Hey! Here is what Todd does this summer.

I work for the American Bar Association office in Baku, Azerbaijan. ABA is a non-governmental organization (NGO) whose mission is to strengthen the rule of law in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is a young democracy rife with corruption and inefficiency. The government has been dominated by one family since independence from the Soviet Union in 1992.

ABA has several projects. First, we have a legal advocacy clinic (LAC) which provides low cost legal services to the public. LAC’s main goal is not to provide legal access to the public, however. LAC has created opportunities for young law graduates in Azerbaijan to gain the necessary experience in order to “pass the bar.” The legal field is different in Azerbaijan than in the US. Lawyers are divided into two categories here, defense attorneys and prosecutors. To become a defense attorney, students must complete their undergraduate degree. Law is an undergraduate major (like many European countries). Students who wish to become prosecutors must complete an additional three years apprenticeship with a member of the collegium, or Azerbaijani prosecutors association, and must take the bar exam. There are advantages to being a prosecutor but the collegium is very corrupt and often refuses to apprentice new students or hold bar exams. LAC is staffed by two prosecutors who apprentice around 15 young lawyers. The goal is to open up the collegium to reform the legal profession

Second, we have a travelling lawyers program. This program sends our LAC lawyers to the regions to provide legal assistance to the poor people outside of the capital. There are few lawyers in the regions. I am going with the lawyers this weekend to the city of Quba.

Third, we have many legal education programs. Street law for children, curriculum reform for law schools, and continuing education classes for practicing lawyers are provided by ABA. Right now this program isn’t doing much since most schools are closed during the summer. However, they are in the midst of distributing new legal textbooks and planning summer street law programs.

Fourth, ABA works closely with the newly formed Women’s Bar Association in Azerbaijan. ABA is very concerned with the strengthening the role of women lawyers in Azerbaijan. Thus, ABA provides support to the WBA leadership and provides things like English conversation partners for WBA members. Last week, we had a mock trial to discuss women’s rights issues in the office.

Finally, we have a criminal law division. My officemate, Aynur, is the head of the criminal law program. However, she is leaving ABA soon to get an L.L.M degree (masters of law) from a university in Norway. To be honest I don’t know what the criminal law program does substantively. The goal of the program is to fight corruption and injustice but I’m not sure what practical things ABA is doing to accomplish that goal. It must be doing a lot though because Aynur stays on the phone all day every day.

So that is what ABA does. Now, you may ask: what does Todd do for this legal machine? Well, I have worked on about four projects since I have been here. My big project which I started on my first day was related to Labor law. A staff attorney in our office, Barbara, wanted to develop a seminar on gender inequalities in Azerbaijan in the field of employment. My task was to find and read all the sources of labor law in Azerbaijan including laws passed by the legislature, decrees of the president, all the governmental agency rules, constitutional provisions, decisions of the Constitutional court, human rights reports, etc. Then I had to develop a memorandum for Barbara that explained exactly what the situation was for women workers in Azerbaijan. In short the situation is similar to women workers in the US in the 1970’s. Labor law is designed to “protect” women in Azerbaijan by not allowing them to work strenuous (read: lucrative) jobs in fields like construction, oil, or even bread making! It was very interesting and allowed me to prepare for taking Labor Law at Vanderbilt because I got to read the entire 300+ section Labor code of Azerbaijan and summarize in detail. It was cool to see the vestiges of Soviet rule here in how the government is set up.

My second project related to international relations. Our country director, Dave, asked me to find all the treaties that Azerbaijan is a party to and then to summarize and explain the important ones to him. This has been an ongoing project which has become, to be honest, daunting. Azerbaijan has membership in tons of important international organizations which sign agreements all the time. Sifting through the hundreds of treaties, pacts, protocols, agreements, and executive agreements that Azerbaijan has signed has taken much longer than I anticipated. I feel like maybe I shouldn’t be too thorough though since I think the reason for the project is to see whether the office’s bootleg movie collection broke any copyright treaties.

