This morning I took the metro to go to church (Mom, are you reading this?) Baku has a system similar to DC's Smartcard; you get a plastic card, swipe it as you enter, and top it up when it runs low.
It's been a couple of weeks since I added money. This morning I wasn't in a rush to get to work, so decided to take a few minutes and top it up. The machine wouldn't accept my crumpled 5 manat bill. An employee came to help me out (well, I was holding up other passengers, you know how irritating THAT is). He pointed out that there are 21 rides on my card. Did I really want to add another 25? Well, no, thanks very much, I guess I don't.
This was done without either of us speaking the other's language but it was all very clear.
1 metro ride anywhere on the Baku metro is 20 qopeks. (100 q = 1 manat) I have the DC system in my head, where it costs $2.65 or whatever to go from Ballston to Federal Triangle, and more during rush hour, and more if you're going farther....it's easy here.
And this farecard will last me until fall break!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Haircut
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2010
Yesterday I headed out with my English-Azerbaijan phrasebook, determined to deal with my shaggy hair. Baku is full of "kisi salonu" or men's salons, but I had a hard time finding a "qadin salonu." I walked into the first one I saw, a little place full of chattering women.
Much merriment resulted when I pulled out my scrap of paper with the Az. words for "haircut" and "a little bit." An older woman in the salon came over and carefully said "I can speak English. I can help you." She asked where I was from (I've learned to say "America" instead of "the United States" which people don't seem to understand), then told me that the husband of the daughter of her sister is chief of embassy in Washington D.C.
Her nephew-in-law is head of the Azerbaijan Embassy! "So HE'S the one who wouldn't return my calls when I was trying to get a visa," I did not say.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2010
BACK TO SCHOOL IN BAKU
Even though I feel as if I've been teaching in Baku for months, today is the first day of school for local kids. So the metro was more crowded than usual (and this will be the usual from now on) and as I walked through the village, little groups of children headed up to the main road with their mothers.
Both boys and girls were looking very spiffy, unrecognizable from the grubby kids who've been playing in the village streets every afternoon. Boys wore dark suits, white shirts without ties, and girls wore fancy dresses or plaid skirts with white blouses and ties, some with giant white bows in their hair. Uniforms? or just dressed up for the first day? I'll find out tomorrow.
Yesterday I headed out with my English-Azerbaijan phrasebook, determined to deal with my shaggy hair. Baku is full of "kisi salonu" or men's salons, but I had a hard time finding a "qadin salonu." I walked into the first one I saw, a little place full of chattering women.
Much merriment resulted when I pulled out my scrap of paper with the Az. words for "haircut" and "a little bit." An older woman in the salon came over and carefully said "I can speak English. I can help you." She asked where I was from (I've learned to say "America" instead of "the United States" which people don't seem to understand), then told me that the husband of the daughter of her sister is chief of embassy in Washington D.C.
Her nephew-in-law is head of the Azerbaijan Embassy! "So HE'S the one who wouldn't return my calls when I was trying to get a visa," I did not say.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2010
BACK TO SCHOOL IN BAKU
Even though I feel as if I've been teaching in Baku for months, today is the first day of school for local kids. So the metro was more crowded than usual (and this will be the usual from now on) and as I walked through the village, little groups of children headed up to the main road with their mothers.
Both boys and girls were looking very spiffy, unrecognizable from the grubby kids who've been playing in the village streets every afternoon. Boys wore dark suits, white shirts without ties, and girls wore fancy dresses or plaid skirts with white blouses and ties, some with giant white bows in their hair. Uniforms? or just dressed up for the first day? I'll find out tomorrow.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Discovery Channel
Before I came to Baku, I read guidebooks which advised against riding the metro because it's so dangerous, but no specific reasons as to why--robberies? crashes like the DC metro? One of my students (from the U.S.) told me that he's "not allowed" to ride the metro because "the embassy won't let us. It's the most dangerous subway in the world!"
Then I got to Baku, started riding the metro, no problems, easy! easier than DC! The other day I went online to read up on the specifics.
The most dangerous subway in the world got its title due to an accident in October 1995. An electrical spark in the rails started a small fire, but because the seats in the cars were made of highly flammable toxic materials, the smoke spread quickly and 300+ people died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
I was riding the subway this morning, thinking about the worst subway disaster in history. Then I thought about all the people riding with me looking at the American sitting there. They were probably thinking about that dangerous country, America, where everyone carries a gun and shoots it off whenever they're pissed.
Then I got to Baku, started riding the metro, no problems, easy! easier than DC! The other day I went online to read up on the specifics.
The most dangerous subway in the world got its title due to an accident in October 1995. An electrical spark in the rails started a small fire, but because the seats in the cars were made of highly flammable toxic materials, the smoke spread quickly and 300+ people died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
I was riding the subway this morning, thinking about the worst subway disaster in history. Then I thought about all the people riding with me looking at the American sitting there. They were probably thinking about that dangerous country, America, where everyone carries a gun and shoots it off whenever they're pissed.
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