The First Taste

       Red tiled roofs. A deep orange and cherry red sunset swirled up in the sky, gleaming on the surface of the glimmering Caspian Sea. That's all I was able to take in from the blurry airplane window, and I shifted excitedly in my seat as I anticipated walking out into this unfamiliar place.
       The worst part is waiting for everyone to unload. No one else seems to have the drive, the hurry, the strong desire to burst out of the confined space and finally pursue a dream. Inch by inch, I scoot closer to the exit until finally I'm out. It was a small plane and airport, the terminal unloaded outside and we were to get onto a little bus to take us inside.
       My first impression was the smell. I wasn't sure if it was just the airport or not, but the essence of cigarette smoke lingered everywhere (later insight: it wasn't just the airport. Cigarettes are crazy cheap there so it is super common to smoke there, and smoke a lot.). We packed onto the bus, being hurried along by the adults who probably had no more idea where we were going than us teenagers, and eventually we got through the area where they take your picture (I don't know, to prove you're in the country?) with super strict and scary-seeming airport employees, and we walked the short distance to one of two luggage disposal round abouts.
       After collecting our bags, I conformed to where the group was heading- out the doors. Apparently I missed a hello from one of the Azerbaijani coordinators, a sweet lady named Sevinj. We were brought to this bus that happened to perfectly fit our 20-odd group, and the driver took on the task of loading our bags while we tried to take in everything around us. Granted, the view was limited, being in the parking lot of an airport, but it was already amazing.
       Buildings were shaped amazingly. Right next to us there was a dome building, still in the process of being put together, but intriguing nonetheless. The airport from the outside was gorgeous- it looked like it was pieced together with toothpicks, and I don't say that in a way as in "it looked cheap," I mean it literally looks like giant toothpicks were strategically placed together, and the inner glow gave a pleasing affect. I noticed an Azerbaijani flag majestically waving a few lots away. I felt a swell of emotions.
      Some were tired and just wanted to get to the hotel we were to spend our first night in, but besides the practically 40 straight hours of no sleep, I just wanted to drive everywhere and see the city. The hotel was about half an hour away, and the entire trip I rode in silence, gazing out the window and watching the city fly by.
      One word: lights. Lights everywhere. Not just classic, yellow-ish lights, but neon, colors, sparkles. The amazing part was how classy it was, nothing like the tacky showiness of Las Vegas but gorgeous, magical.
     It's difficult to describe just how eccentric and wondrous the city is. I can't forget the sensation of flying, the desire to feign blinking so I could take advantage of every single second of feasting upon the sights of Baku. But we arrived at the hotel, were split into groups of 4 and sent to our rooms with instructions to where breakfast would be in the morning. But really, who was listening to that?
      We lugged our bags to our rooms, the tiny elevator being useless as it held about one or two, but our room being only a couple floors up it wasn't an issue. Heck, I wouldn't have cared if I was on the top floor.
      It took us a while to settle down. The adult instructors brought us snacks, not having had a meal in quite a while (I didn't even have considerations about eating with everything going on), and it was about 3 am until we were all thankfully showered, and laying down I didn't really want to sleep. I wanted to go out. But when I closed my eyes, it took approximately 3.7 seconds until sleep hit.

So far, nothing super foreign. I was a bit disappointed, honestly. I didn't know what to expect at all, but on that first night, it was fairly western seeming. Was this really going to be extravagantly adventurous?
   

Washington DC- first step.

