Back in Baku...chapter....what?

After nearly a 40 hour trip (flight time, lay-overs, and time zone changes) I am once again back in Baku. I arrived to 90 degree temp at 1 am in the morning...luckily the AC in the apartment was functioning and my window screens still intact. Inshalleah for small favors.
I will take a few days to reorient myself....both to adjusting to being back and also missing the family...had a great time home.

Thanks for tuning in and for those of you who inquired about me in my absence....thanks for thinking about me too.
Cheers...Janice

Yikes...less than one week to go and back to Baku

What is it that makes me start to suffer from anxiety as the time grows near to return to Baku?

One thing is clear....is that the air in Baku is not clear at all. Even after spending a few days in Philadelphia and Washington DC over the last two weeks...the level of pollution and hot stagnant air is nothing compared to what one must inhale in Baku.

Janice

Stilll home in the USA

Folks, thanks for checking in on my JaniceinBaku Blog....I have one more week home and I will be "back in Baku". I hear that the weather is horrible...hot, hot and dusty....like 103 degrees...oh joy. I will be miserable when I return. As always it's been nice to be home surrounded by family, friends, and good ole American consumerism! Indeed, I'm glad to be out of Azerbaijan for a while given the everchanging political, etc. nature of that part of the world. Knowing what I now know, I have a great deal of understanding of what's happening in Kyrgyzstan and how nearly 100,000 ethnic Uzbekistans have been expelled from the second largest Kyrgyz city. I've mentioned before that in northern Iran there are 30 million ethnic Azeris, that's more than 3x the population of Azerbaijan......there remains enormous fear that if something happens in Iran, these ethnic Azeris will cross the border into Azerbaijan....and that would be a enormous humanitarian nightmare.....There are also about 300,000 Azeris in Georgia, where they constitute largest minority...Georgia is only about 3 million people. It is a really small country population wise and land mass wise...
I'll continue to eat salads at Wegmans, walk the aisle at WalMart, and sip lattes in Starbucks for a few more days!
Happy Summer!

Home in Pennsylvania for 9 more days

It is glorious to be home...Wegman's, Starbucks, Home Depot, Macy's..all joys of American consumerisum....I miss. It was a little crazy just before I left Baku...the Israelis storming the boats bound for Gaza, the demonstrations in Turkey and now the continuing strife and humanitaian diaster in Krygkstan..Uzbeks fleeing...the countries border include vast numbers of ethnic minorities...in northern Iran there are 30 million Azerbaijan...the fear is something happens in Iran..they would flee to Baku....trust, me a situation the President Aliyev wouldn't want to happen. US Secretary Gates was in Baku last week...to stroke the egos of the leaders since the think the US has been icing to them of late.
I will continue to enjoy my days here before heading bak on the 28th. Class will be starting for our new MA students....I hope to stay long enough to see them graduate in May 2011...starting to stress a bit about what I'll do when i return or think about other option still over seas.
I would love to write a book...several of them have been bubbling in me for some time now...

Have a nice June weekend.....Love to all janice

All is well...home in US for two weeks

Yeah, made a trip home for some much needed medical maintenance stuff..including repairing a broken tooth...yuck! Also, after nearly 1.5 years in Baku..my tolerance level has waned to the point where any longer than 10 week stretches is about all I can take....but here are some other cool photos of Prague....

Prague continues but earthquake in Baku

I didn't feel it..but there was an earthquake this morning in Baku...reported to be 4.2 on the scale. was in the office..some felt it but there's so much construction on the ground floor of my school's building...who knew...but it was confirmed. Prague...more photos...arch way and door to a Basilica..if you look closely at the relief work..fourth from the right is a horned devil...and on the far left is the Angel...quite a story in the work....

Prague

Did you know at one point the USSR borders stretched from Germany to Japan...a huge chunk of the world was under the government of the Soviet Republic...and what a contrast to visit an Eastern European country--Czech Republic and experience life in another former Soviet republic like Azerbaijan. And, how the societies evolved following the collaspe of the communist empire. Nonetheless, just like Baku and Azerbaijan, I opted to turn my camera onto to the most mundane but interesting sights...