Novruz Bayramı in Əhmədabad! (Inshallah)
I finally made the necessary phonecalls. I always put these off because the idea of having to speak Russian or Azeri on the phone and not being able to switch causes me some amount of anxiety. Meaning, if I’m speaking Azeri, it’s okay if I know that I can switch into Russian if necesary. This is the case with almost anyone I try and speak with in Baku. If I’m speaking Russian, it’s good to know that I can switch into English if necessary. This is the case with my family and some people I know in Baku. Someday, a linguistic anthropologist will study people like me and our complex code-switches and language ideologies. But when I’m locked into a language, especially Azeri, I tend to forget everything I’ve learned, speak only in the present tense, use the 10 verbs that are most common, and repeat the words “yaxşi (good),” “bəli (yes, polite),” and “hə (yes, regular)” every few seconds. Which, after more than 5 months of study, is not very impressive. So I wrote myself a little script and included polite phrases and fancy forms or tenses. Like asking if the person remembered me and using the conditional to say, “If it would be good…” It went okay until we got past the point I’d scripted. I have no idea what I said after that. But at least they’re expecting me, right? Meanwhile, the Russian conversation went just fine. I think after the long and somewhat heated discussion I had with my landlord last week, I’m realizing that it’s gotten much easier for me to express a wide range of emotions and opinions in my mother tongue. When I can speak Azeri while flustered, I’ll know that I’ve made progress. That day is yet to arrive…
I’ll be staying with a few different families this time, including the people I stayed with during my last trip. I love them. I love their outhouse not. I’ll be out there for about five days total. So I’ll get an idea of the Novruz activities and participate in the making of various delicious things. All while taking copious notes.