          Today marks the day I've momentarily decided to continue towards my goal of completing this blog. I'm terribly sorry for the delay, and I could give you a whole ton of excuses but it all boils down to this: My experience in Azerbaijan was absolutely and monumentally the best time I've ever had in my life. And when I came home I have to say I suffered from not only a slight personality change from everything I saw, but I also spent about the next month in quite a depressed state.
          You see, I met amazing people there. I saw fascinating sights, tasted incredible food, went on unusual adventures. But the people. I wouldn't change a thing about that trip, other than the fact I wished I'd reached out even more to people. Made more connections, heard more stories. Even now, several months after the trip, I'm longing to hear from more people and make more friends.
         However, I'll save the sappy stuff for later on, but trust me, it'll be there. But before you start thinking I'm overly emotional even today, let me start with the actual trip. The adventure begins in Washington D.C...
          The flight there was a wasted five hours of me being too excited to actually accomplish any goal I had- summer homework, writing in my journal, listening to some music I downloaded for the trip. Instead it was me squirming in my seat, awkwardly sitting next to one of the adults on the trip (there were two from my state) and another boy whom I didn't know the name of, people I would spend the next 21 days with across the world.
         Although I had been on a plane several times before, it seemed like the whole experience was new. I was inhaling that musky-clean smell of airplanes, shifting on the too stiff navy blue chair, staring about in wonder at the passengers, the flight attendants with their drink trays, and noncommittally watching the shows the flight provided for entertainment.
         We were landing, we were driving to the terminal, we were exiting the plane. The worst moment when flying somewhere you're anxious to go is when you're waiting for the airplane doors to open, waiting for people to get their bags in the overhead compartment and you just want to barrel through the aisle and break out of the doors into the new, unexplored place.
         That moment was prolonged for us Arizonians, all hungry for sustenance and new sights, because the kids from Washington arrived an hour later. And when we all took a bus to our hotel before we could get any sort of dinner plan out of the way, you could pick the Arizonians out from the group based on the "Wow look how green it is!" and "I JUST SAW A REAL DEER" comments.
        I'll skip the part about unpacking and the awkward shift to becoming friendly with new people. A lot of the kids knew people on the trip already, or had made friends on the trip over. But there was a few like myself who didn't have an acquaintance in sight, which I preferred. Getting to know new people and being able to start off from the get-go as the person I wanted to be was like a dream.
         Dinner passed, a couple introductory sessions were held in a conference room within the hotel, and things were looking up. There was no severely weird moments between anyone because this was a leadership trip, designed to meet new people. I liked the fact entering a group of chatting people and just joining in was completely normal and quite expected. It was easy to fall asleep that night, and it's crazy to think that at 5 am that morning I had left the comfort of my own house on this journey of a lifetime.
        But that night I also thought of how long the next day and a half was going to be, a day and a half to anxiously wait the moment we would travel to the international section of the airport.

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         The next day was travelling to and from American Councils in the heart of Washington D.C, as well as being able to see the tourist sights and important buildings. Making friends was my favorite part, however, getting to know my peers was most memorable. But for someone who had not seen Washington DC, it was beautiful. I was never interested in the historical and political importance of this city, but after seeing the monuments and recognizing how much history they signified, even I got the chills. It truly is a gorgeous city, and I'd very much like to see it again. However, I wasn't unhappy to go back to the hotel that night, for in the morning we would be repacking. And going to the country of fire.

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         Groggy-eyed, mildly chattering, stomachs fluttering with nerves- we spent the morning at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum as we stalled for time until it was appropriate to go to the airport. Let me be quite honest here. We all walked around a bit. But most of the time was spent in the McDonald's and the gift shop. None of us particularly knowing what kind of food they had in Azerbaijan, and our questions on the matter never being directly answered, McDonald's was quite a comfort.
         I don't remember the bus ride to the airport. I don't remember checking in, going through security. I hardly remember walking around the airport for about two hours, last-second charging devices, looking at the vendors, mentally praying I didn't forget anything. I don't remember boarding the plane, finding seats, the mandatory pre-departure safety information. But goodness gracious, I remember the plane taking off. I think that was the point I realized there was no return. I managed to get an all-expense paid trip to a country I hadn't the faintest idea about.
        .... WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS I THINKING? WHY DID I DO THIS? I DON'T GO ON ADVENTURES, I STAY AT HOME AND THINK ABOUT IF MY LIFE WAS COOL. I READ BOOKS. I GO TO THE MALL. I DON'T PUT MYSELF OUT THERE!
         Airplane rides aren't bad when you begin to make friends. Throughout the course of that 8-hour flight, I secured a friendship with a boy named Stephen and a girl named Tinley. We didn't know it yet, but we were going to form a fantastic friendship that became inseparable.
         We had to change planes in the Frankfurt airport. Hanging out there was fun, it was our first taste (ish) of a different culture. I mean, as much as an international section can get. Which, admittedly, isn't that much. The signs were in German, but English was still commonly spoken. But to teens new to this whole different country idea, it was fascinating and exciting and brilliant.
         And then we boarded for our final four-hour flight to Azerbaijan. By this time, the euphoria had somewhat died down and I just wanted to be done with travel. I was sat next to a stranger, who I did have a pleasant conversation with, I was exhausted from the almost 30 hour nonstop travelling, and I was nervous to what the next few weeks had in store. I just wanted to be on the ground, in a bed, and sleeping my concerns away.
         And then we began to land. And I got my first glimpse of the country I fell absolutely in love with.

An interesting part about the airplane meal I had on the flight from Frankfurt to Baku- it was super good. Plus this tray was unusual to me, it was plastic and they gave us real silverware. And look at the little tea cup! I was also incredibly excited over the fact there was two desserts- a little key lime pie piece and a chocolate disc (the lady next to me gave me hers and my day was made). This was a good first impression on me for what to expect, however I later realized the airplane food was a terrible way to make a first impression so I erased that thought from my mind. 

Last meal in America- the American way!