Uncle Traveling Matt...

(That’s a Fraggle reference for those of you unaware of 80’s Muppets spin-offs)

My daily life has stopped making me think twice about where I am. There is very little that I see in my daily routine that makes me stop and think, Holy Crap… this is where I am?!?!?! But, for some reason, every time I travel in this country, I become acutely aware of the truth of where I am right now.

Some of it, I am sure, is how different travel here is from travel at home in America. At home, I would be behind the wheel of my little red car (now my sister’s little red car), a Starbucks mocha in one cup holder, a Diet Coke in the other, snacks on the seat beside me, and loud peppy music blasting from the radio. Here, I am crowded into a marshuka – I have never sat as close to another person as we do on marshukas. The xanim next to me always looks in wonder at my English book (there is often a conversation around me about “the English girl”). I plug into my mp3 player so I don’t have to hear the loud Turkish music blasting fro the radio. And we are off, for a bumpy, cramped ride.

The landscape is completely different, of course. Instead of the well kept green medians, trees, and sound barriers along the highway, the view is far more interesting. It is dusty (in winter, muddy) and open, with the random house or village or field along the way. There aren't trucks barreling past, instead, we often make death defying maneuvers to get around the slower traveling vehicles. The constant billboards beckoning you to Applebees or Motel 6 or Geico are missing. Here, the only billboards you find - with the exception of the odd Azerchay ad here and there - all feature Heydar and Ilham Aliyev. There is consumerism along the Azer roads – but it takes the form of men standing along the side of the road holding fish, chickens, rabbits, you name it, out for passing vehicles to stop and purchase.

But there is more to it that all of those quite obvious differences. I think there is something about stepping on a marshuka that takes me back to that very first day here in Azerbaijan. Getting off of the plane and climbing onto the bus for the long ride to Quba. The awe and wonder (and exhaustion) at where I was – how completely new and interesting everything I passed seemed to me. Everything I saw was surprising and fascinating. Being on the brink of my new and wild life. Anytime I am traveling here, I feel that again. I am excited by what I see. Looking out the window is still my favorite way to pass the time on the trip. And I always have the thought, “Holy Crap – this really is where I am. That's kinda awesome!”

While I have gotten somewhat jaded – that's not quite the right word, but I can't think of a better one - about my daily life, traveling brings back the wonder the life I am currently living. Traveling gives me a chance to think, reflect, really be aware of where I am and what I am doing. Somehow it refreshes my life and perspective. I get to see how different my life is from what it was a year ago. I get to remember that I am finally living something that I have thought, dreamed about for years. And while, at end of the bus ride, I will go back to my mundane day to day life, for those few hours, my life is exciting and profound again. I love that.