And yet another blog about running…

that actually has little to do with running and more to do with riding a bike. But occurred during my morning run… 

I set out at ten after six for what I thought would be a regular (whatever that means anymore) Sunday morning run. When I passed my school I noticed a boy on a bike nearby.  Without really focusing in on who it was I took the left at the road. A minute later I felt his presence and I noticed it was one of my soon-to-be 6^th grade students, Elnur.  Pleasant interactions with 8 to 17-year-old boys have been far and few between in my time here; I’m either usually shouted at in poor English when they’re in groups or glared at/followed when they’re alone. But Elnur is always friendly, respectful and I have never seen him without a huge smile on his face (and if you know much about my experience here you know they aren’t a smiley bunch).  I said hello and waved, continued on and then indicated I couldn’t hear anything since I was listening to music so as not to be rude if he felt like practicing his English.  He sped past me a minute or so later and I figured he would run off to tell the rest of his family over breakfast how he actually saw me running-just as I said I did.

About five minutes later, I was on another road and had paused my run to move two orange baby kittens out of the road off to the side under a tree when I saw Elnur come up on his bike again.  This time I took out my earplugs and he offered me a ride on his bike.  I knew he remembered that I said I could ride a bike when we practiced our usage of “can/can’t” in lessons and summer club. Now normally an offer from a 11-year-old boy would be easy to decline since his bike would be too small, but Elnur’s bike is much too big for him-it’s an adult male’s size.  I also figured he was just so curious to see me ride but in my head I’m thinking how it’s been 22 months since I’ve even ridden a bike.  I ask him if he doesn’t believe I can ride and if it would be interesting for him to which he answers Yes and Yes. 

I pause here to explain a little about believing and not believing that to which I say to locals here, a cultural difference if you will.  A lot of times Azeri’s will say something that may or may not be true or they may not exactly mean, to be polite, to save face or simply just because it fits the conversation.  For example, sometimes people may say they want you to come visit them, yet when you go they’re surprised and a bit shocked.  Sometimes students may tell a teacher they’ll come at a certain time for lessons and then just never show up. Then there are times that students will say something in class that is nowhere near being true and that’s where I draw the line.  When we practice using English I stress saying sentences that are true to themselves—no lying about having a cat, doing the food shopping or saying you went to department store last week (there is no department store in our town-so that’s a big tip off.) 

The first time I told my host family I run for exercise they seemed to accept what I said.  But when I actually got up at the crack of dawn, left the house and then returned 40 minutes later covered in sweat they were surprised.  After so much time here people have begun taking my word and what I say.  I will come when I say I will and I won’t come if I don’t, etc. Now they tend to believe a bit more of what I say I do/don’t do, can/can’t do.  Yet it’s still fascinating to most locals that a girl can ride a bike in our town.

So I gladly hopped on the bike to cure his curiosity.  I only rode a few meters—just enough to get some speed, ease my craving and prove I hadn’t lost it. I would have easily gone farther but I didn’t want to take his bike too far or push my luck—they’ve finally accepted that I run.  I thanked him, said goodbye and as I ran away I told him how much I used to ride a bike when I was his age, for almost two hours everyday when the weather was nice.  I turned and thought to myself how he could be the spokes boy for English club and tell them all how he saw firsthand the female American teacher really can ride a bike!

This blog should end here, or so I suspected it would have when I was writing it out in my head towards the second half of my run.  

I continued on past the river and down a few streets later I just happened to turn around and saw Elnur still behind me-about 50 meters back giving me space but going much too slow for him to be even enjoying his ride. Normally I really dislike being followed.  When walking I usually stop to let the lurker pass me so I can walk in peace since I know they’re just trying to entertain themselves and pass the time.  Yet I don’t know if it’s because I have a soft spot for Elnur or that this was the first time I had been followed by a person on a bike (minus the creepster man a few months back) but I didn’t mind it.  I almost hoped he wouldn’t give up since my route was surely taking him farther than he usually rides.  I turned down an unpaved road that leads out to the villages, past another school and one of my “safe zone” roads where they only people I ever come across are men who are tending to their sheep.  I thought for sure the conditions of the road would lead him to stop and return home, yet a few minutes later he was still there.  I wondered what he thought when he saw me pass the dog who didn’t budge from his slumber. Another point for proving I’m not afraid of dogs, just like I say so? 

This road joins with the main ‘high way’ that connects with the neighboring region and it’s usually just cars and trucks driving by at fast speeds but it brings me back to the beginning of town and right near my apartment.  Elnur was still there.  I concluded my run and did a cool down when he came up and said hello again.  I asked him again if he hadn’t believed me when I said I run but he said no, he believed but he had never been on those roads before.  Then he told me I ride well (strong) and asked why I don’t ride here.  I said because girls don’t ride in this town and if I do everyone will look at me.  We chatted a bit more about different roads to ride on where there are less people, I asked how often he rides and he asked which days I run.  He offered to let me ride some days and he would run and I thanked him but said that was okay.  Then he asked when I will leave in November.  I said that I wasn’t sure just yet but it’s either in November or December.  Then he asked if I could stay another two years to which I responded that my father allowed me only two years and I should go home because my family misses me.   But I told him he could take the FLEX test in a few years, call me when he’s in America and we will meet.  Big grin. 

I asked if he knew how to get home and told him to say hello to his mother and sister for me. 

I’ll look for Elnur tomorrow but will surely see his smiling face on Tuesday at English club.  And possibly one day in America.