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 All Points East
by Molly
 For many, the word "East" can evoke images of any of the following things: I-95, hoagies, the Yankees, Taipei, Tokyo, sushi, or karaoke. For me though, the East has meant that riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma and stuck in an empty vodka bottle.
I’ve never been to Spain or experienced Italy, or countless other beautiful destinations, and with any luck, one day I will.
Instead, for some inexplicable reason, I have been pulled to a region where I have no business at all in being. No heritage reasons. No real academic reasons. No pursuits of potential love interests… Just a simple and undeniable feeling that despite the difficulties in communication and culture, I am home when I am there.
So, when I learned that a good friend would be moving to Azerbaijan, a former Soviet Republic in the Caucasus, I jumped at the opportunity to go much further “East” than I had in the past. I’ve lived and studied in other former Soviet nations, but never one without a Slavic or Christian culture/linguistics base. When another mutual friend decided to do her internship also in Baku over the summer, it was settled. We would visit together and travel around the country.
While I could bore you with endless travel stories from my time there, I thought it best to summarize the trip in this particular way:
--When traveling to a Muslim country, don’t forget to pack a man. Be sure that this man doesn’t mind answering all questions for you, since you won’t be asked any directly.
-- Never cease to be amazed at what can catch fire or explode with natural gases in an oil rich country. (Ex: rivers, hillsides, mud volcanoes, James Bond oil fields, Haliburton offices).
--Transportation is slow and tiresome. Sometimes it is best to be the American you are and hire a private cab in which you can smoke and eat.
--Marlboro’s are not everywhere. Substitutes can be found.
-- Never mention the word “Armenia.” Instead use the Azerbaijan Peace Corps Volunteers approved word, “Kansas.” Do not delve into politics about “Kansas” with anyone.
--When a man has an interest in you, don’t expect many questions. A simple, “So, when are we getting married?,” will suffice.
--A favorite memory from a trip can be laughter induced vomit, as long as it wasn’t you who vomited.
--Georgian food is amazing. (This is not related to the above remark, it should be mentioned!)
--There are people who will treat you well, and there are people who will exploit you. Don’t blame the latter and let the former live in your memory.
I can go on and on about the various peoples and places we visited and Azerbaijan’s lush scenery and bizarre barrenness, but really the reason for writing was to find out what pulls you for reasons unknown and not entirely able to be explained? How do you incorporate that into your daily life? How has it guided you and the decisions you have made? How do you try to explain it to others?
Inquiring minds....
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