My third project, and current nemesis, has been an overview of Shari’ha law for Dave. Shari’ha law (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Lebanon) is the third largest legal system in the world today behind common law (USA, UK, Liberia, etc) and civil law (Most of Europe). Shari’ha is not practiced in Azerbaijan. Rather, Dave wanted to know how Shari’ha ideas affected the laws of Azerbaijan and the lives of Azerbaijanis. Currently I am learning the nuances of the Jafari school of Shiite Islamic jurisprudence and the differences between property, inheritance, and family law in Islamic and Western systems. Fun!

My last project is really a bunch of small projects over the course of my time here. I have edited memos created by local staff in order to make them sound like they were written by a native English speaker. I have updated the office emergency procedure handbook. I have researched a few cases on tortious interference (Pennzoil v. Texaco!) for an attorney. Finally, I have played countless games of text twist on facebook, looked at tons of LOLcats, and followed the NBA finals from the Eastern hemisphere. My days can get pretty busy, you must understand.

In reality the work does come in spurts, so I tend to come and go from the office as I please. Some would say I own the place. Others would just say I am amazing at what I do. Others would say that I am fat...idiots. Others do sign language at me that is impossible for me to understand...fools. Sigh, it’s awesome being me.

Lately

So, I finally finished a book last week. It's hard for me to find time to sit down and read for a long time (even here). And when I do, I still tend to take breaks. But this was a really good book. It's called Marley and Me by John Grogan. You may have heard of it....they are making a movie about it. It's about this newly wed couple who decides to get a Lab. They name him Marley and soon find that he jumps on everything and everyone, tears up and eats everything in the house, and is deathly afraid of storms. It is a really funny book and easy to read, especially if you love dogs. It really makes me want a dog....but that will have to wait.

Todd's work got a 2nd intern for the summer. Her name is Kristina and she is about to be in her 3rd year of law school at William & Mary. She's really nice & we've hung out with her a lot this week. I first met her when I went to Todd's work last Wednesday to do this "conversation partner" thing. Several local Azeri girls (mainly associated with the Women's Bar Assoc.) come every week to practice their English and ask questions about anything they are interested in. Unfortunately for me, last Wednesday they only had questions about politics in the U.S. and how certain offices were elected. I guess I'm interested in politics, but I don't have much to comment on. And even when I do have something to comment on, I tend to keep my opinions to myself. But I still enjoyed being there and listening to the conversations that took place. I haven't had too much interaction with the locals and it was interesting. I hope to go back next week.

On Friday nights, Todd's boss, Dave, and his wife, Alicia, host "Friday Night Flicks" on the roof of their apartment in the Old City (see pics in album). They spread out rugs on the roof, have snacks & drinks, and show a movie with a projector on a white sheet. It's a really nice atmosphere and the views of the sea and city are great. The movie that we watched, however, was not my favorite. Has anyone seen Spinal Tap? If you have, I'm sorry. If you liked it, I'm even sorrier. It's a mockumentary about a rock band named Spinal Tap. It had some funny parts, but overall I don't recommend it (Todd might tell you something different).

On Saturday, we had a PeaceCorp volunteer stay the night with us. Her name is Kat and she lives out in the "regions". She was passing through Baku and needed somewhere to stay for a night. She's been here for 2 years and gets to go home in September. It's definitely a different kind of life. Todd and I are planning a trip to Georgia (the country, not the state) and Kat helped us figure out how to do it pretty cheaply. We all ate dinner and played cards at my aunt and uncle's friends'- Gary & Sharon- apartment. I do love playing cards....especially when I win...by a landslide! :)

