Are You ABLE?

Forgive me, this is a long one.

The last few months—really the past year, but more so the last few months—have been dedicated primarily to one project: ABLE, the Azerbaijan Boys Leadership Experience Camp.  It hasn’t been just myself, of course.  ABLE is planned and run by a group of Peace Corps and Azerbaijani volunteers.  Without each and every one of us, the camp would not have been possible.  Not everyone could attend the camp, as opposed to last year when there was more than enough money, and to the PCVs that were involved and played a vital role in the planning, but sacrificed their spots at camp for others, I thank you. 

Last year, I was only peripherally involved during the planning stages of camp, becoming more involved in June at Training of Trainers and then at camp in July.  I kind of lucked into it, since I went to Christmas at the home of one of the AZ7s leading the camp.  The rest sort of followed from there, and while at camp, we AZ8s gathered to create a plan for the next year. 

The past year of planning the camp has not been easy, but has been valuable experience for all of us.  For the past several years, a large portion of the project has been funded by a single organization, and when it came time to hear back, we were shocked to find that instead of a deduction as we suspected might happen, we were turned down outright.  As a result, we had to seek alternative funding from local and international sources.  In the end, we were not able to fund the camp to the same price we were accustomed to, but after lowering the number of students to 33 and finding a cheaper site, as well as requiring Peace Corps Volunteers to pay for some of their meals, we were able to fund the camp.  Of course, there was some wonderful drama at the end about whether the money would arrive in time; we had all the money we needed by the end of camp.

I had the pleasure of attending camp all week this year as one of the leaders.  As soon as I returned from Greece, I turned around and rushed off to the Training of Trainers, a two night conference at the camp site at which we prepared the Azeri counterparts to be leaders at the camp and conduct the lessons of the camp on topics such as teamwork, community, leadership and volunteerism.  Four days later, camp began.  The first day was spent getting to know each other, and the boys were split into four teams, which they named the Black Eagles, the Grey Wolves, the Last ALBEGA (referring to Alpha-Beta-Gamma Rays) and the Best Crazies.  They also designed emblems and wrote team cheers.

Each full day of camp this year was built around a theme.  Day 2 (first full day): Leadership.  We started with one of the (to me) more interesting new activities we added this year.  We split the boys into three groups, and assigned each group a governmental model (democracy, anarchy and dictatorship), and under that system, they had to build a bridge out of paper, cardboard, and tape.  We were a little worried that the dictatorship group would be the best, thus invalidating our argument that democracy is best, but it worked out all right, if not perfectly.  Actually the dictatorship group was my favorite, as the smallest boy at camp was chosen to be dictator, and he promptly had everyone bow down to him. 

Later, we broke the camp into two and sent two groups on Nature Scavenger Hunts and two to do Team Building Challenge Activities.  The boys had a lot of fun with the Trust Falls, and were definitely challenged by the 3-D Spider Web.

The only downside to the camp so far came as one of the boys was particularly homesick.  A really interesting boy who is particularly interested in technology, this boy’s homesickness would be a recurring issue at camp, though when we started including him in filming and photography, and by the end of camp, he was smiling more and more.

Day 3: Environment

Today started off rough, with rain pouring into the early afternoon.  We were able to plan around it and use the pavilion and sheltered tables for activities, though.  This proved to be a big day.  We painted t-shirts, using stencils and spray paint for each team.  The boys then styled their new shirts and wore then throughout the week. 

Today was pretty much the day of the Guest Speakers.  First up were the Ganja Green Bicycles Club and Environment Clubs.  These were the two most highly reviewed speakers, and they had the boys interested and active through the talk.  Almost unanimously the favorite guest, they were even better than last year. 

That would have been enough for any day, but they were topped that evening when Adam Sterling, the Charges d’Affairs of the US Embassy visited with Farah Xan, an embassy employee.  Together, they spoke about gender and human rights issues, drawing on personal experience to explain their views.  Sterling, for instance, explained how he grew up in a home with a strong female role model, which has helped him prepare for his current line of work where he is working for a strong woman, Hilary Clinton.

After dinner, Mr. Sterling, an avid Mets fan, played wiffleball with the boys.  Despite some unlucky at bats, he seemed to have a good time, and was active in the field.

