I'm in Azerbaijan!

After a nice summer in the U.S., I am back in the (former) USSR! I am in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, for the next 5 months or so. Azerbaijan is located on the Caspian Sea, bordering Russia, Georgia, Iran, and Armenia. It is rich in oil reserves and also produces most of the world's caviar. Baku is a city of about 2 million people located right on the Caspian. For other fun facts about my new location, you can check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baku

I arrived here on September 19th and have spent the past two weeks finding my way around the city's old narrow streets, learning the bus routes, getting used to the local food, and getting started on my research here. I'm happy to report that I'm settling in nicely. Although I get lost nearly every day, I have only resorted to eating at McDonald's once so far. Yes, there is a McDonald's in Baku! No more King Burger for me!

I am living with a host family here. They are incredibly nice people, which has made the adjustment much easier. There is a father and mother, as well as two children-- a son, age 24 and daughter, age 21. The mother and father speak mostly Azeri (a Turkic language that I don't speak!) but the kids speak English. There is also some scattering of Russian thrown in. We have a two room apartment here, plus bathroom and kitchen. The family lives in one room, while I have the other room. Three meals per day are included in my rent here. I'm sure I'll discuss the food in another posting later (so much meat and potatoes!)... regardless, it's nice to have people cooking for me.

I have had lots of adventures here already and will tell you about them in upcoming posts... to be continued!