Sunday, we decided to do a little sight seeing (again, see pics on facebook). We started in the Old City....the part of town which is exactly as it says- old. Todd and I really like this part of town. It is surrounded by walls and the streets are mainly cobblestone. Compared to the rest of Baku, which is all under construction to be transformed into tall skyscrapers and cool looking buildings, the Old City is really quiet and gives you a feel of how Baku might have been years ago. Inside the Old City is the Palace of the Shirvan-Shahs. It was built for royalty in the 15th century. Honestly, I don't really have much to say about this palace....but we did get some good pictures!
We then kept walking through the Old City, which really is like a maze you could get lost in! Passing kids playing, cats sleeping, and an old woman carrying a pot of tea, we finally made it to the outside of the walls again.
Our next venture was to see Martyr's Lane. We began our short hike across the city. Then we began to climb up several flights of stairs. And then climbed a few more. And then a few more. We thought we were almost there, and then found more stairs we had to climb. It was a really hot day, but we finally made it to the top of all these flights of stairs and the view was breath-taking and well worth the sweat and burning in our legs. Baku might be dirty up close, but is really beautiful, with its buildings and shoreline, from afar. We finally made it to Martyr's Lane. A memorial that was constructed above the city to honor the 100+ Azeris who were massacred on January 20, 1990 by the Red Army. There is a tall monument with a flame that is continuously burning. If you walk a little farther, you pass tombstone after tombstone of those who were killed. In Azerbaijan, tombstones have a picture of the person it belongs to etched into it. It is kind of creepy. Two brothers had tombstones side by side- just 15 & 16 years old. War is sad.

On another note....I've been thinking a lot lately how I have felt spiritually dry lately. I'm not sure if it has been the busyness of my life this past year, or the laziness in me that can be so hindering. But no matter how"dry" I feel, I know God is still here...all around me. I've seen His beauty in the scattered white clouds against the bright blue Azeri sky. I've felt His power in the mighty winds that almost knock you off your feet. I've felt His glory in the warmth of the sun. I am slowly being reminded that it does not matter who I am or how I feel. All that matters is who He is. I will never measure up to the greatness of who He is, but the great thing is that He takes me just as I am....flawed and all.

so
Thank you Jesus, even when you see us just as we are....fragile and frail and so far from who we want to be

Sightseeing in Baku- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025110&l=3d083&id=61700300
Martyr's Lane & More- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025111&l=e3505&id=61700300

Gabala & Happy Father's Day!

My aunt and uncle's house has four floors. (There are really only two options of housing here....an apartment or a really big house (no normal size houses) that has a yard. Since they have dogs, they really had only one option- the house with the yard.) There are seven of us that live here right now, but we only really occupy 2 of the 4 floors. Of course, Thom and Brenda live here. And Todd and I stay in the bedroom next to theirs. And my uncle Thom's niece, Kim, is here as well. She is writing articles for a magazine that is published here. Unfortunately, she arrived about a week before us and is already leaving on Tuesday. :( So that's five....and the last two that live here are probably the favorites of everyone. Molly is a deaf Dalmation......perhaps one of the laziest, but cutest, Dalmations I've ever met. And Zoe is a little Jack Russell that has changed my mind about Jacks. Sure, she barks whenever she thinks there is a reason to bark, but as soon as things settle down she is right there beside you being your best friend as long as you are rubbing her tummy. We're a good family.

We got to go on an overnight trip last weekend. Kim's boss sent her for a free night to check out a "resort" in a town called Gabala about 2 1/2 hours from Baku. Well, we (me & Todd, Thom & Brenda) got to tag along. We left last Friday night, and soon came to find out that our 2 1/2 hour drive was really almost 4. We had fun though (except for the bumpy roads that kept Brenda and I carsick off and on the whole way). Once you get out of the city, the landscape changes a lot. It goes from busy streets with lots of people to open land and hills and mountains. At first, the mountains are just brown. But as we got higher and higher, they began to turn green and were really pretty to look at.

We thought we'd never get there. About the last 15 or 20 minutes of the trip, we drove down this tiny gravel road that went through some kind of little village community. Their houses were somewhat like little shacks put together. It felt like we were so far from the rest of the world, except for these houses that probably had no idea what was happening in the rest of the world. But then we kept going and finally reached our "resort".