Day 4: Human Rights

This was one of the hardest days for the boys.  Today was the day we handicapped them.  For both breakfast and lunch, we blindfolded or tied the hands of half the boys, while the other half had to assist them in eating.  Many of the boys did not take to this easily and resisted to the point where they refused to eat.  Others found it more interesting or fun, and tried getting into feeling for their glass and silverware.  When we finally allowed them to take the blindfolds off at the end, there was a huge gasp of relief.

That night, though, was the biggest event of camp.  Not the most informative or educational, but definitely the most fun.  At Training of Trainers, we devised an elaborate nighttime challenge run, based on the scenario that the boys had crashed on an alien planet and had to find a way back home.  Along the way, they had to complete challenges while being attacked by PCVs wielding water balloons.  We were a little worried the boys would be scared (last year’s campfire ghost stories resulted in some long nights), but they all came back to the starting point with huge grins and shouted explanations of what they did and how they did everything.

Day 5: Health

Somehow the boys were still waking up before us today.  Their bodies are just different at that age, I guess.  We were mostly all zombies this morning, with large portions of coffee to get us going. 

 One of the normal highlights for PCVs, Capture the Flag, backfired a bit.  I mean that we didn't dominate the boys the way we normally do.  How disappointing!  This isn't just a big deal us, but the boys are also often big fans.  We start by having the kids play against each other and then pit them against us, forcing them to use more strategy.  Our surprise attack failed this year when they saw it coming and beat us to the flag, winning out by their larger numbers.

Really the best part of the day wasn’t until the evening, when we had our annual end of camp talent show.  This year, each team had to perform together, and were judged by a combination of PCV and Azeri leader judges.  They channeled their inner Simon’s and Paula’s and the boys got a huge kick out of their antics.  In the end we also got in on the act.  We had planned to do a human pyramid, but a group of boys beat us to it, so we felt we had to one up them.  So, we made the human pyramid…while singing the US National Anthem.  I talked my way into being the top (thank you PC Azerbaijan for helping me be the lightest!), so I can only imagine how the guys at the bottom got through to the last few lines.  But we all made it through!  USA! USA!  The evening ended in chants of USA, Azerbaijan, and ABLE. 

Maybe there’s something to this 33 boys thing.  Maybe 50 kids are too many.  I do know that more so than last year, the boys came up to me and told me they didn’t want to go home.  They wanted camp to go on and on.  That’s how camp should end.  That’s how I know we did a good job.  It’s how I know that even if we didn’t get to each and every one of the boys (and you can’t get to them all), we started the ball rolling for most of them, put new ideas in their heads, and made a difference in their lives.  That’s what ABLE is, and what it will be even after Peace Corps leaves.

Going on Vacation, and Program Superiority Complex

We’re playing a bit of catch up in the blogosphere these days, as I’m finally able to cover what has happened in the last month or so.  Since the end of the school year, at the end of May, my life has been focused primarily on one project, ABLE, which I’ll discuss more in a few posts.  Thrown into the middle of the planning and preparation stage was a wonderful trip to Greece, at the end of June.  I first had to make my way to Tbilisi, Georgia for my flight.  This involved a series of bus rides that cost me double the normal rate because of the large suitcase I had with me.  This was a necessity since I had filled the suitcase with winter clothes that I (hopefully) will not need this year and was sending back to the US via girlfriend courier. 

After spending the day lounging in Tbilisi parks and eating delicious cheesy bread, I made it to the airport.  While waiting for my flight, a small group of westerners sat down near me.  Naturally, I found myself eavesdropping (Whoa!  English!), and after we discovered each other formally, it came out that they were part of a program similar to Peace Corps’ TEFL program.  The volunteers I met were preparing to go home at the end of their service.  As we talked, and I learned more about their program, I found myself fighting internally with something I have dubbed “Program Superiority Complex.”  This is the kneejerk reaction amongst expatriate aid workers that their program is better organized, more intense, more challenging and more beneficial than someone else’s.  This complex exists despite what we know rationally, such as that our program has more than its share of faults.  “Your program is ONLY 9 months long?  And you’ve been home twice?  We eat 9 months for breakfast!”  “You didn’t learn Georgian?” “How do you not know the others in your group and confused me for a volunteer from your program?” “You had a hard time with your host family wanting to see your things?  HA!  The stories I could tell!” 

