Apartment Life in Ganja

It became clear to me that having a boyfriend and living with an Azeri host family were not going to mix very much longer. So once I returned from Georgia I began hunting for an apartment. I have never really done this in the United States so I was quite concerned about the difficulties of the task. Its not that there are not a myriad of apartments available, its working the system so as not to get over-charged for being a foreigner and finding a bearable Landlord/lady that is not over intrusive and accepting of a woman living alone. It is VERY unusual for anyone in this very family oriented socitey to live by themselves and its even more rare for a woman. Those who do are usually prostitutes. So it was going to be a challenging task to find a landlord/lady that would accept me and a place that I would find livable. A student of mine volunteered to help me out and he set out going to some real estate agents around the city. We worked out a story that I was his distant cousin from America doing research in Ganja about my annecesteral roots. The idea was that if I was connected with a family here in Azerbaijan than I was probably not a prostitute and that they wouldn't charge me as much as if I were here on my own. My friend would go to different realitors around town and ask if they had any thing to the specifications I had given him. If there was a place that fit my description he would call me up and we would meet at the realitors with the landlord/lady and go look at the apartment. I learned quickly that the number of times the landlord/lady said how beautiful the place was, was inversely related to its acutally beauty and suitablity. I also learned quickly to pick out the problem landladies. Many of the apartments that they want to rent have been in the family for a while and only because someone has moved out for a while are the letting it. And it has happened on more than one occaision that family members have moved back and then moved in with the American tennant. This is perfectly normal here. As well as your landlord coming every few weeks to 'check on the place.' I definitley wanted as little intrusion and interaction with my landlord as possible but it was going to be a difficult task. I also ran into problems with guests. On more than one occaision some people flat out said that I could have no male guests. As the value of the apartment is determined by who has lived there. If people think that a prostitute has lived there then the apartment is harder to rent out again. The other difficulty was the outrageous decor and less then adequate bathroom/toilet facilities. Finally by chance I found a really cute place. The Landlord had just moved back from Russia, bought this place and renovated it to be rented. The fact that the guy had been in Russia as a good sign because he was more open to the idea of a 'western' woman living alone and having guests but not the paying kind! He also had no deep personal ties to the place so he wasn't going to be popping in to make sure I kept the place clean. And the best part is that it was newly redecorated so it all smelled new and fresh and clean and there was a flush toilet! ( I had been living for 7 months with a bucket flush and no toilet paper) So here are a few pictures of my place. I also have a 'great' view of a park across the street. Everyday there are kids playing soccer or guys doing some sort of 'sports' activity. Its usually walking around the track- not too fast because you might get sweaty and then get a cold and die, or they do pull-ups on the pull-up bar. I also go running with a friend in the mornings. People are not too adverse to it- I've even seen a woman walk around the track every morning. The guys only get irked when I pass them.
I aquired my apartment without furniture so then I spent a week or so trying to drum up some inexpensive home furnishings. It wasn't too hard but transporting them there made me nervous!!!!



The task that occupies most of my time here is laundry. I do not have a washing machine and my clothes get incredibly dirty. I live in the dust capital of the world- I'm not sure if thats an accurate fact but it is very, very, very dusty here. So I've devised a stomping system of washing,which kills two birds with one stone. washing my clothes and venting my frustrations constructively.
I really like my apartment it comes with its own alarm system. Not only people live in my city dwelling but there are also numerous chickens and roosters who live in a pen by the entry way. Although I live on the third floor the rooster's joyful crow wakes me up right at first light everyday. Sheep are also a common sight in my neighborhood. I looked out my window the other day to see a big heard comming down the road. The sheep in Azerbaijan are unique in that they have this flab of fat on their butts before their tails. so I call them the fatty-assed sheep. These particulary sheep seemed pretty healthy as they sported the largest fatty-asses I had ever seen here. NOTE- I live in a city of over 250,000 inhabitants!!!! Needless to say life is never boring. It just takes a little patience and creativity when you don't have the luxuries of the US. The best thing though is just having my freedom! I really liked my host family but I can now cook my own meals and keep my own schedule without feeling guilty and obligated to anyone else. I know it isn't really acculturating but I think I would go crazy if I didn't have my own little haven.