Tezza Bazaar - Market for produce, hardware, meat and kitchen implements

So I went with a friend to the bazaar to explore. I bought some gorgeous peppers and a cheese grater, and for the most part the day was starting off uneventful. I mean sure we had a young boy around 12 or 12 years old following us around for over an hour talking to us in a language we didn't understand. And sure as we walked through the bazaar more than 20 different men whispered "caviar, caviar" as if we were there to buy illegal goods. We weren't. And then, we found an area that had live animals in cages, and while my friend went inside to find out the cost of the parakeets, I bent over to get a closer look at the cute rabbits. That's when a tiny little babushka (old woman with a scarf on her head) smacked me on the back harder than I have been hit in decades! I was so startled I swung around, and that's when she lifted my shirt up to reveal my tattoo on my lower back, then she laughed and laughed with a totally toothless grin and then embraced me in a sweaty strong hug before she disappeared into a small shack of a store. It left me reeling and laughing hysterically. We think she might have spotted the tattoo while I was bending over, thought it was a huge bug and smacked me to smash it, then laughed when she realized what it really was. Whatever happened it was one of those totally funny strange moments when I don't really know what was going on but now have a hilarious memory of her lifting my shirt, laughing so hard and hugging me even harder...of course that major smack on the back was a serious jolt!

Back in Baku

It has been a wild month of a lot of change and movement! Work has been fantastic but busy. I went to New York for a wonderful week and had a beautiful time there that flew by too fast. I had many sugary coffee beverages from Starbucks and great food and stocked up on American goods before heading back to Baku. I arrived in Baku late late Monday night and our trusty driver was at the airport to pick me up, and I felt a real sense of contentment and excitement to be back as he drove me through the silent dark streets of Baku. It is when I knew that my work here was not done and while it was very hard to leave New York again, I was happy to be back to continue what I started.

I then had my second night in my new apartment in the Old City. I love the Old City, and my apartment is fantastic and full of character. I have my own hot water heater that I have to plug in an hour before I want any hot water...and there are two light switches that I must switch on in order to turn on the motors to get any water pressure at all. But it is beautiful and charming. And I now have cable with over ten English channels, including many movie channels. It is so exciting for me! Of course the world cup is also on and that is a really exciting thing to most of the world...so I watched the U.S. lose to Ghana.

This week has been full of good company and events. There have been parties and events and wonderful people. This week two local attorneys took me to the Philharmonic to see an amazing symphony - an hour and a half of incredible classical music and then an hour and a half of jazz that just blew us away. It was really a great night and the people I have met here have been so generous and giving to me.

That being said, it's also a VERY good thing that I bought those mirrored sunglasses in New York- they come in very handy here. Walking down the street they are the most important accessory a girl could have. They are needed to block out the peering eyes and leering stares. Crucial.

Two more weeks of work before an exciting trip to Istanbul. I can't wait. Life here is one big amazing adventure. Some of it good, some of it challenging, but none of it boring.

Guba, Azerbaijan

Here are a few photos from my wonderful day trip to a region called Guba. It is in the northern part of Azerbaijan, about 20 minutes from the Russian border. I was guided by two local attorneys that we work with and highlights include: off-roading it in a Mercedes (the status car of choice), drinking tea in the mountains, having lunch in the open air in the woods (all of this served to us of course on fine china by lovely local cayhanas and restaurants), being caught in the road by a massive multi-herd sheep crossing with the infamous four-assed sheep, being visited at lunch by a MASSIVE bright bright blue beetle twice the size of my thumb, walking along mountain streams, having ice cream in a tiny and beautiful all-Jewish town in the north where it is a source of great national pride that people of different religions (Muslim and Jewish) live peacefully side by side, and watching a group of ten fully veiled women on a picnic play volleyball in hijab. It was a truly wonderful weekend.

SUMQUYIT Children's Cemetery