Parks & Rec

They just opened a new, quaint little park a couple of blocks from our apartment. We can see it from our balcony. Fountains, benches, statues, an ice skating rink, it's pretty swanky. It even has a playground - something I've only seen in one other park in Baku. It seems to me that traditional playground equipment is quite a novelty here. Jungle gyms, slides, teeter-totters, swings. They are all mysteriously missing from almost all of the parks. As one local explained it, "Our children do not play." Say what?!

Surely, the problem is that children are seldom given the chance to exhibit anything resembling play? I have noticed most of the parks display signs prohibiting anyone from walking on the grass (even though the parks are 80 percent green space). It's kind of strange to be outside on a nice day, walking along the boardwalk and not see a single person playing frisbee or tossing a ball back and forth. There are no couples spread out on a blanket in the grass, lounging in the sun, nor are there any toddlers walking barefoot in the soft green grass, old men flying kites or children playing freeze tag. The locals all seem to stick to the cobblestone sidewalks, walking with a general purpose, only pausing long enough on a park bench to tie a shoe or gawk at foreigners with dogs.

Maybe that's just city life. I grew up in the suburbs, and my mom's mantra was, "Go play!" which meant, get outside, do something fun and act like a kid. I wonder what Azeri moms tell their children to get them out of the house?