Fun pic from Baku

One of my last days in Baku gazing out of the ninth floor window from the apartment I captured a neighbor across the street doing his morning exercises on his balcony....good to know that others thought about fitness...

Bye Bye Baku

Heading home folks!

My lungs are starting to "say thank you"

The air quality to put it bluntly "sucks" here..but I understand...get the economic engine going and let everything play catch up. That's the rule of the game in most of Central Asia and elsewhere in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries.
Read some interesting yet breath taking-away stats today about air quality in Baku...the levels of dust particle (and it just settles everywhere), carbon dioxide, and nitric oxide are all TRIPLE the normally accepted mg per cubic meter found in the European Union (EU). By 2013, Azerbaijan hopes to achieve Euro standard 3 (the EU is adopting standard 6 by 2014).
With the abundance of respiratory ailments, sneezing, coughing, etc. that I have experienced while living here...I'm a little nervous at what the future holds for my health....Inshallah
(and if you've followed me...you know that basically means 'whatever God wills'....

Outpouring of Love

I have been dew eyed for a couple of days as the outpouring of goodbyes and farewells continue to be directed at me....my boss-boss, the Ambassador hosted a grand dinner for me last night and made a very touching speech. He even remarked that as he and I are the only grey-haired folks among the 50 staff/faculty that he was really sorry to see me go!
I suggested we write a book together about the founding of ADA...that's a very popular and highly respectable endeavor here in Azerbaijan. Otherwise, how would you chronicle a history of a nation that is only twenty years old...