The Return
It has been a long time since I updated the blog. It could be that I was unwilling to put a close on my experience in Azerbaijan - and an update would have required some sort of conclusory reflections on my time there...time that I was not ready to say goodbye to. Or it could be that I was just lazy and caught up in the daily goings-on of life. But there is almost too much to say to capture here.
I ended my year in Azerbaijan a touch early (work and funding issues allowed my contract to close as of December 31st). There were numerous celebrations and parties since I last made an entry- a fun Baku-style Thanksgiving dinner, totally ludicrous nights of dancing and debauchery at a local disco, crash bellydancing courses, late nights and difficult goodbyes.
I returned to the States just a few days before Christmas, and spend the first week in a blur of culture shock, Christmas madness, Wisconsin confusion and surreal acclimation back to my former life. Despite a few other interesting opportunities, I decided on a job in New York back at my prior organization (which was kind enough to want me back, so that was nice and cushy for me). A month has passed and, as I had been warned, I have spent a large part of that time feeling a little itchy...
So...it will come as no great shock to many of you who know me when you read that I am leaving again at the end of this month. This time for a short term assignment in Azerbaijan (3 weeks). My job in the U.S. has been generous enough to allow me to do it, and we hope it will be useful and beneficial for the organization abroad and at home for me to spend some time continuing the work on gender issues. I won't go into detail on this public blog as to the nature of the work, but I am excited and interested and intimidated by the challenge of what I will be working on next. And I am thrilled to go back to Azerbaijan for a short while to see the people I miss there and the good friends I've made along the way.
While this was always meant to close out my Azerbaijan adventures, it turns out that it is just the beginning of a new one. A new job, a new city for some of the time I am over there, new challenges, and certainly new hilarious adventures all await me. So stay tuned. Its not over.
Did you ever think it would be?
I ended my year in Azerbaijan a touch early (work and funding issues allowed my contract to close as of December 31st). There were numerous celebrations and parties since I last made an entry- a fun Baku-style Thanksgiving dinner, totally ludicrous nights of dancing and debauchery at a local disco, crash bellydancing courses, late nights and difficult goodbyes.
I returned to the States just a few days before Christmas, and spend the first week in a blur of culture shock, Christmas madness, Wisconsin confusion and surreal acclimation back to my former life. Despite a few other interesting opportunities, I decided on a job in New York back at my prior organization (which was kind enough to want me back, so that was nice and cushy for me). A month has passed and, as I had been warned, I have spent a large part of that time feeling a little itchy...
So...it will come as no great shock to many of you who know me when you read that I am leaving again at the end of this month. This time for a short term assignment in Azerbaijan (3 weeks). My job in the U.S. has been generous enough to allow me to do it, and we hope it will be useful and beneficial for the organization abroad and at home for me to spend some time continuing the work on gender issues. I won't go into detail on this public blog as to the nature of the work, but I am excited and interested and intimidated by the challenge of what I will be working on next. And I am thrilled to go back to Azerbaijan for a short while to see the people I miss there and the good friends I've made along the way.
While this was always meant to close out my Azerbaijan adventures, it turns out that it is just the beginning of a new one. A new job, a new city for some of the time I am over there, new challenges, and certainly new hilarious adventures all await me. So stay tuned. Its not over.
Did you ever think it would be?
posted by Kristine at 10:16 AM
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