There's Something There That Wasn't There Before. Or: Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

This happened some time ago, but I feel worth writing about because of the realization it spurred. Now, my host father does not work, and has not worked for some time, so it seems that the family relies heavily on the pension he gets from the government and the rent that the family gets from volunteers and renters. This is not a lot of money, and I understand they would be worried as the deadline for our required host family living neared. I have looked at the available apartments in Ismayilli, and ended up rejecting them for a number of reasons, including the price.

Before this decision had been finalized, a man who would be working on a construction job here in town for some time approached my host father about renting the room next to mine. I arrived home for lunch to my host father’s declaration that I would have a neighbor. I had a bit of a panic attack. I felt safe at this house, safe enough that I didn’t really feel the need to lock my door when I left. Having a strange man that Peace Corps had not checked out beforehand (it is policy that Peace Corps meet the people living in the house before a volunteer move in) understandably shook this confidence. Was this even allowed by Peace Corps? I made some frantic phone calls to my program manager and the housing manager, but with no concrete reply.

And then it turned out not to matter. For some reason or another, my father came to me later that day and asked me if having a neighbor made me uncomfortable. I debated lying and just agreeing to the situation to make things easy, but in the end told him that, yes, having a stranger living in the room next to mine did make me uncomfortable. And with that, my host father decided the man would be asked to move out the next day.

It is very easy to get cynical about people who need money, to expect money to be the only motivator. But when people surprise you, when they show that they care more about the relationship, is such a reassuring feeling. I have never doubted my host father’s caring nature; he has always seemed and demonstrated that he wants to make me feel welcome in his home. But, when I finally did hear from Azeri staff and friends about the issue, it did not seem odd to them that a room would rented out like this. And so it is also nice to see that some ideals, some relationships, and the ideals that go along with them, are universal, over-lapping. In seeking me out to insure I was comfortable, my host father showed that he truly thought of me as a family member, something I am deeply grateful for. And something that I hope to be able to reciprocate as my time here continues.