Orientation in country, Day 1.

Hello All. So I took a quick break between our initial orientation sessions (in country) to update everyone. We arrived safely, but not without fatigue. We're pretty tired, I think everyone is. But the show must go on and we are on our way to learning about what we'll be doing and getting to know our staff better. I'll have a lot more information for everyone after a while and after we run it by our staff, so they know what we're posting. Our days will be full. The information overload has begun. hah. The staff here are really nice and willing to answer any questions we have. I need to get back. So long for now, stay tuned for updates.

-derek

Salam! Well, we’ve been here for about 24 hours. We are still very jet-lagged, but we plan on catching up on some sleep tonight. For those of you who don’t know, there’s about a ten hour time difference between us and you. Today was hard; overwhelming because we are so exhausted (for me, Alicia, especially). I’ve never experienced culture shock before now. It’s, as I said, hard.

The Azeri’s are so friendly. The hotel is nice, but, surprise, it’s not home. I am looking forward to some structure as well as doing things on our own. We had our first language lesson today. The language is beautiful. I struggled because of my lack of focus, but I believe it will come in time.

I’m tired so I’d better get some rest. Good night or good morning, wherever you are!