Joe and I had a trip to Tbilisi, Georgia planned in September 2010 to visit our Georgian friends, the two Nino, who had stayed with us for a week in 2009 as part of OPEN WORLD and The Friendship Force.Unfortunately Joe was diagnosed with a life threatening Mantle Cell Lymphoma where Joe and I spent eight months in Houston, Texas where he received intensive chemo.
My desire to visit my dear friends in the Republic of Georgia never disappeared. In October 2014 the Friendship Force International posted a four week exchange to Azerbaijan and the Republic of Georgia. I could not even pronounce Azerbaijan and knew nothing about that country. Joe gave his blessing to me to go on the exchange since he had no desire to go. It was a bit too rustic and strange for him. So I contacted Zia Shamsey, the director of the exchange, who is a member of the Friendship Force of Dallas, Texas. Heartbroken, he told me the exchange was full and that he would put me on the reserve list. I just forgot about since since I was low on the reserve list.
Out of the blue the first of February, Zia sent out a blast that there were now two openings. Immediately I said YES YES YES, I want to go but my husband did not. He gave me a long list of instructions that I could not complete since Joe and I were on an extended stay in Maui. I would not be able to finished the list till I got home on February 22. I was so concerned that he would not take me seriously so I completed the exchange form and paid the exchange fees in full. I even made airline reservations. The biggest item in the list was to apply for a travel VISA for Azerbaijan which had to wait till I got home since I needed a copy of my passport.
Thankfully Zia took me seriously but would not commit to me until I had the travel VISA in my hand. Applying for the VISA was the first thing I did when we got back to Atlanta. It took about 3 weeks for the VISA which was sent via email. I could breathe a sense of relief that all of the list was complete.
I will fly to Azerbaijan on May 9, 2015. I will change planes only one time in Paris, France. There was only one choice where the was only one layover. The other choices had at least two and three which is an invitation for delays. It cost a couple hundred extra to have that peace of mind. I will depart Atlanta on May 9th at 5:45 PM and arrives in Baku, Azerbaijan on May 10th at 7:35 pm. My layover in Paris is 3 hours and 15 minutes. My travel time is 17 hours.
Graciously my host family in Baku will pick me up at the airport and house me until the rest of our team arrives. The exchange will start with a week touring the rustic countryside. Followed by a week home stay in Baku, the capital.
The country of Azerbaijan is located on the southwest Asian continent. Baku is the modern capital that is located in the east of the country along the Caspian Sea. South of the border is Iran. North of the border is Russia. Southwest border lies Armenia which Azerbaijan and Georgia do not have good relations. The well known Caucasus Mountains dominate most of the country. It is very rich is oil reserves. The country has the most mud volcanoes in the world. There is a sandstone mountain that stays on fire cause of the methane gas. There is a place where the water runs from a faucet and if you put a match to it, it will catch fire. The country was a part of the Silk Road. Most of the country is Muslim but it is a secular country and tolerant of all religions.
If you would like to read more about Azerbaijan, here is a link.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijan
I thought a formal blog would be appropriate so this is a part of the world most people know little or nothing about. I will post photos also on the blog. I hope you will enjoy this adventure.
