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Thankful

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November was surely a time to be thankful.

The first happy event was cluster reunion #2.  This was the second time since last December that I met with my language teacher and cluster-mates.  Training can be very challenging, but I truly enjoyed that time, and it was mostly because of these individuals.

Cluster Reunion #2

November birthdays

Next was a celebration with Catharine for our November birthdays.  We had a picnic at the local internet cafe.  Not your typical party, but I’ll never forget it.

Internet cafe picnic

When I walked into my 8th grade classroom on November 23rd, I was greeted by my students who were singing and waving balloons.

My favorite class in the school yard:

My host mom had prepared a delicious cake, and that night, she insisted that she take pictures of the entire celebration (I can tell I’ve rubbed off on her)…

Note the Azeri candle

Family

On the day of Thanksgiving, my counterpart and I held a special after-school lesson where students learned the history, important vocabulary words, and customs of this holiday.

Thanksgiving lesson

Each student wrote what they were thankful for, read it for the class, and pasted it on our tree of Thanksgiving…

I am thankful for...

We had about twice as many students at the beginning of class, but a bunch of them ran out of the classroom as soon as the lesson finished because it was snowing outside!

Students from my school threw me a birthday party (complete with plates from the USA)…

My students and counterpart

SNOW

That weekend, I traveled to Baku to celebrate Thanksgiving American-style.  The Deputy Chief of Mission from the U.S. Embassy invited all of the volunteers from my group to his house for a pot-luck dinner.  After dinner, there was a PCV talent show that included magic, singing, dancing, and ukulele-playing.  For this event, Embassy employees graciously open their homes to Peace Corps Volunteers.  My friend Alicia and I stayed with a couple, Eric and Evangeline.  They were completely awesome and knew exactly how to make volunteers happy: good food, ice, hot showers, and fast internet.

Talent show

I was also lucky to have a second Thanksgiving dinner kindly hosted by my friends Martin and Tama.  I loved that evening because it was exactly how I imagine Thanksgiving.  I was surrounded by friends, sharing words of thanks, eating all of the traditional foods, and enjoying the time together.  Thank you to Tama and Martin for your friendship and generously opening your home to all.

Happy Thanksgiving

Although I miss home around the holidays, I think it’s the ones I spend overseas that will be unforgettable.  It means so much to be able to find a home away from home where your friends become your family and you count your blessings every day.

This holiday season, the list of things I’m thankful for could go on for miles.  A strong support system in the United States, a network of Peace Corps Volunteers and other great friends, the Azerbaijanis that have helped to shape my life in Azerbaijan, and the once-in-a-lifetime experience that I’m in the middle of right now.


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