around 80 or 90, so you get to pocket the rest!

How much Azerbaijani did you know when you arrived?
None. Well, we knew some animals, but that's all. Don't worry about language. I don't think anyone knew more than a few words (numbers, animals, greetings). If you want to get a jump start on it, there is a great free program called Before You Know It that will get you some basic words.

Are can openers really that hard to find?
Yes. Bring a can opener (or a swiss army knife with a can opener on it), head lights and a cork screw if you like wine (although Azeri wine is not especially well-known for being good).

New 6/19/08:
We thought since people are starting to prepare for leaving for AZ in September, a packing list or two might be helpful. Here are two lists, the first assembled by AZ4 and the second a rough outline of what we took.

• AZ4 Packing List
• The Williams Packing List

In addition to those things we'll list some things that might seem frivolous but ended up being some of the stuff that made us happiest while we were over there:

• Down Comforter
• Cotton Sheets
• Good Pillow
  
• Laptop
• World Poster and Atlas
• Headlamps (one plus a spare)
• Frisbee
• Flash Drive
• Photographs: Family, Homes and whatever from America to start conversations
• Card/board games. Think Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan.
  

And some stuff we wish we wouldn't have taken:

• Bathroom stuff, i.e. shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc. You can buy almost any brand of this you want over here.
• Snow boots/pants. Chances are you won't be in a part of the country where it snows and if you are you can have someone ship them over later.

Additionally there is a listing of other volunteer's blogs, full of information here.