Cause of Death: Not Wearing Slippers

     Let me tell you a little about one of the most interesting cultural fixations Azeri's have; fear of the cold.  I don't mean they are afraid of Winter or of it snowing, no, they are afraid of things like cold water, any food that might be below room temperature, and cold floors, hence the fixation with wearing slippers (or at least socks) in the house at all times, especially in the winter.  In fact, in winter, if you walk around the house barefoot, they pretty much assume you are going to die, cause of death: not wearing slippers!

Proper Azeri slipper-wearing

     Many are convinced that if you get sick, it's because at some point, you got cold.  You ate something cold, or maybe you took two showers that week, and it was too much for your body to handle.  All Peace Corps Volunteers have stories about running into this particular cultural barrier, and we all handle it a bit differently.  My PC neighbour during training was constantly told by her host mother that taking a shower every other day was bad for her health, but she ignored it and just made sure her hair was dry before heading out of the house.  I apparently have been given a waiver to the "cold will kill you' rule, as I have demonstrated repeatedly to my family that I can eat cold things and not keel over.  However, just because I can eat cold things, doesn't mean they can, and one moment that illustrated this perfectly was when I was eating a yogurt cup.  It was cold, fresh out of the fridge, and my family was fine with this, but when my host sister went and got the same yogurt cup and started eating it, she got yelled at for it being too cold.  She had to put it next to the peche (fire) to warm it up before she could eat it.

Certain Death!

     I can actually see where this came from, and it makes sense.  Back in the day, water running through towns and villages was dirty (most Medieval Europeans didn't drink water at all, for the same reason) and if you drank it, you got sick.  But someone figured out that if you made the water hot (boiled it), you didn't get sick.  Probably why tea is so popular.  However, that was carried over to the assumption that it must be the cold that made you ill.  Hence, today, even things like pop and mayo are warmed up before they are consumed, and every Azeri I've seen in the village is wearing multiple layers, a coat, a scarf, a hat, etc.., and they look at me all aghast when I take my coat off 'cause I feel way to warm.  They also think Americans are crazy for drinking water with ice in it.  (ICE! Certain Death Awaits!)  I am planning on eventually doing a basic health presentation in the village, and I think I will bring up the whole 'cold water will kill you' deal, and see what kind of discussion ensues.  Ah, well.  I'm off to tempt fate by taking a shower.  Take Care All! Stay Warm!