Since I've moved, I find that I have a curious condition. Usually, daydreaming isn't strange for me. Travel, the future-all of that is pretty common. Lately, I've found myself dreaming of kitchen appliances.
    You think you're surprised?
    I love my house and it's old time charm, but I'm a child of the 21st Century, the time of microwave dinners and stoves with adjustable temperature settings. Being without all these things has made me realize not only that they are not as common as I was raised to believe they were, but also that life without them is much more interesting. Time is a luxury that the 8 hour work day eliminated. Here, it's a given with the added bonus of fresh, local produce that is cheaper.
    Because I've always had a kitchen that runs on electricity and technology, I never considered that I was capable of functioning in one with only a stove top and a gas balloon. If I may say so myself, I'm doing quite well. Time, experimentation and adventure are my allies. So far, I haven't delved too much into the culinary arts of Azerbaijan besides those foods that are universal. In fact, what I cook for myself is an actual gossip topic.
    Recently, I was in Ağcabədi helping with a summer sports camp. My favorite hosts, Shira and Jeff, bought fava beans a few weeks before and promised me a fuol night. There's no way I can do my excitement and nostalgia justice. But, between the excitement and fulfillment were two days of day-long cooking and the painstaking process of shucking beans.
    For most of you in the Land of Processed Food, this may make no sense. Basically, you take one bean at a time and remove the skin. For us, there was the added task of removing bugs.
    Oh come on, it's not that bad. Calm down.
    Trust me, the more time you spend cleaning, boiling, molding and preparing your food, the better it tastes. Tomato sauce from scratch, homemade bouillon, fresh greens from your yard, garlic itself and not garlic salt are the conveniences of living in a village and, unfortunately, not conveniences of the US of A.
    Oh ironies.
    I can have fresh pomidor and xıyar with freshly picked reyhan, and you can't. Whine or come visit, your choice.
    (Spoilers: the second choice will be more fun).
    At the same time, required effort can also be an enemy. It's hot and air conditioners are a rarity which encourages most people to devote most of their time to moving as little as possible. As a volunteer whose primary objective is development, this is my toughest obstacle. It's easy to imagine all the projects and possibilities in your mind, but even easier to let them remain untried possibilities.
    I just returned from a project development and management workshop in the capital, designed mostly for Azerbaijanis. I was able to bring a good friend of mine with whom I've had the most discussions about change. She has told me many times that she is jealous of me. It was her first time away from home alone since she married, something she used to do all the time. Listening to her remember and be excited but also nervous about starting again, I was jealous of her courage. For me to talk about change requires little effort. For my friends here to talk about change is something they often do alone and against the grain. That is something that will always have my support and inspiration.
    Ideas are starting to simmer. I always forget that the waiting is much longer than moments of inspiration. Then, from inspiration to realization is another wait. It's a process with the strangest points of inspiration: a taxi with loud music, an Irish pub watching a World Cup game, crossing the street, over ice cream dessert. Starting from scratch, I know the ends will be so much better.
    Saying this, I still dream. What I'd give for a blender.

Your Organic Word for the Day:
cheaper – The food you buy from a mass producer is cheaper than the food from local farmers. That food is much more likely to be healthier and investment in local growers is investment in your own community. Work on that y'all while I'm over here.

Your Arabic for the Day:
fuol – The Egyptian everyman's food of fava beans with any ingredient you so desire. Beans have protein too.

Your Azerbaijani for the Day:
Ağcabədi – The rayon to the north of me, best known for waaay more factories than us and one of the many farming regions of Azerbaijan.
pomidor – tomato
xıyar – cucumber
reyhan – BASIL!