My new home announcement

I'm feeling quite braindead as usual. It inevitably crashes about 30 minutes after I get home from class, have a cup of cay, and try to focus on my homework. PST is quite draining; I'm looking forward to lots of free time at my site. I want to study Azerbaijani, read books, watch documentaries, and, of course, lesson plan and create visual aids.

Remember my post about the site placement interview? Well I weighed all things considered, and ranked an indoor toilet as the most valuable thing to ask for. All the regions get cold in the winter, so I figured any home with an indoor toilet would be better than one that may be in a milder climate zone, but with a forlorn loo. So I made sure to tell Flora at my interview that it was my number one priority. After that, I asked for a warmer region, and somewhere with shops and civilization easily reached. I also emphasized that I get along with the people in my cluster very well, so if we could be near each other that'd be great.

After an antsy week and a half of waiting, we Az9s converged for the grand Site Announcement session. They had a huge map of Azerbaijan front and center, upon which we got to search for our sites and thumbtack our mugshots. The atmosphere was so charged with anticipation and excitement that I let out a loud gasp when my clustermates, Sam and Fiona, were assigned to be site mates.

My name was called third in the group of amazing women who are going to Zaqatala: Annette, Mary Ellen, and moi. I was elated to be with my beloved clustermate (Mary Ellen), and then when they showed us where on the map it was, I was just a flustered mess cause it's the secondmost Northern rayon, nestled amongst mountains. My village is Muxax, I'm the only Az9 going there, and my school has a piddly-squat 360 students.

I was really suprised because the mountains are the longed-for sites in Azerbaijan. A good amount of Az9s had asked to be placed there, whereas a quote from my interview reads, "the cold immobolizes me." I figured I was one of the only ones to ask to be placed in the "Dirty South," and yet ended up winning the lottery, if you will, of site placements. Zaqatala is called the "Little Europe" of Azerbaijan, and is the least polluted of all the rayons. Mountains and forests abound, and I have even heard a comment that it is the most liberal region, next to Baku, of course, in terms of openmindedness. Flora keeps telling me, "Kaylee, it is like a paradise. It is so beautiful..." and such.

So after the big announcement, Sam and I noticed that each of us got what the other had asked for. She wanted a small villiage up north, and I wanted a town in the south. It was such a coincidence, for we'd still be with a clustermate if we switched, that we decided to ask Flora why she decided to put us where she did (we also decided that we wouldn't switch if we were able to... we like to go with the flow of destiny). Flora smiled when she told us, and admitted that she was about to put me where Sam is, until she inquired about the toilet. Yep, I was initially going to be put down south in Jelelibad until Fora asked about the toilet for me. Bless her heart. I didn't know it, but I knew how to prioritize! And although I will be in one of the coldest areas, it is also the most beautiful and coveted (and I will have my indoor potty!).