Peace Corps requires that for the first 90 days after we are sworn in as volunteers we do not leave the country. That time period passed recently, and I was able to take advantage of that by taking a trip to Scotland. Up until I was sitting on that plane as it sped up for lift off, I wasn’t sure I was really going. And then a liberating feeling hit me: I was leaving.
This feeling was not a result of any distaste for Azerbaijan, or for my work as a volunteer. But this was a break I needed. I was worried up until I took off. The day before, due to threatened protests against the government, Peace Corps sent out an email saying volunteers could only go to Baku in non-vital situations. At the same time, I discovered my PST host family would be leaving town for the weekend, so I would not be able to stay there. I scrambled, and everything worked out. I was allowed to go to Baku, and I was able to stay with my PST language teacher’s family. The language teacher, my LCF, was then kind enough to even take me to the airport, via bus, subway, and finally by a taxi that he was able to get for super cheap because I hid and the driver didn’t realize a foreigner would be on board.
As the plane landed in London-Heathrow, and I disembarked, I was shocked by the English writing everywhere. No upside down ‘e’s. This was madness. I eventually made it through a biometric scanner and customs to my terminal, where I found myself choosing between two (TWO!) bars. I knew the first money I wanted to spend would be on a good beer. I had just found that it is not possible to exchange Azeri manats in England, so I felt a drink was reasonable. While waiting at the bar to order, a Scottish man standing next to me struck up a conversation about what I was drinking and when I explained I wanted something dark because I’d been in Azerbaijan, where there are only mass-produced lagers. It turned out he had been on my flight, and he invited me to sit with him and his colleague. We had a great conversation about Scotland, Azerbaijan and Baku, and along the way he got properly pissed, and was kind enough to buy me a beer.
Scotland itself was a wonderful break, rejuvenating for my energy levels, for my relationship with my girlfriend, and my attitude towards my work. The two of us, stayed in an apartment in the West End of Glasgow, where we were able to cook for ourselves. Italian food, chicken tikka masala, fish tacos, and buffalo wings. Fast metros, cathedrals, department stores, museums and art galleries. Good food, good beer, good friendly people. We also spent a day visiting the Isle of Great Cumbrae, which was nearly empty because we were there out of season, but managed to find a single open restaurant where we were able to cross fish and chips off our food list. Caroline had spent time there when she was 8 on a CTY marine biology program. It was exciting seeing the realization of familiarity wash over her face as we entered a classroom. "It smells exactly the same," she gasped. Another day was spent in Edinburgh, where we explored the Edinburgh castle, and the Glasgow underground. The underground, it turns out, is not the hell on earth it was advertized as, but possibly haunted street/allies which were at one point built over for the city chambers.
As relieving, wonderful, and exhilarating as the trip was, I still had a bit of a panic as I left. The first evening around midnight as I struggled to negotiate a taxi from the airport, I questioned briefly why I had returned. The next morning was much easier, and I chalked up my doubts to exhaustion from travel and the understandable depression of leaving a more familiar culture. I’m back in Ismayilli now, the place which is by now basically my home. It is warm now, spring is coming, and so it almost feels like everything has changed. But my room, the house, and the town seem the same. Even though I gave my host mother permission to sweep my room while I was gone, it seemed untouched. Nothing has changed, everything has changed, and I’m ready to get going on classes. Now I just have to wait till after Novruz.
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