Sukur Allaha, Yanvar getdi...

Thank God, January is over.

Loosely translated.

February has arrived in full, complete with a snowstorm that has left my yard covered in a crisp blanket of white, and the streets covered in a mess of mush and mud.

I don't know why, but for some reason, January is always a crummy month. It was crummy last year, and though less crummy, still kind of crummy this year. I came back and had my electricity shut off, it's friggen cold, I got really ill...and I really just want to sit next to my petch and read books and drink hot chocolate. Also, because my kitchen is outside, it's too cold to really actually cook something for myself, and so I just end up eating bread and yogurt. Or bread and peanut butter. Or mandarins.

Don't worry, I take multivitamins. And this doesn't happen that frequently.

It hasn't been a complete waste of a month though. A lot of good has happened. With the arrival of two new sitemates, my flagging motivation has been, thankfully, resurrected. There are a lot of cool new clubs I'm starting (including one at a Children's hospital for the nurses and doctors, as well as a club for my friends who work at a hair salon!), and we're meeting a lot of great new contacts (including a woman who essentially organizes all the art teachers in town, another woman who wants to open a free internet center for youth, and some rockin new students who are just excellently fun to hang out with).

Some of the more exciting clubs lately have been our Girls Sports club, which saw our first meeting at the brand new Olympic Center (think Recreation Center) in town, playing softball. The girls KILLED it. They had no fears, they can throw, they can catch, one girl even took a softball to the face, got a bloody lip, and insisted on continuing to play, even as she was wiping blood off of her face. Rockstars I tell you, rockstars.

Then, this past week I was in Baku for our Mid-Service Conference. This means a lot of things. This means I've passed the halfway point of my service, and PC thinks I know enough now to not give me any more trainings. Crap. It was a great conference, gave us a lot of time to just process our experiences and our feelings, and staff was incredibly supportive. It was a little overwhelming to be around so many Americans (I'm a total introvert, so big groups and I don't get along so well anyway...but after spending so much time with only Azerbaijanis, and only a handful of Americans, it was weird. I was so tired I actually hid in my hotel room one night and went to bed at 10:30. Lame sauce.).

After the conference, I was invited back by PC Staff to help them review the TEFL Objectives and KSAs/Competencies for being in Azerbaijan. Essentially, it's a list of goals that specifically English Teachers (as opposed to YDs or CEDs) are set to accomplish, and a list of skills that English Teacher Volunteers need to have to be successful in country. A lot came up at the conference that English Teachers do more than just teach grammar, and so we tried to work that in. Again, staff was really open to our suggestions, and I think we got a lot of work done. I know for myself, I do teach English, but I do a lot of other things too. Besides community work, even my classroom time is more than just English.

I think of some of my favorite teachers from Elementary school, Ms. Balzerson (1st grade), Ms. Gemalas (2nd grade), Mrs. Harsh (1-3rd), Mrs. Roush (4-5th), Mrs. Dill, Mrs. McBride (both 8th grade)...Frankly, I don't remember a lot of what I learned in those classes...at least not a lot specifically. But I remember they encouraged me, they believed in me, they gave me the space to be creative and to be myself...that's what I want most that these kids get out of my time here. If they don't speak perfect English...ok. But if they feel empowered to go and pursue something they only dreamed of...then I've done my job.