Happy End of July!! Congratulations to all of our friends expecting and bringing home little ones - we can't wait to meet them!
We've had an incredible month...exhausting, but incredible. Here are a few shots from the last month or so. Hope you enjoy them.
 |
A "Kiçik Toy" -- A Circumcision Party...Don't Ask
Top Left -- Momma Natavan and the uh...Lucky Boy
Top Right -- Kelly and Shahla
Bottom Left -- The Spread - They Don't Play Around
Bottom Right -- Kelly, Humay, and a Clown...Yep, There Are Clowns |
After almost two years in Ganja, we're still discovering new things. The next three pictures are from a culture center hidden away in an old building on a side street near the government buildings. The mural is huge, but each image depicts a different traditional story. Pretty cool...
 |
| Mural Image, Culture Center -- Ganja, AZ |
 |
| Mural Image, Culture Center -- Ganja, AZ |
 |
| Mural Image, Culture Center -- Ganja, AZ |
Summer tends to slow down in Ganja for a few reasons - one, most of our students are in university and many of them travel to their home regions during the summer time - and two, since the weather is usually crazy hot, many families leave the city and spend time in the mountains to get a little relief from the weather. So, that gave us a bit of time to do a little traveling of our own. We tried to take advantage of this lull and support a Peace Corps program at the same time. PCVs in AZ have set up a Community Based Tourism (CBT) program. It is an attempt to get tourists out into some of the most isolated but beautiful spots in the country. It's a great opportunity to have a truly authentic cultural experience. I've included a map to give it a little scope as well as pictures from most of our stops.
 |
| The Green Line = Our Summer Trip |
 |
| Stop #1: Guba -- Our Friend, Joey, Leads Nightly Sing-Alongs in His Neighborhood in Guba, AZ |
 |
| Stop # 2: Laza, AZ -- The View From Our Porch, Sheep and Waterfalls |
 |
| Daisies in the Stream, Laza, AZ |
 |
| Greater Caucasus Mountains, Laza, AZ |
 |
| Hillside, Greater Caucasus Mountains, Laza, AZ |
 |
| Laza Village, From the Hillside |
 |
| KJ&D -- Greater Caucasus Mountains, Laza, AZ |
 |
Rock Formation, Laza, AZ
|
Stop #3: Sumgayit, AZ -- We stopped in Sumgayit to visit our host family from training. Lots of changes, but same incredible family.
 |
| Baby Muslim - Not So Baby Anymore - He's a Big Brother Now to Sister, Ferida |
 |
| Dustin, Kama, and the Caspian Sea, Sumgayit |
 |
| Monument in Sumgayit |
 |
| Stop #4: Lerik, AZ -- Talysh Mountains |
 |
| Dustin Getting Some Roadside Life Lessons From Our Hosts |
 |
| Granite Formations - Talysh Mountains -- Lerik, AZ |
 |
| Washing Hands at the Bulag (Spring) Before Heading Back to Town For the Night In The Old Lada -- Lerik, AZ |