I put "resort" in quotes because it probably wouldn't meet America's standards to be called the name. But for here, it was nice. We didn't arrive until after 9 pm, so the first thing we wanted to do was eat dinner. After figuring out which rooms we were staying in (Somewhat confusing because they did have suites big enough to fit all 5 of us, but they kept saying they were booked up so we couldn't have them. However, we are pretty sure we were their only guests at the time. Go figure.), we headed out to have dinner in one of their gazebos. They finally brought out a tray full of chicken and french fries. The chicken was rather skimpy. You could just imagine the skinny animal that probably wasn't even worth killing for the amount of meat it produced. I decided to just fill up on french fries (which were very tasty!). As we were finishing up, we saw a strobe light and heard loud Azeri music not too far from us. The Disco-Bar! We had to check it out!

A disco ball, loud & strange music, and four Azeri men dancing is what we walked up on. Azeris don't dance the same way we do. They use their hands and arms kind of stiffly and do some fancy looking foot work with their pointy-toed shoes. It was fun to watch. We finally requested some American music and as the 5 Americans went out to dance, the Azeris left the dance floor. It continued like this as they alternated between styles of music until we finally got tired and left.

The next morning, we ate breakfast at the gazebo again. Breakfast consisted of hot bread, several kinds of cheese (pretty strong cheese), honey and hot tea. We ate, packed up, and checked out. Before we left the hotel, we decided to explore a little bit. We had heard there were hiking trails, a pool, a lake and other things to do, but no one really spoke enough English to tell us exactly where everything was. You could see the lake from the hotel. It had a man-made waterfall and was pretty. We found a path and decided to see where it took us. We passed the pool first...actually 3 of them...but none of them had water in them. Hmmm. We kept walking and found this really cool stream of water surrounded by rocks. Sure, we walked through what seemed like a dumpster and past cows that were picking through the trash to get there, but we found some great places to take pictures. After our little hike, we started our long 4 hour drive back through windy roads and across bumpy terrain. Overall, it was a fun trip. :)

On another note....today is Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to both of our dads. We miss and love you!
We decided to adopt Thom and Brenda as our Eastern Hemisphere parents while we are here since they are taking such good care of us. We actually just got done splurging with a "proper" breakfast, as Brenda would call it, consisting of bacon (which you can't get here), eggs, sausage and toast. Now we are about to get ready for some people to come over tonight to have a cookout. The weather is perfect and tomorrow is a holiday here, so it seemed like a perfect time to for it.

And one more note....I've been posting the pictures I've taken on Facebook. For anyone who doesn't have Facebook and hasn't gotten the link to it, just copy and paste the links below to see the pics!

Pics of Baku- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024721&l=c911b&id=61700300
Pics in Gabala- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024690&l=0c039&id=61700300
London part 1- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024510&l=1a51d&id=61700300
London part 2- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024509&l=ef4ca&id=61700300

An Introduction

Baku, Azerbaijan. I had never really heard of the place until my aunt and uncle moved here. They have now been here for almost two years....even still, I didn't quite know what to expect once I got here. Here is a rundown of what I can tell about the city (not necessarily the whole country) so far.

Most of the people here have light skin and dark hair. Everyone speaks Azeri and Russian, and some speak English. It is a mostly Muslim country, though I feel they aren't too devout (at least in Baku). Girls can wear pretty much whatever they want to wear. And they do. We've noticed that the latest trend must be to wear yellow. Not a pastel or mustard color....but almost a highlighter, Big Bird yellow that hurts your eyes if you look at it too long. It's quite a sight. Shorts, for guys or girls, in pretty much a no.

