Welcome Back, or, The Bill That Never Came

I'm back to Balaken, have been for about two days now, and it's hard. As always.

It's difficult to come back to Azerbaijan from what we sometimes refer to as, "the real world." Usually there is the cultural shock, realizing that Where You Were is not Where You Live, and that people and things just operate differently here. And that takes adjusting.

I was welcomed back to that full force when I stumble home, click on my lights, and, guess what, no lights. Oddly, the last time I came back to Az from a vacation I also did not have power. (It was also in the middle of an epic thunderstorm, this time it's horror-film-worthy fog).

So I headed over to Bailey's for dinner, hoping that when I returned home it'd be back. I came home. Still no power. So, my guess this time: they cut my power. I've been waiting for this to happen, because for 9 months of living in my house, I have not received a power bill. I ask, and ask. And the answer I always get is, "Wait, it will come next month." Yeah, ok. Or they'll just shut it off.

Now, in Azerbaijan, they actually use the verb, "to cut" when they talk about the company shutting off your power. So I start calling people I know, my landlord, my friend the electric guy, etc etc, "Ishiq yoxdur! Kesilibdir!" (There are no lights! They have been cut!)

Finally, I get sympathy, and instructions. Go to the electric dept, get a bill, pay the bill, and then someone will turn your power back on. Great. Awesome.

So I go, the guy isn't there, come back in an hour. Fine. I come back in an hour, to a very severe looking man in a black turtleneck and black coat, and explain in ruggged Azerbaijani (because every time I want to speak Azeri now French comes out...too long in Paris...), and he says, "Have a seat, we'll take care of it." He starts making calls, people come running in and out, and finally I get my bill. 47.37. For 9 months, which makes sense, really...but that's a lot out of my already sagging bank account. So I pay them, because it's the holiday and I can't pay for any of that at the post office, and wait as he makes more calls to get someone to restore my power.

As we wait, inevitably, the questions begin. Where are you from? What do you do here? Why are you here? Are you married? Will you get married in Az and stay here forever? The usual. When they figure out I teach English, they decide they want me to teach them English. They want a course. So, I might be teaching the workers at AzerEnerji how to speak English. I digress...

Finally, he gets somebody on the line who can turn my power back on. He says, "Let's go." I grab my coat, head outside, and see two rugged Azeri guys driving in a big ol' truck full of construction equipment. He gives them directions, and tells me to get in. I ride home in the back of a truck with these guys, get to my house, and they start to work on getting me my power back.

Little did I know, that when they say they 'cut your power' they LITERALLY mean they cut your power lines. Like, with a knife. They slice them.

So this one guy puts on these metal hooks over his shoes (our electrical poles have steps on them, these don't, he just gets special footwear), and begins to scale the wooden pole outside of my house. And he puts the lines back together, and BAM! power.

Try adjusting to that after 5 days in Vienna, 5 days in Paris, and another 3 in Baku. Just try...

Now I'm in recovery mode. I'm cleaning, I'm sleeping, I'm trying to get my energy and my motivation back to start working. It's harder now too, because I finished up all of my projects before I left, so now I'm kind of starting fresh all over again. It's a great opportunity, but it makes it difficult.

Also, it's colder here than I remember it EVER being last year. So cold that my laundry is frozen to the line. I'm bringing it in bits at a time to thaw...so, yes, try motivating your exhausted, culture-shocked body out into weather like this. Oh the pec is so warm...

I'll get there. I really will. Last time it took me about 3 weeks...I predict this time it'll take me a lot less than that. School starts up again tomorrow, which is a really good way to get myself in gear.