Just to make sure that this is clear:

Baku is great!

Ahad, an Azeri I study with at SPEA, seems to think that my love of Baku is not coming though in these posts. Well, Baku is lovely and I am so glad to be here! I complain in my blogs and try to point out all the funny stuff for my friends back home. But, let's look at the good things:

#1: It is a beautiful city. In the center, there are beautiful narrow streets with wonderful turn of the century architecture. More like Paris than Moscow! But Paris with beautiful palm trees. Really, some of the buildings here are very European- the Philhormonia, or the puppet theater- while others are very "Eastern" and exotic. And the Soviets didn't mess it up! Yesterday, for example, I went the other way from my metro station, Bek Sovet, and found a really nice park with fountains and lots of palm trees. In case you haven't noticed, I like the palm trees!

#2: The people. Everyone I meet here tells me to call them anytime and I can come over. The NGOs I have met tell me to stop by anytime. People are very hospitable and caring. For instance, the first time I went to my local grocery store was a nightmare- I was fumbling with money and getting on everyone's nerves. The bread lady especially was really mean to me. But since then, I've talked with almost everyone who works there. They all ask me where I'm from, what I'm doing, they smile when they see me. Even the bread lady! In Moscow, foreigners are an annoyance usually. Here, people say, "Welcome to Azerbaijan!"

So yes, I like it and I'm having a good time. I will now go back to my previous complaining.