The traffic is somewhat like chaos. However, it is not nearly as bad as it is in India. A few more cars honking and some rickshaws to fill up the small gaps between the cars and I might be confused which country I was in. My aunt and uncle live not too far from downtown, so we just catch taxis from the house to a central spot downtown. Once we are there, we can pretty much walk wherever we need to. The "sidewalks" are pretty rough to walk on. I feel like I've missed looking at what is around me, because I've been too busy trying to make sure my feet get firm steps.

The country is bordered by the Caspian Sea. You can see it in the distance from my aunt and uncle's bedroom window. There are some great views of the city and and the sea all over town. However, from a distance is the best way to view the Caspian. Up close it is really, really dirty. We saw some guys fishing off a pier the other day....not sure that I would eat anything that came from those waters.
It feels like you are at the beach too. It can be pretty warm here (just getting warm, i hear. they have really cold, snowy winters), but not quite as warm as it would be if the wind was not constantly blowing. I always fix my hair when we go out, but only in vain for it always ends up in a pony tail before we get back home. The nights are a lot cooler and a lot of times you can hear the wind howling against the windows.

As for how I am spending my days so far....pretty lazily. I slept til noon several days last week (thanks to jet lag)....something I haven't done in a few years. I'm trying to get up earlier now. Every day is a little different.....sleep, take my time getting dressed, get on the computer for a while, clean up, read, maybe go with my aunt to meet her friends for lunch, etc. I'm really enjoying it though. This past year of teaching was hard, so I've had many to tell me not to feel bad to take it easy this summer. So I don't.

As for Todd, he leaves at 8:45 every morning and doesn't get home until about 5:15. He'll have to tell you how he's spending his days. I just know he reads a lot. :)

There is so much more to say...but I don't want you to get tired of reading in just this one sitting. So I'll save the rest for later.

London

Ok, ok. So I am not very good at this blog thing. We are now in our tenth day of our trip and I have yet to write anything. I suppose I should give you the brief overview of our London trip....

Well, it was fabulous. We were there 3 nights and 4 days and did all of the touristy stuff that people usually do when visiting London. If you want to hear every detail, I will be more than happy to tell you when we get back. :) But for everyone else, I will just give you the highlights of our favorite things we did.

My favorite spot in all of London is Trafalgar Square. It has these huge lion statues and fountains and tons of people (probably mostly tourists) just hanging out. On one side of the Square is the National Gallery Museum. It is free to go into and holds a lot of original paintings by famous artists....Van Gogh, Renior, Monet, etc. I'm not sure why I like Trafalgar Square so much....I guess it just has a feeling of "London" when we're there.

I think I can say for both of us that our favorite outing was to see the musical Wicked. We had hoped to see a show, but then tickets were a little more than we wanted to pay (as was EVERYTHING in London!), but we finally gave in and bought them. I'm so glad we did! It was a fantastic show and I highly recommend it to anyone. It's been over a week since we saw it and I still can't get the songs out of my head!

We had found the name of this restaurant in a London book we bought in the states and decided to try to go there. We knew the street name, but it just so happened to be a really LONG street. We walked forever....in the rain...and finally found it. It's a little hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant called Buona Sera at the Jam. The booths are stacked on top of each other. We got a top booth and had to climb a few stairs to get into it. It was a neat atmosphere...very cozy. The food was pretty good too! Again, highly recommended next time to go to London!

I can tell you this with out even asking him. Todd's favorite thing was riding the double decker busses. We ALWAYS had to sit up top, and hopefully get the front seats. It was a good way to see the city, so we tried to take the bus instead of the tube sometimes. It was also a good rest for our tired feet and an escape from the rain. :)

Of the other things we did: visited the British Museum (Todd really liked), climbed the dome at St. Paul's Cathedral (over 900 steps total....I realized how out of shape I am :)), saw all the "Londony" sights- Big Ben & Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, Hyde Park and rode the London Eye.

Overall, we had a great time. It's fun to travel when you are married.
So now you know about London...maybe tomorrow I'll update you on Baku! :)