Hush Hush, I will survive

So, I'm back in Azerbaijan. I'm not gonna lie, staying in London was a serious thought for me as I ate my last meal including bacon for a while. However, the draw of my friends back here in good old AZ won over delicious crispy bacon. I was excited to see my friend Jake who was supposed to fly in the same night as me and head back up to our finger and see the PCVs I have missed and the Quba in general. But after about 30 minutes post touch down in Baku I had a bit of London regret. Turns out Jake flew in the night before, which is fine but it means a full price taxi for both of us. Then one of my bags was lost. That blows. That blows goats. The airline said it would probably be on the next flight in 24 hours but at that point I will have left Baku for the first finger. Lame. I was bummed. Then came the inevitable taxi driver fight.
"Where do you want to go?"
"Inglab street, near 20 Yanvar"
"40 manat"
"I only have 20"
"Okay, 30"
"But I only have 20"
"25"
"Nope, still only have 20"
"Okay"
Why do they do that? If they know they can take you for less why do they make you fight about it? So as I am sitting in a taxi pissed at the world (a.k.a. Azerbaijan) the familiar smell of burning trash comes wafting through the windows. Coincidentally a re-mix of the Pussycat Dolls and Gloria Gaynor is on the radio. So now I'm back, from what might as well be outer space, and I did have a sad look on my face. But I realized that I also don't regret coming back, actually I was pretty excited. It's hard to explain why but I think it is because America and Azerbaijan are so different my brain can't process the fact that they co-exist. When I was in California the thought of traveling so far and going back to living in a country where everything doesn't come easy sucked. Especially as I was sitting with my family getting hugs from my Mom and Niece. But over here none of that seems quite feasible. Here my reality is different. Not better, not worse, just different. I was surprised how easy it was to settle back into PCV life as I lug my suitcase (notice the singular form) across busy streets. I will miss friends and family (again) but I will survive. Quite well actually (once I get my other suitcase with the beef jerky in it).

I'm not special...

And I LOVE IT!!! I get lots of attention in Azerbaijan. Not a day goes by without someone yelling "Hell-llo" or "What's your name" at me when I am in Azerbaijan. However, in America it hasn't happened once. Okay, I've only been here for like 3 days but still. Nobody has proposed to me, nobody has asked me what national meals I like, nobody has said "Hello Baby" to me on the street, I don't get stared at, I don't get followed, I don't get unsolicited touching by old ladies and strangers, and nobody has asked me to take them to America (strangely enough). I can pretty much go all day without interacting with people on the street. Gotta love America!

24 hours of food and travel

Including lay overs it took me 24 hours to get from Baku to San Francisco. Here is what I ate during that time:

Sour cream and onion pretzels

Orange Juice

Chicken and pasta with mushrooms (didn't eat the mushrooms)

Dinner Roll

Chocolate cake

Coffee

Beet Salad

Turkey and spinach sandwich

Coke zero

Starbucks vanilla late

Cheddar and red onion potato chips

Salad with dijon dressing

Heineken (2)

Chicken pasta primavera

Red wine (2)

Dinner roll (again)

Salsa pretzels

Chocolate mouse cake with mandarin sauce

Turkey and dijon mustard sandwich

Cheese spinach and herb sandwich

Cranberry and macadamia nut granola bar

Chocolate and rice crisp bar

It was awesome!