These thoughts are not ones I’m proud of, and I’m sure that the volunteers I met at the airport worked hard, tried their best, and were qualified and successful volunteers in their communities.  In fact, one of the cool things about the program was that it wasn’t just American volunteers.  But I had them all the same.  That’s the Program Superiority Complex for you.

After I left Georgia. I found myself in Athens, Greece.  The next day I found myself once more on a plane, this time flying to Santorini, a beautiful island in the Cyclades Islands.  We stayed in a beautiful house built into the cliff, overlooking the caldera.  I would wake up early in the morning, and sit out on the balcony while everything was absolutely silent, with just birds and the distant cruise ships moving, just the water lapping at the shore.  After a few nights in Santorini, we returned and before we had time to settle, we were off once more, this time to visit Meteora, the famous monasteries perched on cliff faces, which for centuries could only be accessed by rope ladder.  We stayed in a mountain town nearby, completely un-touristy, home to some absolutely delicious cheese (I brought back my one souvenir from here—a ½ kilogram of cheese).  Finally, we made our way back to our apartment outside of Athens, and made several day trips into the capital.  Soon enough, though, it was time to leave, but first I had a day-long layover in Munich to look forward to.  With nary a question at the airport, I exited the building and found myself on my way to Munich.  Was it that easy?  Had I missed an important step somewhere in there?  Would they let me back in?  But, after a day eating pork knuckle, drinking delicious beer, wandering a park larger than New York City’s and exploring a tauntingly delicious famer’s market (artichoke, avocado, AVOCADO!).

I found my way back to Georgia, arriving at the airport at 3am.  Three hours later, I left the airport and began my trek back to Ismayilli, which would take almost exactly 12 hours.  Not bad considering the distance, but way to long to be traveling on Azeri buses.  I had to be back in that time, though, because the next day, I’d be on the road again.  While I was on vacation, a part of me was not, a part of me was checking email regularly, because there was one thing on the horizon, a camp called ABLE.  But that’s a story for another post.

Sunset at Santorini, where it's impossible to take a bad photo

Meteora monastery

Mmmm Pork Knuckle

Crackerjacks and Big League Chew

Growing up, my favorite sport in the world was baseball.  I watched it, I collected baseball cards, I played it in little league.  I was not by any means good.  I wasn’t bad, but I had the normal children’s problems—I wasn’t particularly coordinated and was afraid of getting hit by the ball, especially by a pop up.   But I loved the game, and would assemble and reorganize my baseball cards, creating lineups and rosters, which I would then act out by pitching against a wall by our driveway.  

One of the most flat out fun times I’ve had a volunteer here has been when I’ve been working with the Ismayilli softball team.  This has been the second year we’ve played, so by now some of the boys have a strong handle on the game and can now explain the rules and positions to new boys.  The fine details are still elusive, of course, but that’s to be expected.  This year, my host brother, Orxan, when not in Baku, has helped as an assistant coach.   He has been a huge help, both on and off the field.  I downloaded Game 6 of last year’s World Series to show the boys.  Orxan was a huge help in explaining the calls, the finer rules, the announcing.  We didn’t make it all the way through the game, but we did have popcorn and I think they learned a few things.

This year, the boys have really built on the skills they struggled with last year, and have, after changing the team name to the Dragons, become one of the best teams in the league.  When they play well and as a team, they’re on fire.  They’ve also done a great job of learning from the playing styles and techniques of other teams. 

Part of the fun was that in anticipation of the big tournament in Baku this spring, we made our own t-shirts.  I spent several hours designing and cutting out the stencils we then used to spray paint the shirts.  I led the painting by myself, so the paint kind of got away from me, and we ended up with spray painted gloves, bats, balls, and trees.  I was able to put a hold on everything before they got around to the building.

We played four tournaments in the spring, including one we hosted here in Ismayilli, at the Olympic Complex.  And, while we don’t really keep track, or announce winners at the end of each tournament (“Everyone wins,” etc etc), we won the majority of the games.  You can imagine this has done wonders for the boys’ egos.  The spring season is over now, but will pick up again in September.  Until then, we just have to wait and watch the professionals and hope the Orioles don't collapse too quickly.  It's been nice being part of a winning team here, and it's keeping me going until the Orioles can get their stuff together.