Just watched President Obama's speech

Perhaps it is just the fact that I'm physically so much closer to Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan than DC that seeing and hearing President Obama talk about some the issues I feel on a daily basis resonates deeply with me. I actually started crying.....

For example his comments about the women's rights..well, I live this issue everyday. He stated in the USA, Muslim women have gone to court and won the right to be veiled if it is their desire to dress traditionally. Here in Azerbaijan though it is 99% Shiite Muslim, women who wish to be veiled can not wear veils in government offices. I had a rather uncomfortable conversation with a prospect young Muslim veiled woman, who accused me of discriminating against her since I told that she was welcome to apply to the masters program but would not be able to seek employment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if she remained traditional. This was a very interesting turn of events for me the black, female, American admissions director....

Also, he spoke about nuclear weapons...yes, Azeris fear that Iran is attempting to develop nuclear power/potential weapons. There is still bitterness among many Azeris since northern Iran was once a part of southern Azerbaijan thus making millions of Iranians ethnically Azerbaijani. In fact, the Azeri surgeon that I'm working on conversational English with told me just last night that he hates Iran.....It's complicated over here...without a doubt.

As I was preparing to leave for this job, many folks were like..wow, that's wonderful working overseas, how cool is that! But as I tried to enlighten them being here would not be like hanging out in Paris or London...it is, and will remain quite different....and impact me, my country, this country, this region, and our world...