First Adventures in Baku!

Baku is hot, let me tell you! Normally Baku sits in comfortable 80-90 degrees F during the summer, but this summer we have come to witness the hottest heat wave the city has ever seen. In addition to high temperatures comes the buzzing of indoor air conditioners, generating more and more power until…until...UNTIL…! Power outages. No power to run the water pumps. Traffic lights? People stuck in the metro? My host sister said the people on the metro are going to be good friends by the end of this.

So, it’s safe to say the city has come with many surprises, and the power outages are a surprise we all, Americans, Azerbaijanis, and Russians are sharing together!

Languages in Azerbaijan: Azerbaijani, a close relative of Turkish that has a few differences including a handful of Russian words, letters “x” and “g” and upside-down “e”. Where Turkish often changes letters in a word to ease pronunciation, Azerbaijani keeps those harsh-sounding letters! Russian is spoken as a second language. Turkish is understood (thanks to popular Turkish TV series). English…? English…? Where are you….? Yep, only a little, here and there!

I don’t believe in portraying the glamorous life of study abroad – wine sipping during sunsets in Paris, monstrous hikes with panoramic pictures, living in stylish riyads in Morocco, cute apartments in Italy, etc. etc. Yes, those are some of the experiences, but living the day-to-day reality of an exchange student comes with so many hardships. It is these hardships that allow us to build character, gain confidence, and learn how to overcome anything. Baku is nowhere near glamorous, but I’m not here for comfort, I’m here for a CHALLENGE!

Baku glistens in the distance outside your plane window. From there, and from most places in the denseness of the city you can see the Flame Towers, three curvy-shaped skyscrapers either shining in the sun or lit up in colors of the Azerbaijani flag at night. There’s “Içerişehir” surrounded by ruin walls encasing various markets and “Kız Kalesi,” a tower with a legend like that of Rapunzel. Targova Street houses the finest restaurants and shoppes, from Zara and Istanbul’s MADO ice cream parlour, to döner stands and statues in the park, Tiffany’s, and Armani. The Boulvard is located by Baku’s shoreline and is a place to meet up with friends in the evening, maybe even ride the Ferris wheel. With many theatres, cinemas, and art museums, you can imagine yourself in more places than just Baku, but the ornate Soviet-style architecture is unique and worthy of many photos!

Baku has a great transporation system: there are trains, metro lines, buses, minibuses, and a funicular (or so I’ve heard). There are also many RULES. Use you Baku card, exit in the middle or rear of the bus, no eating, no smoking, no loud music. Honestly, I have tested a few of these. But, when you get on any of these modes of transportation…it is a…FREE-FOR-ALL. Yes, shove your way to the front of the bus line or you might not board!

This has been a challenge for me, watching other cut lines, whether it be at the bank, the bus, the ticket line. There is no sense of, “Please, you first!” here. If you’re too slow you will hear annoyance spilling out of many mouths. I was raised to be uber-polite, saying thank you for everything and surely I have been challenged in my travels to places where “thank-you’s” are not commonplace and lines non-existent.

Nonetheless, people are friendly, although they may not look it (serious-looking people here!!). They are willing to help you out if you reach out. They do not stare too much at me – I may blend in. I have experienced little harassment, and the every-day giving up of seats on the bus to women. If you’re standing, women sitting will hold your purse. Shopkeepers do their best to speak Turkish and welcome us. Our host families shove more and more food at us out of kindness. They also do not like anything cold – cold milk, cold showers, air-conditioning – for fear that we will become ill. (P.S. WE ARE DYING OF THE HEAT, HOW DO YOU AZERIS NOT SWEAT??!!). Also, everyone is dressed so stylish in business casual! Women get all the hair plucked from their faces at beauty parlors, their hair blowout. Often men attend to women’s hair styling…here there are few women that wear the hijab and men and women interact with ease, couples often hold hands as well.

My host mother is a grandmother who has three children, two girls and a boy. The boy and one of the girls are married and each have one child. My unmarried sister works at the Cultural Ministry and gave my free tickets for me and my friends to see the Iranian Philharmonic play last week! We live in a house in a suburb of Baku called Bilacari. If I take the train I arrive at school in 45 minutes, but if I take the bus it often takes over an hour. This has been my biggest challenge so far. The commute is often crowded and I sweat buckets! My host family is kind and speak Turkish to me, but I admit, it has difficult to live with a half-working A/C unit and one bathroom shared by eight people. Did I mention the grandkids are 2 and 6? Ehhh…good thing they are cute!

Our classes are at the Azerbaijan University of Languages. There are many shops and restaurants around us and we scramble to grab lunch in our allotted 40 minutes. We have three classes per day that are a combination of reading, listening, grammar, and writing. I’m having a hard time with grammar but find myself in the advanced class. My teachers are lovely and have the best resources for us: music, videos, short films, and TV series. Right now we’re watching “Hayatımın Rölü” the Turkish version of “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

Some other fun activities:

• the Carpet Museum! I never thought carpet gazing could be so enjoyable and educational!

• The first time I went out with my family to the Boulevard: we didn’t get home till midnight!

• Going to the fruit and veggie bazar with my host sisters. I told them how much I love “karpuz”: watermelon and insisted that I carry it home when we bought it. The grocer cut the top out so we could see how it looked…I accidently tipped the watermelon top over the side of the train station bridge…

• Ateshgah: a Zoroastrian temple with ever-burning flames (apparently Alexander Dumas and other have visited to become inspired!)

• “Yanar Dağ” : burning mountain. More ever-burning flames, this time from natural oil in the ground

• Have you every seen field of oil-wells? Azerbaijan has lots..honestly, they creep me out a bit...

• Gobustan and the Mud Volcano!

• We started aerial yoga classes at Yoga Shahi in Baku! Our Azerbaijani teacher lived in Maine for study abroad!

• Swimming in the Caspian Sea on a trip with my host sister and her cousins

• My favorite Turkish foods are here! Döner, lahmacun, gözleme (qutab), dolma, eggplant, Lipton peach ice tea...

Until next time! Görüşürüz! (See you)