21 hours - A Night Train and A Marshrutka

When I was home I applied for early Social Security because in the Peace Corps you don't make any money and I thought that the extra money can help with my expenses at home (more money goes out at home then comes in so I have to use my savings to make up the difference). After I applied I received an e-mail from Greece (yes Greece) and she said she was from SS office.  At first I thought someone was trying to steal my identity (a little paranoid?!?). Come to find out (a very long story so to make it short) Azerbaijan is a restricted country and even though the SS money will go into my American account and this has absolutely nothing to do with this country, if I want to receive benefits I must go to Baku every month and show them my passport and then they will notify Greece (who is the central location for this part of the world!!) and then the monies will be put in my account. Simple right?  WRONG..... I took the night train to Baku Monday night and purposely was late buying my train ticket.  I usually buy it 2-3 days before I take the train but my site friend told me to wait and I may not have to share the compartment with other people (most the time I have to share it with men).  She was right no one else was in my compartment and the lady who takes care of the train car kept bringing me tea (thank God there is a bathroom on the train). I had a decent night sleep and we arrived in Baku at 8:30 in the morning (hence 14 hours on the train).  When I left Zaqatala it was raining, windy and very cold.  When I arrived in Baku it was hot!!  The American Embassy is about 20 minute walk from the train station but what I learn was the address they give you is not the address of where the Embassy is. I did find it though and I had an appointment with the Consular office.  So after screening (the Embassy does not allow anything other then your passport and paperwork. All other belongings are put in a locker to be retrieved when you leave).  I went to the office and it took about 10 minutes to complete the paperwork (hmmm 14 hours train ride for a 10 minutes appointment). Oh well, my next stop was PC office, I needed to drop some things off and pick  up some books the Embassy gave us for our school.  I also needed to print a few items as I don't have a printer (and the photo shop charges about .30 cents a page to print). I saw the doctor and my program manager and then left for the bus station about 12:30 pm.  There was a bus leaving for Zaqatala at 3:10 pm and a marshrutka leaving at 2 pm. So I took the marsh (I wished I had taken the bus!!).  This marsh driver stopped every half hour to either buy something, or pick up someone.  All the passengers except me were men and they all smoked except the driver (go figure), so he would stop for smoke breaks!  But I think by the end of the trip he was getting tired so he was driving faster and faster.  The roads are extremely bad especially coming into the mountains, pot holes 2 feet wide and a foot deep, single lanes and cars passing each other coming very close to the oncoming traffic.  In the mountains you have the added danger of goats, sheep, cows and water buffalo's crossing the roads!!! We passed a car that was passing another vehicle and was hit by a truck, both the driver's and back door side was completely gone (car versus huge truck, trust me the truck always wins!!).  We saw a large truck rolled over and they were pulling out cement bags. Both of these accidents I did not notice any police around. We were then out numbered by sheep at one point and waited for about 10 minutes so the herder can get about a 1000 sheep across the road.  So after 7 hours (should have been 5 hours in the marshrutka, hence total 21 hours!!!) I am finally back in Zaqatala, got home at 9 pm and ate dinner, put my things away but couldn't wait for the heater to warm the water, as I fell asleep, so I took my shower in the morning before class. So each month I must repeat this, oh the pure joy of bureaucracy!

Hiking in Car (pronounced Jar)

Cows in front of my school I just love them!!



Life Challenge: The best minds are not in government.  If any were, business would steal them away...  Ronald Reagan