Beginner level Azerbaijani, Baku, Azerbaijan, 2011

University of North Dakota School of Law
Third year law student

I learned about the CLS Program through an information session held on-campus by a CAORC representative.

I wanted to learn more about the history and culture of the Azerbaijani people. Moreover, I knew absolutely nothing about the language and took an interest in studying a language and culture that not many people know about.

I was born in Haiti, grew up in New York City, and currently reside in North Dakota, where I am studying law. I am used to being around people of different backgrounds and adapting to different environments. I plan on using my law degree and Azerbaijani in a diplomatic capacity and, hopefully, working to open up more intercultural dialogue between the United States and the Caucasus region.

My learning is ongoing. I am learning more vocabulary from language training websites. I am also following Azerbaijani news in Azerbaijan so I can learn to form more complex sentences.

My favorite part was going out to explore the city of Baku and the regions and meeting locals who loved sharing their stories with me. This forced me to stick to speaking, listening, and thinking in Azerbaijani. Moreover, I learned a lot about the people of Azerbaijan.

Everything. I knew absolutely nothing about the country other than that Azerbaijan was once a part of the Soviet Union. I learned so much about the history and art of the country. In addition, the ethnic conflicts have piqued my interest and I definitely want to learn more about the source of the conflict with Armenia and ways to resolve it.

It means, “How was your day?” I took a liking to this phrase because it opened up so many conversations for me. The Azerbaijanis are very hospitable and love to converse. Once I learned this phrase, I was able to strengthen my listening and speaking skills when outside of the classroom.