A trip to Sheki

Hey everyone. Sorry about the lack of posts, the non-internet/computer thing is rough. So yeah, things are good. I am currently on site visits in the Northern city of Sheki. Peace Corps sends us to a Volunteer from the previous year (AZ8's) to spend 4 days with them talking and getting to know what they do. Sheki is beautiful, it's in the mountains up near the Russian border. Our site visits are sometimes potential placement sites (where we go for the full 2 years after training ends in December) so it's great to see. Even if we get a totally different site, it's helpful to share your experience with whichever trainee gets the assignment.

Things in general are good. Training is busy and for some really difficult, but I'm honestly enjoying it. The language is definitely a challenge, but getting to visit the AZ8's and seeing how far their language has come in just 1 year is so encouraging. It makes me feel like maybe one day in the future I can do more than say, Hello my name is Corina lol.

I will say that we are dealing with harassment a bit. The trainees & volunteers of minority backgrounds have it the worst, which can be hard. We have been given a list of useful things to say though and I'll be studying up. As a white woman I don't necessarily get harassed, but I certainly get starred at. I have never in my life been more watched. I am wearing the same clothes and not showering for days and the men act like I'm Julia Roberts walking through town...very bizarre lol. I did get the comment yesterday that I looked Turkish, which is a compliment here but not something I would have ever thought about myself.

In general things are coming along. I know this post is a bit general, mostly because time is so limited. I will say that I observe so much and then want to share it, and yet by the time I make it to an internet connection I can't think. I hope everything is going well at home and anywhere else people may be. My experience so far has been good, definitely a lot of absorbing information and trying to process. I will try and post some more in the next few days. They have internet cafes in Sheki (!).