Back to Where it All Began

It's been a little over a year and a half since I left Azerbaijan, and by extension since I have put up a post here, but as I'm at the airport heading back to The Land of Fire, I figured it was about time to crank this thing into gear again!  

As many of you already know, before I left Azerbaijan, I promised my host family (as the girls have not failed to remind me, "Ces, söz verdin!!" - Jess, you gave your word!) that I would return when my oldest host sister, Raminə, got married.  Around February I got a Facebook message telling me that she was engaged!  At first I didn't believe them, thinking that it was a joke to guilt me into Skyping with them (I'll admit it, I had been out of touch for a few weeks).  Of course when I called them and jokingly accused them of lying to rope me into calling, they laughed (a lot) and told me no, this is really happening!  Thankfully they were able to plan the wedding so it would happen before my fall semester started at school, and the rest is history!

I'm leaving today and I'll be gone for just over three weeks - enough time to help with the last weeks of wedding preparations (and squeeze in visiting time with old friends and students of course). I am so ridiculously excited (and also in a state of disbelief) that I'm actually going back. It promises to be incredibly overwhelming - Which buses do I take to get around Baku because I'm sure not paying for taxis! And speaking of taxis, I hear you can only get official metered taxis now, no more unregistered Lada taxis, which I think means it will be more expensive!  And how much does a bus even cost because I can't remember!  Plus it's probably changed anyway! - Just a little glimpse into the internal freak out I've been having about going back to a place that used to feel so much like home and yet now I'm afraid I'm going to feel like a stranger. I just keep telling myself that once I get back to my village I won't have to worry about any of that stuff!  I'll be back in my old room (although I think I'll be sharing it with my host sisters who have taken up residency  since I left) in my old house and everything will be great. I can't wait! :)

So the plan is to resume my old blogging ways and post here so anyone who wants to read about what is happening on my trip can!  We'll see how regular my internet access is and all that, but I'm optimistic!  So thanks for reading and I hope I have some good stuff to write about! (Azerbaijan never seems to disappoint I that regard though, so I'm optimistic about that too!)